Dome vent cover breaking up

I had the same problem with mine. The replacement I bought 2 years ago is still as good as new. I think they must have had a bad batch, or just used a lower grade in the original installation. The replacement one was thicker and more stiff than the original.

G'day Michael,
haven't had the problem myself but met up with a fellow on our travels who repairs caravans. He said he always carries a spare because they deteriorate as yours has. Most people I have spoken to say that they can only be expected to last 12-18 mths. Seems like you got a raw deal in that regard. When checking them out at Camec I was told the same story, so I asked if there was an alternative product which did better under UV. He said they were UV resistant, but made in the US of A. The other thing to watch is the opaque cover on your door handle light.

Happing vanning,
Mike and Jan.

goodday micheal
we also own a genesis and have had a heap of problems with the dealer we now bypass the dealer and go straight to windsor the bloke you spoke to is a wanker as there is a crook batch of the vent lids ,we owned a coromal before this and had 1 break up also( there seems to be an expensive batch okay and a cheap batch that are crap) and the dealer told me they were having problems with them
.Ring windsor factory in melb 0399304900 and ask for helen she is the complaints dept tell her whats going on and not happy, should be a dealer along the way or a caravan repair place who can fix them but you have to get her ok so you can get them to pay or you pay and claim repair money back
we told our dealer we wouldnt bring a kids billy cart to the morons in his workshop
when we picked the van up there had been no predelivery ,grease on the floor batteries not connected properly fridge only connected to car batteries not the van supply the list goes on and as far as the salesman he was just lower than a politician(even lower than a snakes belly)lying mongrel

steve

ps the van is great

Hi All
Our previous 2006 Van had the same problem, it just disintergrated, I went back to the dealer and he said it's a well know problem in the van industry, he ended up giving me two, one for a spare, our latest van has had no problem with the vent as yet, I was talking to a fellow some time back, and he said he painted his white, after the first one exploded, since then he has had no problems.

Cheers

Michael, there seems to be a problem largely with some European made acrylic covers.

Firstly there is a problem between the inner and outer skins. Two small drill holes underneath, but inside the sealed area help gas expansion between the layers. Inside the seal area as you don't want dust between the layers if you can help it.

Secondly, there is a lot of heat transfer and the UV light that breaks down the acrylic material, especially in caravans stored outside. I have seen aluminium strip stuck on, exterior foil or UV defensive plastics, though no one seems to know the life.

Others have used Thermoshield to paint over and that has a huge impact on reducing heat inside caravans in high solar active areas - like tropical and summer conditions.

I have seen some of their figures from February this year when at mid day with ambients were 30 degrees C, unprotected roofs were over 60 degrees, and a/c ducting the same. Protected surfaces were at about 30 +/- so a very considerable reduction in solar transmission.

You need to clean acrylic surfaces particularly well to get it prepared and give several coats and protect with a house Solarguard afterwards. It is an industrial coating that seems to work anyway as long as it gets some days to harden before you tow. I can post some pics if you wish.