Thank You for watching and the comment. The hatch was one of the scariest things of the build. Everything worked out very well. I was very worried about cutting the hole to large! It is wonderful to watch the stars at night, and wake up in the morning and look out the hatch to see were we are :-)
Nice work. I'm thinking of building a very large custom solar panel hatch on my next van. Something that lets me stand and look out a low roof. Thinking about bending rounded corner roof sheet metal and folding bug screen.
That is an interesting idea. Be aware the solar panels are fragile, and work better when cool. Some people are using flexible solar panels and applying them directly to the metal of the van. Doing this reduces their efficiency because the get hot. I used two standard 200 watt panels, this allows air flow under then to keep them cool. See the completed deck in this video ruclips.net/video/kmVuEm9dP9U/видео.html
Nice job. Gotta ask why use the butyl tape? I see caulking under it. then it, then you caulked on top of it then set vent hatch. Then sealed top of hatch with more chualking. I know on my rv on the roof they used self leveling dicor. Ill have to search out that stuff and see what its good for as I like clear
I used the butyl tape as an extra precaution. Its filler and form fits to any void. That with the through the roof sealant provides me with confidence that I will have no leaks. But only time will tell. The self leveling sealant is the common go to. I thought I would try something different - this is cleaner looking, but if it does not work, I will be in trouble! So far everything is good. I will make a follow up report after the sun and weather has been on it for a year or sooner is something bad happens. Thank YOU for watching...
Do you ever wish the glass was clear? I’ve seen a bunch of these for sale for reasonable prices but they’re all tinted like yours and I felt like that might detract from seeing the sky and stars as they are
Ours has a very slight tint. Not even noticeable when looking at the stars, the Sun or the trees through the hatch. At night we put up a magnetic screen and see the stars straight through the screen also with a hatch open 🙂
Really usefull content. I'm strugling with my skylight that didn't glued and now i'm trying to find different solutions... Where did you get the plastic from? Thank you! enjoy your work
Aloha! Was wondering why you installed the hatch with the opening towards the front rather than the back. I'm going to be doing this same thing but with a 'Man Ship Marine Stainless Low Profile Deck Hatch' but that opens from the inside only. This particular hatch opens to fully 180 degrees. I'm installing a lightweight roof deck on my Sprinter which I want to access from the inside as well as the outside. And then my next question is; are you having any issues with leakage at all? Leaking is my biggest concern so I like how you manufactured inserts to fill in the voids between the raised ridges on the roof; CLEVER! Thanks for the VidClip! MUCH appreciated!!! Mahalo a Aloha noho'i ~ ~ ~
The opening is towards the front to make full use of the deck that is on the roof. Very happy with this configuration. I was going to have it open to the side, but then it would hit the side 8" PVC tube. To see what I am talking about look at the Van Tour Video ruclips.net/video/kmVuEm9dP9U/видео.html Our hatch can open zero to 180 degrees, and has no struts in the way. No leak problems so far and we have had it it heavy rain, hail, and very bumpy roads. The Lexel through the roof sealant has held up so far. I suggest cutting any inserts you may need from PVC board, often used at house trim. Also cut the opening small, you can always make it bigger!
@@FrugalFactor Well, that's pretty much what I was hoping to hear because I'm actually going to do the same thing AND for the same reason. As I stated previously, I'm looking at the following to use: Man Ship Marine Stainless Low Profile Deck Hatch ($999.00) and is very low profile and it too does the 180deg open action. Thanks for reinforcing the validity of my idea. MUCH appreciated! BTW, I have a 2009 Dodge 2500 Sprinter Type 2 ambulance that came fully equipped and included EVERYTHING except the original gurney and the very large oxygen tank. The build was by LEADER Emergency Vehicles here in SoCali. I thought I was just going to go in and 'dismantle' the interior but NO WAY that is working out. These bad boys were NOT made to be disassembled and I've had to cut/tear/rip out almost everything. LOL So I move forward ~ ~ ~ THANKS FF Aloha ~ ~ ~
Please look at all the installation videos. I removed one of the roof supports completely. Then installed the hatch. And created a new support on the other side of the hatch.
How is it holding up after a year? Also usually these hatch has got holes for screws that you could for holding strength. Did not see you screwing in at all.
After over 2 years no leaks. Never even thought about it until I saw your comment. Yes there are screw holding the hatch to the roof. The day I made the video, it got dark fast and the video of putting in the screws was not usable. You can see the screw holes at 4:20 in the video. Also at that time I mention screwing in the hatch (just before nightfall). There is no do over for most of these videos! All the videos are divided by category at thefrugalfactor.com/ Thanks for the comment and question.
Yes it does. It have heavy hinges that can be adjusted (tightened). Most of time we have it opened more than 50%. It can be locked with as slight venting. There are many quality marine hatches. I think the key is to stay away from plastic parts that my degrade from the suns UV light.
We have not been in freezing temperatures yet. So, I can't respond to that question. I am actually looking forward to a winter our mountain trip to test that out! I have a precut XPS insulation to fit in the hatch recess but have not had the chance to use it.
![Natanael Cano - Amor Eterno [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EO4prCs6WpM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Tee Grizzley - Robbery 8 [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/34_vkNV6wrU/mqdefault.jpg)
masking tape to not make a mess! other than that, this is the best roof hatch install i've seen so far. thanks!
