Sunroof

[bknowles86]

Has anyone had any luck installing a sunroof? I see that several people have asked the same question, and C R Laurence keeps coming up – just wondering if anybody has had any success with these. Thanks!

[Prototear]

I am in the midst of installing one now on my build. It is a CR Laurence 22" x 38" and it seems well made. I can make it work but the curve has worked against the contour of the teardrop body.

I have some pictures in my build journal and will be adding more later tonight. Those pictures are from last June but I worked on it just yesterday. My plan is to use the sunroof frame to clamp the roof skin before I attach the skin to the teardrop frame rather than fight the sunroof fitting to the skin after the skin is attached. I'm thinking I'll also need to add a removable screen to keep the sunroof open or off at night to keep the bugs out. It has a lip in the inside edge of the aluminum frame that I may be able to use, or perhaps I'll do something that attaches to the ceiling outside the bounds of the sunroof frame. That is a detail I'm not ready to work through yet until I get the bigger things installed.

I got it from Amazon and it was shipped by a company that seemed to be out east but the thing arrived quickly (I live a few miles north of Seattle) and its shipping info showed it as coming from Tukwilla WA, just on the other side of Seattle.

If I could do it over again, I'd consider a sunroof that curves in the same direction as the trailer body contour, or plan to install it in a flat area of the roof. The sunroof has a curvature left to right with the center being about 3/8" higher than the far left and right, and there is no curvature fore/aft. Meanwhile, my roof has no curvature left/right, but about 1/2" fore/aft since it right where the front curve of the body starts to descend.

[Gage]

I don't know about CR Lawrence. I installed a sunroof I picked up at the local junk yard. It came off a 73 Chevy. Cost me $75.00. My roof is 1/8" Burch ply with .060 alum skin. The sun roof pulled the roof right in, no leaks except for when I forget to close it when it rains.

[bknowles86]

Thanks for the detailed response Prototear – that is very helpful. Gage, did you have the same issues with your sunroof or is it pretty flat?