Installing heki roof light

Hi folks, I am thinking of fitting a heki roof light in our topaz type 4 . Can any owners/members recommend anyone/company who have the experience to tackle this job. I am based in the north west but will travel. Thanking you - John Simons.

Hi there,
Do you already have a roofvent in your van? My old Bailey caravan had a standard opaque roof vent that "got lost" on the way back from devon. It was the standard 400x400 size and was a very simple swap when i changed it to the mini heiki. Providing you have the sealant tape to go between the roof and the upper frame (on the outside) its a really straightforward job and takes no more than half an hour and a bit of confidence. Just remember to remove all the old sealant thats on the roof first

Hope this helps

Neil

It is a fairly straight forward upgrade as Harper says, otherwise If you are in the north west then Spinney Motor Homes might be worth consideration, we had ours fitted by Auto Sleepers last year and this thread here might help....

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CC

I can recommend a really good guy at Rossendale Mobile Caravan Servicing. His name is Kevin and he will come to you. See [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or call 07935 762822.

Or depending where you are another NCC approved mobile workshop who a few of us on here use is
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If you're happy with the wind noise from the Heki over 50-60mph try Phil at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] who are based in the NW and he will come to you.

Thanks for all your replies. We have a 12volt omnivent in the kitchen area. My idea is to re-install this in the toilet area and put a mini heki in its place. All sizes look ok basically - 400 x 400 - just need to know if I can get the 12volt wiring through the roof void into the bathroom. Will go for a non venting heki, just have to finalise the depth for a Topaz (a call to A/S perhaps), but confident now to diy. Whilst on roof may also put a gland through for solar panels for future. Anybody done this and what position. Thanks again - Johnjavascript:emoticonp('')

Interested because I'm about to replace the front roof vent on my Clubman with a non-ventilated mini Hecki, and I need a new external cover plate for my Fiamma roof extractor fan because the 14-year old cover has become brittle and is cracking. Hope I can source one.

Afraid to tackle these jobs myself, so have asked Cotswold Motorcaravans (who carry out annual habitation service) to do so with forthcoming service.

Just a bit of a warning. Please don't replace a ventilated roof light with a non ventilated one. The ventilation is there to provide air (oxygen) for the burning of LPG. The ventilation in a motorhome is very carefully calculated by the manufacturers and any changes can have unforseen consequences.

ubuntu1 wrote:Just a bit of a warning. Please don't replace a ventilated roof light with a non ventilated one. The ventilation is there to provide air (oxygen) for the burning of LPG. The ventilation in a motorhome is very carefully calculated by the manufacturers and any changes can have unforseen consequences.

I'm taken aback by your helpful post, because on an earlier thread there was advice to replace with the non-ventilated type (a) to reduce wind noise when travelling, and (b) - [I can't remember the precise words but they were to this effect:] that there are ample alternative sources of ventilation. Now I burn LPG in 4 places, I think. :
1. The fridge - I believe that flame receives it oxygen, and vents its CO2, via the external flue.
2. The Carver water heater - ditto.
3. The Carver stove heater - ditto.
4. The hob and oven burners: we never, ever use them without opening the rear window. [Wife was a Chemistry teacher!]

Am I right about 1, 2 & 3?

Only other concern would be sleeping at night with all windows and vents closed: suspect there are so many draughts (esp via sliding side windows) that we'll survive until morning.

But I will think again about the replacement roof-light.... Thanks for mentioning the issue.
Cymro

yes will take notice of previous post and go for the vented heki for piece of mind; also for future owners safety [it might not whistle as its well back on the topaz roof with spoiler in front .but will live with that if so.

Cymro wrote:Interested because I'm about to replace the front roof vent on my Clubman with a non-ventilated mini Hecki, and I need a new external cover plate for my Fiamma roof extractor fan because the 14-year old cover has become brittle and is cracking. Hope I can source one.

Afraid to tackle these jobs myself, so have asked Cotswold Motorcaravans (who carry out annual habitation service) to do so with forthcoming service.

Both jobs completed yesterday. Delighted with mini Heki because interior of Clubman now much lighter (by day!) and, best of all, the vehicle is so much quieter at speed - it's eliminated the wind noise of the old rooflight. Small snag is that the larger interior rim / trim of the Heki means that the top-hinged door to the Luton space cannot open to the full horizontal as before, so the opening is a little restricted and there's scope for banging my head!

But advantages far outweigh drawbacks.
C.

Cymro wrote:

Cymro wrote:Interested because I'm about to replace the front roof vent on my Clubman with a non-ventilated mini Hecki, and I need a new external cover plate for my Fiamma roof extractor fan because the 14-year old cover has become brittle and is cracking. Hope I can source one.

Afraid to tackle these jobs myself, so have asked Cotswold Motorcaravans (who carry out annual habitation service) to do so with forthcoming service.

Both jobs completed yesterday. Delighted with mini Heki because interior of Clubman now much lighter (by day!) and, best of all, the vehicle is so much quieter at speed - it's eliminated the wind noise of the old rooflight. Small snag is that the larger interior rim / trim of the Heki means that the top-hinged door to the Luton space cannot open to the full horizontal as before, so the opening is a little restricted and there's scope for banging my head!

But advantages far outweigh drawbacks.
C.

I had the same problem when I changed mine on the old Bailey caravan, Top cupboard above cooker wouldnt open fully n had to cut the heki trim to shape around the cupboard. thankfully not an overly used cupboard so once again the advantage of extra light outweighed the holding the cupboard open by hand. I shal have to do something similar when i change mine on the harmony as AS didnt see fit to put the existing rooflight in the centre of the roof. Congrats on the install I hope u remembered LOTS of strong sealent tape under new frame

Thanks, Harper 22.

I didn't do the job myself but it was done together with my annual habitation service, so I hope they used enough sealant!

You mentioned that you had to cut the Heki trim to facilitate opening of the to-hinged Luton cupboard door. That's what I'll have to do. I wonder if you'd be so kind as to tell me how you did it? If it's possible to remove the inside trim, to allow me to put it in a vice and cut off a cm or two, how can I remove the trim? Could you please describe what you did .... assuming it worked in the end! Thanks.
Cymro.

Cymro wrote:Thanks, Harper 22.

I didn't do the job myself but it was done together with my annual habitation service, so I hope they used enough sealant!

You mentioned that you had to cut the Heki trim to facilitate opening of the to-hinged Luton cupboard door. That's what I'll have to do. I wonder if you'd be so kind as to tell me how you did it? If it's possible to remove the inside trim, to allow me to put it in a vice and cut off a cm or two, how can I remove the trim? Could you please describe what you did .... assuming it worked in the end! Thanks.
Cymro.

The lower frame (as in inside the van) is just a facia piece and is held onto the outer/upper one with tiny metal claw clips that attach themselves to a narrow edge on the upper and a groove on the lower (may be t'other way round but makes no odds) the whole frame can be GENTLY eased off by applying pressure at even spaces round the edge of the frame (similar to removing a margarine tub lid) be careful the claw clips dont just drop out once the frame is lowered (they really are small)

once the frame is off its easy to trim with a hacksaw, the bigest problem i had was getting my head round how much/little to trim off with the frame being shaped as it is as its not simply a case of a flat frome to use a template etc. Just take your time and measure, measure and measure again before you cut anything I hope all that made sense (if not and you can wait a week or so I can dismantle the heiki in my housemates caravan n take some pics but he is away in it at the min)

good luck and keep us posted

very many thanks, Harper 22. Shall pluck up courage in due course.
Regards,
Cymro