Thank You. The videos by category can be seen at thefrugalfactor.com/
So helpful!! Thank you!😁
Thank You for watching and the comment. The hatch was one of the scariest things of the build. Everything worked out very well. I was very worried about cutting the hole to large! It is wonderful to watch the stars at night, and wake up in the morning and look out the hatch to see were we are :-)
Nice work. I'm thinking of building a very large custom solar panel hatch on my next van. Something that lets me stand and look out a low roof. Thinking about bending rounded corner roof sheet metal and folding bug screen.
That is an interesting idea. Be aware the solar panels are fragile, and work better when cool. Some people are using flexible solar panels and applying them directly to the metal of the van. Doing this reduces their efficiency because the get hot. I used two standard 200 watt panels, this allows air flow under then to keep them cool. See the completed deck in this video ruclips.net/video/kmVuEm9dP9U/видео.html
Nice job. Gotta ask why use the butyl tape? I see caulking under it. then it, then you caulked on top of it then set vent hatch. Then sealed top of hatch with more chualking. I know on my rv on the roof they used self leveling dicor. Ill have to search out that stuff and see what its good for as I like clear
I used the butyl tape as an extra precaution. Its filler and form fits to any void. That with the through the roof sealant provides me with confidence that I will have no leaks. But only time will tell. The self leveling sealant is the common go to. I thought I would try something different - this is cleaner looking, but if it does not work, I will be in trouble! So far everything is good. I will make a follow up report after the sun and weather has been on it for a year or sooner is something bad happens. Thank YOU for watching...
Do you ever wish the glass was clear? I’ve seen a bunch of these for sale for reasonable prices but they’re all tinted like yours and I felt like that might detract from seeing the sky and stars as they are
Ours has a very slight tint. Not even noticeable when looking at the stars, the Sun or the trees through the hatch. At night we put up a magnetic screen and see the stars straight through the screen also with a hatch open 🙂
Which magnetic screen do you use?
Really usefull content. I'm strugling with my skylight that didn't glued and now i'm trying to find different solutions... Where did you get the plastic from?
Thank you! enjoy your work
The plastic filler strip came from Lowe's. It is flat architectural trim (moulding). Hope that helps.
Aloha! Was wondering why you installed the hatch with the opening towards the front rather than the back. I'm going to be doing this same thing but with a 'Man Ship Marine Stainless Low Profile Deck Hatch' but that opens from the inside only. This particular hatch opens to fully 180 degrees. I'm installing a lightweight roof deck on my Sprinter which I want to access from the inside as well as the outside. And then my next question is; are you having any issues with leakage at all? Leaking is my biggest concern so I like how you manufactured inserts to fill in the voids between the raised ridges on the roof; CLEVER! Thanks for the VidClip! MUCH appreciated!!! Mahalo a Aloha noho'i ~ ~ ~
The opening is towards the front to make full use of the deck that is on the roof. Very happy with this configuration. I was going to have it open to the side, but then it would hit the side 8" PVC tube. To see what I am talking about look at the Van Tour Video ruclips.net/video/kmVuEm9dP9U/видео.html Our hatch can open zero to 180 degrees, and has no struts in the way. No leak problems so far and we have had it it heavy rain, hail, and very bumpy roads. The Lexel through the roof sealant has held up so far. I suggest cutting any inserts you may need from PVC board, often used at house trim. Also cut the opening small, you can always make it bigger!
@@FrugalFactor Well, that's pretty much what I was hoping to hear because I'm actually going to do the same thing AND for the same reason. As I stated previously, I'm looking at the following to use: Man Ship Marine Stainless Low Profile Deck Hatch ($999.00) and is very low profile and it too does the 180deg open action. Thanks for reinforcing the validity of my idea. MUCH appreciated! BTW, I have a 2009 Dodge 2500 Sprinter Type 2 ambulance that came fully equipped and included EVERYTHING except the original gurney and the very large oxygen tank. The build was by LEADER Emergency Vehicles here in SoCali. I thought I was just going to go in and 'dismantle' the interior but NO WAY that is working out. These bad boys were NOT made to be disassembled and I've had to cut/tear/rip out almost everything. LOL So I move forward ~ ~ ~ THANKS FF Aloha ~ ~ ~
Did you cut through the roof support? If so, what did you use? What was the process of that? I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to install mine
Please look at all the installation videos. I removed one of the roof supports completely. Then installed the hatch. And created a new support on the other side of the hatch.
How is it holding up after a year? Also usually these hatch has got holes for screws that you could for holding strength. Did not see you screwing in at all.
After over 2 years no leaks. Never even thought about it until I saw your comment. Yes there are screw holding the hatch to the roof. The day I made the video, it got dark fast and the video of putting in the screws was not usable. You can see the screw holes at 4:20 in the video. Also at that time I mention screwing in the hatch (just before nightfall). There is no do over for most of these videos! All the videos are divided by category at thefrugalfactor.com/ Thanks for the comment and question.
Thanks for the video! Does the hatch stay partially open well? It doesn't have any struts.
Yes it does. It have heavy hinges that can be adjusted (tightened). Most of time we have it opened more than 50%. It can be locked with as slight venting. There are many quality marine hatches. I think the key is to stay away from plastic parts that my degrade from the suns UV light.
have you found condensation on the inside of the glass or drips after a freezing night or frosts?
We have not been in freezing temperatures yet. So, I can't respond to that question. I am actually looking forward to a winter our mountain trip to test that out! I have a precut XPS insulation to fit in the hatch recess but have not had the chance to use it.
What is the brand and model of the hatch you use? I am converting an aluminum cargo trailer and may go with this.,
We installed a Vetus Magnus Hatch - amzn.to/3m7iJuk
"fill the void"