Hi Milt,
Sounds very nice. Like the idea of looking at the stars at night.
One thing that comes to mind is that the roof has curvature, and if the sunroof is not made to match the roof curvature that could be a problem. If the roof is pretty flat in the area where you want to put the sunroof, it may be OK, but something to look into.
I don’t think that the large hole in the roof would be a problem as long as you don’t have to cut any of the roof ribs.
I think you will want to have something reflective (like Rflectex) to put in the window on sunny days as the solar gain will be quite large for this large sunroof.
I think you will need more than a 4 inch vent in the floor to get good flow through the van. You might also want to consider putting a fan in the floor vent to get more flow going. We find our maxfan (about 12 inches in diameter) with open windows to be very helpful in keeping the van from becoming an oven on hot days.
Please let us know how this works out — it has some really appealing features.
i’m in the process of converting a 144″ sprinter 4×4 cargo van.
i’m thinking of using a 15″x30″ sun roof such (link at bottom) rather than the usual 14×14 vent. the location would be over our bed (which is raised 36″ above the floor, installed crosswise). the benefit of a sunroof would be the ability to sit or stand in the bed with a 360 degree view outside, or to lie in bed and see stars at night. the sunroof glass is supposed to be removable. i also think it would be more stealth, one of my goals, as well as slightly more aerodynamic, another goal. it would also provide easy access to the roof for storage and maintenance.
there seem to be 2 negatives. one is preventing bugs from entering when venting. my thought is some porous foam would work or else some fiberglass screen and velcro.
the other issue is venting during rain. my thought is create something similar to a tent fly above the sunroof using some homemade roof rack crossbars.
i am also considering your use of a 4″ square floor vent since we are not planning to add any windows and the van is a stock cargo van.
i’ve never heard of this done before, and of course am concerned about cutting a 15×30 hole in the roof. all your critical comments are therefore welcome.
Hi Milt,
Sounds very nice. Like the idea of looking at the stars at night.
One thing that comes to mind is that the roof has curvature, and if the sunroof is not made to match the roof curvature that could be a problem. If the roof is pretty flat in the area where you want to put the sunroof, it may be OK, but something to look into.
I don’t think that the large hole in the roof would be a problem as long as you don’t have to cut any of the roof ribs.
I think you will want to have something reflective (like Rflectex) to put in the window on sunny days as the solar gain will be quite large for this large sunroof.
I think you will need more than a 4 inch vent in the floor to get good flow through the van. You might also want to consider putting a fan in the floor vent to get more flow going. We find our maxfan (about 12 inches in diameter) with open windows to be very helpful in keeping the van from becoming an oven on hot days.
Please let us know how this works out — it has some really appealing features.
Gary
hello,
i’m in the process of converting a 144″ sprinter 4×4 cargo van.
i’m thinking of using a 15″x30″ sun roof such (link at bottom) rather than the usual 14×14 vent. the location would be over our bed (which is raised 36″ above the floor, installed crosswise). the benefit of a sunroof would be the ability to sit or stand in the bed with a 360 degree view outside, or to lie in bed and see stars at night. the sunroof glass is supposed to be removable. i also think it would be more stealth, one of my goals, as well as slightly more aerodynamic, another goal. it would also provide easy access to the roof for storage and maintenance.
there seem to be 2 negatives. one is preventing bugs from entering when venting. my thought is some porous foam would work or else some fiberglass screen and velcro.
the other issue is venting during rain. my thought is create something similar to a tent fly above the sunroof using some homemade roof rack crossbars.
i am also considering your use of a 4″ square floor vent since we are not planning to add any windows and the van is a stock cargo van.
i’ve never heard of this done before, and of course am concerned about cutting a 15×30 hole in the roof. all your critical comments are therefore welcome.
thanks,
milt
links:
https://www.amazon.com/C-R-LAURENCE-AP1530B5H-AutoPort-Universal/dp/B00QL4VIPA/
http://ortontransit.info/heat1.php