Remis roof vent removal

Currently on a site and found water pouring in from the inner edge where the blind/ flyscreen slide out from  after some rain last night via the Remis 400 x 400 roof vent above the kitchen .Has anyone removed the Remis roof vent without breaking anything as I need to investigate asap! Just about reached the end of my patience with A/s quality or severe lack of it . Getting to be every trip away involves a week of remedial work on return home. You can only take so much....

If currently away and looking for a hassle free quick fix then your best option is to run some Gaffa tape around all four edges which will at least stop rain coming in until you sort a new vent.

My vents are MPK and i imagine fitting to be pretty much similar though only ever had to replace the smaller 280 x 280 in the shower cubicle. They are simple to remove and refit and secured by screws on the internal frame. I paid a mobile service to come and do mine as i'm no longer steady enough on ladder steps and it only took around 30 min in total.

Rather than buying only the damaged section, it's worth costing a complete new vent as the total isn't much more. I must admit for a five year old van i can understand your frustration. My 280 vent was replaced last year and the van then was 18 years old.

Hi Bulletguy, unfortunately There doesnt seem to be any screws internally on the Remis. I fear the inner panel sections  pull off and dont want to apply force to it until I know exactly how it is assembled as the inner facia alone is around £80! . Yes, first some numb nut assembly jockey at A/s decided to botch the extractor fan sealing in the shower , cost to repair that damage  was £3000 , a few weeks out of the 2 year warranty...... this is only the latest in a sorry tale of ownership.  I hate to think of owners who dont have the tools or skills to tackle  the constant repairs.  I can now understand totally why others have just walked away.      We bought a van conversion thinking it was almost impossible to get water ingress but did not factor in A/s build quality. Fed up of arranging  time off work to go away for 3 days only to have a weeks work on return  to repair the latest faults on van.
       Between pipework that falls apart in normal light use to roof openings that have little /no sealant applied during assembly.......Over 35 years of caravan and coachbuilt ownership and never experienced a leak but then again this was our first A/s .......Never again.....

Hi Kasp. In my Kemerton handbook pp. 7-5 the roof vent is a HEKI 3. Recently on the forum a member refers to removing the roof vent in the cab to get access the damaged winding mechanism. He said:

I found it convenient to remove the (in the cab) part of the roof light before working on the thing. You do this by prising or pulling the whole inner part down off the rubber bung things that hold it in place. I took it off and replaced it a couple of times and the bungs seemed to hold it very securely. While searching for a replacement mechanism, it was easier to open and close the roof-light without the plastic winding handle in the way as I could get a proper socket and small brace on the job!

You could try finding it on here, not sure if it help but it may provide the answer.
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And I feel your pain our Warwick XL is upto >30 problems and it's only 3 months old.

Kaspian,

I think our Kemertons have the same Remis roof-vent above the galley, ie the Remis Vista. I’ve been looking to replace our Vista with something that has a motorised fan, as a way of venting moist air from the van and thereby reduce the fogging up and condensation, so consequently have been looking to see how the Remis is fixed.  As you say it’s not at all obvious.  

I thought I was onto something when I found the fitting instructions on the Remis website (see first link below) but maddeningly these show fixing screws with decorative covers on the internal frame.  Yours and mine have none so the design must have changed.  I also looked at the Remis spares catalogue (second link)  in the hope that might shed some light, but can see nothing to help.  We’re away in Germany at present so I haven’t had the opportunity to look in more detail.  My next step was going to look from on top the roof when back at home.

I think if I was in your situation, ie with a pressing need for information, I’d ask AS, or Remis directly.  In the meantime I’d run a bead of sealant around the outer frame.  From memory I think there may be two mechanical junctions on the outer frame ... there is a white plastic “interface” plate that conforms to the ridged roof profile of the van, onto which the Remis external frame fits.

As I’m sure you’ll have figured, water ingress can only occur as a result of the rubber seal being compromised or through the sealant that protects the mechanical junction(s) between the Remis and the roof.  Can you tell which of these two cases it might be?  It could be as simple as replacing the rubber seal, but I can understand you’ll be suspicious about the sealing of the whole unit onto the roof given your bad experience of the shower fan vent.  I’m sure it won’t have escaped your thinking that in all likelihood the same unskilled operative undertook the sealing for all roof fittings on your van.

I hope you get it resolved quickly.  Sorry I can’t help further at this point - it’s raining hard right now so I daren’t start pulling things off.

Tim
 
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Just to clarify for others, Heki roof vents are part of the huge Dometic group, but Remis is a different company.

Hi Tim and thanks! Yes it is definitely a Remis vent . The water was running from the inner edge where the blind emerges from. We have cut short our break and I returned to work today but it has poured down all day anyway so not the best weather to investigate! I had a look and there are no fixing screws of cap covers visible . The vent is the same as the larger opening vent over the lounge with exactly the same inner roof moulding. It will no doubt pull off but I will confirm first as brittle plastic and brute force do not mix! 
        As an engineer to trade I am lucky enough to have or have access to a vast array of tools but I am just beginning to feel the love for A/s  fade. In my experience they are just not built with any quality whatsoever and never learn from errors being pointed out to them. Ie improvements not implemented after time and again we have the same issues so current vans have the same issues with ones 10 years old. For what we pay for our vans you should not be expected to carry a mobile workshop with you on every outing! Thanks for taking the time to find those  links. I think I may have to bite my lip and call the makers!

