Roof, Slide and Awning
RV Skylight and Dome Repair and Replacement
Typical range
$350 to $2,500
Shop hours
1 to 10
Labor rate
$210/hr
The short answer
Skylight repair and replacement covers cracked and clouded acrylic domes, failed inner garnish panels, and the flange reseal that goes with them. Common sizes are 22 by 22 and 14 by 22 inches. Work runs $350 to $2,500, or 1 to 10 hours at $210 per hour plus parts.
01
What this work actually involves
The bath skylight over a tub or shower pan is the most exposed piece of plastic on an RV. It is a thin thermoformed acrylic dome, unshaded, sitting on a raised flange, and it takes the full UV load every day the coach is parked. In the low desert around Coachella, Indio, and Palm Desert, a dome that started clear goes yellow, then hazy, then crazes into a fine network of surface cracks. Those cracks are stress risers. The dome does not fail gradually after that. It fails the next time hail hits it in Lancaster or Apple Valley, or when someone leans a ladder against the roof edge.
Sizing is where most replacements go wrong. Skylight domes are measured by the outside flange dimension, not the roof cutout, and 22 by 22, 14 by 22, and 16 by 24 inch versions all exist alongside custom shapes on higher-end coaches. Rise height matters too, because a low-profile dome on a deep opening leaves the inner garnish panel unsupported. We measure the flange, the cutout, and the rise before ordering, and on discontinued shapes we fabricate rather than force a near-fit that will never seal correctly.
The inner garnish is a separate failure. That white plastic frame inside the bathroom holds the ceiling panel edge and hides the opening, and it turns brittle and cracks from the same heat that killed the dome. When a skylight has been leaking, the ceiling panel around the garnish is usually soft, and screwing a new garnish into wet luan does not hold. We check the panel condition and correct it before anything new goes in, then rebed the dome flange on fresh butyl and seal the perimeter with lap sealant.
Systems and brands we work on: Dicor, Dometic, Eternabond.
Location: All work is performed at our Yorba Linda facility. We do not offer mobile, roadside, or fleet route service.
02
What the job includes
- Cracked, crazed, yellowed, or shattered acrylic dome replacement
- Correct sizing by flange dimension, cutout, and rise height before ordering
- Custom dome fabrication where the original shape is discontinued
- Inner garnish ring replacement and ceiling panel edge repair
- Ceiling panel and substrate correction where the skylight has been leaking
- Flange rebedding on fresh butyl with correctly seated fasteners
- Perimeter sealing with self-leveling lap sealant on the roof side
- Tinted, smoked, and insulated dome options for heat reduction
- Skylight shade and cover fitment where the owner wants the light blocked
- Water test at the flange and interior verification before delivery
03
When you need this service
- A dome that has gone yellow, hazy, or shows a fine crazing pattern
- A visible crack or hole in the dome after a hail event or a limb strike
- Water dripping into the shower or tub during rain
- A cracked or broken inner garnish frame in the bathroom ceiling
- A soft or stained ceiling panel around the skylight opening
- Sealant at the dome flange that has separated from the roof membrane
- Noticeable heat radiating down through the dome on summer afternoons
04
How we do it, step by step
- 01
Measurement and sourcing
Flange dimension, roof cutout, and rise height all measured. Domes are sized by flange, not by hole, and a mismatch here is why so many replacements never seal.
- 02
Interior condition check
The garnish comes down and the ceiling panel edge is probed and metered. A leaking skylight almost always leaves soft luan that will not hold new fasteners.
- 03
Dome removal and flange cleaning
Lap sealant cut, fasteners removed, and the dome lifted off the butyl bed. The flange area is scraped to clean membrane so the new bed seats against a sound surface.
- 04
Substrate repair
Soft decking at the opening edge is cut back and replaced, and ceiling panel damage is corrected, before any new component is fastened to the structure.
