Fitting new seals
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I am struggling to fit new seals onto the roof windows.
Has any got the experience and the trick?
Thanks
MarcI’ve done this before and it is difficult takes about 1 hour per window!!
It can sometimes help to file the fibreglass back a few extra mm in the corners to help.
I used a big flat headed screwdriver to push and easy the rubber in, also use washing up liquid as a lubricant.
You’ll have sore fingers after doing this job. Good luck
My Dormobile order goes in tomorrow, so I’ll be doing this in a couple weeks, too. I’d be interested in hearing how you solve the problem!
My roof has been a laborious nightmare, repairs needed on everything. Have you had any repairs to do besides the windows?
Good luck
-JeremyHello there,
A friend of ours in France needed to replace the plexi type “window” than opens u on the roof…. No way to find one : He created a mould for it with a slightly thicker translucid plastic than original for rigidity purpose. I will get one for mine as it is broken, we would be happy to run a few more for payback purpose
This a serious proposal though, I have no idea yet how much he would want.Hi Marc,
Thanks, but I’ve already ordered this vent cover from Dormobile Ltd in polycarbonate. Maybe others can join you, though.
It’s an expensive part but I decided to buy it to save some time that I need to spend on the other parts of the car. We’ll make up the cost by sewing our own cots from striped awning fabric. I’ll report here what the new vent cover is like when I receive it.
I have read on websites about model building (model airplanes and such) that Perspex/Lucite (Acrylic) plastic sheets like the original vent covers can be made pliable with a relatively low amount of heat, such as boiling water. You could maybe soften the sheet in a bathtub and then press it into your mould. I considered doing this but it seemed a lot of work, even if the plastic sheets and a mould were handy. So I decided for the luxury of buying one.
There are apparently two types of this sheet and it’s important to get the right type or you can’t form it. The Lucite web page had information on the type of plastic and where to get it.
-Jeremy
Hi Mark
I have done this on one of the roofs I had and it is not the easiest of jobs. It’s a lot easier with two people. One to push the glass onto the seal and the other to run the screwdriver around the edge.
As for the vent, I have fitted two of the new Dormobile vent covers, with no problems.
Mick
Funny, we’re a group doing similar parts of our Land Rover restorations at the same time.
I was able to put in both windows and filler strips by myself with a blunt screwdriver without any trouble. This might be relative, however, compared to years of mounting poorly fitting bicycle tires, which is a similar procedure, only around the outside of a tight rim instead of the inside. Mick is right, though, your fingers hurt after two windows!
A tip I can give anyone, again similar to bicycle repair, is to twist the filler strip in: first get one edge in over a distance of a few inches/cm, hold it in with a firm grip, then pop in the center with help of the screwdriver, and finally snap in the opposite edge of the filler strip. I didn’t find that soap or window cleaner as lubricant helped, because then I couldn’t grip anything anymore. I use corn starch for bicycle tires but I didn’t think to try that, here.
The manufacturer of the seal recommends on its website using silicone in the groove on the window and fiberglass sides of the seal, which I found made the job more difficult because it squirts out and gets on your hands and the lot gets slippery. Originally my roof didn’t have any silicone inside the seal. I did the second window without silicone. We’ll see which one I need to do again!
Putting in the vent cover was simple but fiddly work. It seems to have been molded inside an old vent. At least, it’s appreciably smaller than the original, in every dimension. So fitting the aluminum strip for the bug net was a trick because its dimensions were too large. I had to re-bend it as I drilled the holes one at a time, putting screws in as I worked, to hold it in place. Something like 35 holes have to be drilled, including the new hinges. Each hole has to be fitted carefully because the original work is hand-done and not measured to any precision or regularity. For example, the hinge holes in my original Martin Walter roof are drilled crooked (neither parallel to each other, nor in line with the vent or the lines of the roof) and with inconsistent centerline distance, and the hinges each have to be custom-fitted. The easiest solution is to drill very big holes in the hinges!
The new vent cover looks the same as the old one from inside the roof, but from outside it appears dark grey because it’s more transparent. I prefer the old, white look, but the old one was too brittle to repair. Since one fits inside the other, maybe I can stack the two … ?
In all, these steps took me one leisurely day. I had most of the other roof parts restored and the new hardware ready to go by the time the Dormobile order arrived. I still have to make the replacement bug net and glue in the vent seal with window putty.
-Jeremy
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