Hi
If your roof vent is the Remis Vista the inner section does indeed pull off. The pro is that the inner frame is not very strong and could easily be damaged. If you look carefully through the vertical ventilation slots you will notice some dark outlines like dark blocks. There are two on the sides and one at each end if my memory is accurate. I did the following to pop mine off. Get a bank card or similar and gently push it between the head lining of the van roof and the edge of the inner trim. Next take a slim steel blade. I used a think known as chisel knife. It looks like a very thin wood chisel. Mine has a blade about 30mm wide and 3mm thick. They are commonly used by window fitters to pop out upvc window beads but have many uses. They are cheapest. I think mine was 5 or 6 quid but I have had it for some time. ok. Slide it between the edge of the roof light trim and the bank card. Work the end into the black block . The block has a recess in its centre and into that there is an opposing part screwed to the roof that has a projecting sphere. The block is a sort of rubber. The trim is held in place by the elasticity of the rubber holding the projecting sphere. Gently lever down and pop off the first block. The next is easier and the rest are very easy to pop off. Within a minute you will have the whole inner trim complete with blinds in your hands and the fixing for the upper section is revealed. 
When putting the back together spray the blocks and spheres with some silicone spray. It oops in much easier and it does not fall off, tried it myself.

BUT.
Before you do. Was it raining and had you had the roof light open? Theses things leak if they are open when it rains. The water accumulates between the trims and dribbles out, usually in a corner.

Thanks Timedout, everything I could gather on the  net said it pops off but as stated  brittle plastic and brute force dont mix ! I will look closer when I get a chance as back at work now . It could possibly be the outer frame gasket rope  seal but I would expect that whoever sealed my extractor fan also sealed the roof vent and it will be there that it is leaking from ie the plate that takes up the corrougations in roof section. Perfectly thought out A/s design sees that the 2 vents  one behind the other form a dam where water collects in the corrougations and basically sits there in puddles  until it eventually evaporates. I tried a 6 inch scraper to protect the headlining and then a putty knife slid in but the creaking of tortured plastic stopped me before something broke. I will have a closer look through the vent slots . A small endoscope linked to phone might help! Thanks again.  

kaspian wrote:Hi Bulletguy, unfortunately There doesnt seem to be any screws internally on the Remis. I fear the inner panel sections  pull off and dont want to apply force to it until I know exactly how it is assembled as the inner facia alone is around £80! . Yes, first some numb nut assembly jockey at A/s decided to botch the extractor fan sealing in the shower , cost to repair that damage  was £3000 , a few weeks out of the 2 year warranty...... this is only the latest in a sorry tale of ownership.  I hate to think of owners who dont have the tools or skills to tackle  the constant repairs.  I can now understand totally why others have just walked away.      We bought a van conversion thinking it was almost impossible to get water ingress but did not factor in A/s build quality. Fed up of arranging  time off work to go away for 3 days only to have a weeks work on return  to repair the latest faults on van.
       Between pipework that falls apart in normal light use to roof openings that have little /no sealant applied during assembly.......Over 35 years of caravan and coachbuilt ownership and never experienced a leak but then again this was our first A/s .......Never again.....

Wow yes you seem to have had a bad experience. At least Timedout appears to have cracked it ('scuse pun!) so hope his info helps. Failing that it's always worth considering a mobile fitter who'd give you a price over the phone.

Given the cost of new pvc's/mh's there's a lot to be said for looking at older build models. My 400 x 400 vent only needed a new fly net piece which cost peanuts and fitted in a couple of minutes. The vent itself is original so almost 20 years old. I remember one year on a site in Germany talking with a 'neighbour' who had an older model Hymer A class and they told me they'd previously had a later model Hymer van but sold it as they quickly found they were built down to a price...the old quality wasn't there, so they went back to what they were happier with.

Timedout - thanks for the information.  I’ll give it a go (carefully) when we’re back home.  I can see the black blocks you refer to, through the grills on the front and rear edges.

Tim

Hi Timeout, thanks also for your detailed explanation as to how the roof light is attached to the ceiling. We have no problem as to removing the inner frame as it has dropped down along one side sufficient to get your fingers between to pull it away. Currently when pushing frame up to ceiling, it simply pops down again after a couple of seconds. Perhaps the rubber has hardened so as to not to grip properly? So intend to pull off inner frame and somehow  stick a piece of say, latex to make a better tight fixing along the dropped side.

Particular thanks to Timedout and Ploughlin for their advice on removing the interior assembly of a Remis Vista roof vent.  I had a go at it today, held my breath, and successfully pulled it off without causing any damage.  There are 6 "ball and socket" fixings on a 400x400 Remis, two fore, 2 aft and 1 each on port and starboard. I started with one corner, managed to prise one fixing apart and then the others followed easily.  Photographs below are hopefully self explanatory.

I plan to replace the Remis above the galley with a Maxxair fan - see [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] . It's main advantage is that it can be used even when raining and my hope is that it will remove damp air from the van and prevent fogging up, especially when cooking. The idea originated after doing the NC500 in poor weather this time last year, when the van was almost constantly damp with wet waterproofs and horizontal rain prevented us from opening roof vents!  In NZ this year our rental van had a ceiling mounted extractor fan and it made a big difference in being able to manage airflow.

Tim

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Kaspian - hope you fixed the leak on your Remis Vista!

Bit late in the day but I recommend getting something like this for your tool kit. I wish I’d bought some years ago, very handy for lots of jobs!
Think they were £10 delivered on Amazon. 
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Brilliant.  I thought it was a set of picnic cutlery until I read your note!

Yep,  snap ,got them! Handy for  thorough rustproofing  preparation. At first I thought it was your housebreakers tool kit .