- 05
Dome set and fastening
New dome bedded on fresh butyl and fastened progressively around the perimeter so the flange pulls down evenly instead of distorting on one side.
- 06
Seal and interior finish
Perimeter and fastener heads dressed with self-leveling lap sealant, then the inner garnish is fitted and the ceiling finish corrected around it.
- 07
Water test
The flange is water tested at pressure and the bathroom ceiling checked dry before the unit is released.
05
Pricing and posted rates
| Item | Rate or range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Typical job range | $350 to $2,500 | Varies with extent of damage and parts availability |
| Shop hours | 1 to 10 | Quoted after teardown, not before |
| Body and paint labor | $210 per hour | 2026 posted rate |
| Paint supplies | $55 per paint hour | Calculated automatically on every estimate |
| Body supplies | $5 per body hour | Calculated automatically on every estimate |
| Parts | 100% markup under $100, 35% over | Special order parts require a non refundable deposit at order |
| Deposit | 50% at authorization over $2,000 | Additional 25% when parts arrive on jobs over $10,000 |
| Sales tax | 7.75% on parts and materials | Labor is not taxed |
Insurance billed jobs may be billed at carrier negotiated labor rates that differ from the posted retail rates above. See all posted rates.
07
Vehicles we do this work on
Vehicle
Class A Gas Motorhomes
A Class A gas motorhome is a flat-front coach built on a Ford F53 or Workhorse front-engine chassis, typically 28 to 38 feet. Rear
Vehicle
Class C Motorhomes
A Class C is a coach body built onto a cutaway van chassis with a sleeping or storage cabover extending above the factory cab. Tha
Vehicle
Standard Fifth Wheels
A fifth wheel couples to a hitch in the truck bed through a kingpin and pin box, with a raised forward bedroom over the truck. The
Vehicle
Travel Trailers
A travel trailer tows from a ball hitch behind the tow vehicle rear axle on an A-frame tongue, which makes it the most sway-prone
Vehicle
Toy Hauler Fifth Wheels
A toy hauler fifth wheel carries a cargo garage behind the axles with a full-height rear ramp door. Load behind the axle centerlin
Vehicle
Park Model RVs
A park model is a towable unit up to roughly 400 square feet built with residential windows, roofing, and finishes, designed to si
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Questions about skylight repair and replacement
Frequently asked questions
How much does an RV skylight replacement cost?
A standard dome swap with a flange reseal runs $350 to $700. Adding a new inner garnish and correcting a soft ceiling panel pushes it to $1,200 or more. A custom fabricated dome on a discontinued shape, with substrate repair around the opening, runs toward $2,500. The published range is 1 to 10 hours at $210 per hour plus parts.
Why did my skylight turn yellow and crack?
Unshaded acrylic under Southern California UV has a limited service life, and in the low desert it is short. The material yellows first, then crazes into fine surface cracks that act as stress risers. After that the dome is one hailstone or one cold snap away from splitting. Tinted and thicker replacement domes hold up considerably better.
Can you get a dome for an older or discontinued RV?
Usually. Many common sizes are still available in aftermarket form. Where the original shape is out of production, which is routine on vintage and higher-end coaches, we fabricate a replacement to the measured flange, cutout, and rise rather than forcing a near-fit that would need shimming and would never seal properly.
Is skylight damage covered by insurance?
Sudden damage is generally covered under comprehensive, including hail, a falling limb, or a low clearance strike. UV yellowing and age crazing are treated as wear and are not covered. A single skylight is often below the deductible on its own, so it matters most when it is part of a larger storm claim that includes roof and cap damage.
Will a tinted dome make the bathroom cooler?
Meaningfully, yes. A clear dome over a shower pan acts like a small greenhouse on a desert afternoon. A smoked or insulated double-wall dome cuts the radiant gain noticeably, and an interior skylight shade cuts it further. Owners who store in Palm Springs or Indio usually notice the difference the first summer.
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Ready to move on skylight repair and replacement? Bring it to Yorba Linda.