# Winding Auto Trail Roof Light shut



## Broom

Hi All

Can any of you new (6 months old) Auto Trail owners advise.

Do you screw the roof lights down until they click or are you stopping before it clicks.

I am having problems with mine, when the handle is in the position to bend and push up the roof light can still be pushed up, tighten it up and the handle has half a turn left before it can be put in the storage position.

Do I force it round which makes the click noise.

I can remember on here someone advising that an upgrade was available, wondering if I have dropped in that category

Best Regards
Broom


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## baldybazza

Hi Broom,
We,ve had the same problem on our Cheyenne 840D - in fact the front roof light mechanism gave up the ghost and refused to tighten down at all. To stop it lifting we had to use the trusty gaffer tape until our dealer replaced the whole winding mechanism.
However the whole system seems very flimsy - like you say, winding it down to just before the "click" leaves the roof light still lifting slightly. One more turn and you feel you're straining the system but this is what we do. If the winding mechanism goes wrong again we will ask for a different roof light (not wind up) to be fitted.
Best of luck
Barrie


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## Broom

Hi Barrie

Thanks for that it seems most things are''a bit flimsy'', have you heard of this so called upgrade.

Best Regards
Broom


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## andynkim

Hi all
The method I use is wind down until it stops and the catches have engaged and then wind back until the handle will clip in.

That tight enough for me.

I hate going back to the dealer so am gentle.

Cheers


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## lagold

*skylight roof fault*

I have a 2007 autotrial with the roof light wont lock ,I have contacted chelston (Alex) who informs me that there is a fault and a waiting time off 5 weeks for the parts .When shut i can still open mine.still a week to go for the 5 weeks and then the fun starts .


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## Broom

Hi Andy & Kim

Thanks for that.

Hi Lagold

Thanks, I am told they have changed the roof lights from 2007 to 2008, don't know what though.

Best Regards
Broom


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## lufc

My Autotrail Cheyenne 632 (2007) has a similar problem, it can be pushed up from inside when the handle has been wound tight shut. The ends of the closing brackets do not clip into the brackets on the roof light.


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## Broom

Hi Lufc

Thats what one of mine does, have been going to ask you for a while, which part of the country are you from, (looking at your name)

Best Regards
Broom


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## boggy

Beware of the habitation roof lights fitted on 2008 AutoTrail Cheyenne 840D there are design/manufacturing problems with the winding mechanism gearbox which are prone to failure.

Here is my story……..the winding mechanism stuck with roof light open about 2/3 inches. Sods law the wind was picking up and it started to rain could not budge to close. 
As if by magic there was an almighty bang and the roof light opened fully flat onto the roof of the motor home we were exposed to the elements, rain started to come in……..panic stations. 
Then another gust of wind and the roof light was back in place, somewhat shattered on the fixing screws. 

Lucky for us that we were having a satellite system fitted at Van Bitz that very morning, the boys did an excellent job of securing the now completely broken roof light. 

Reported the problem to dealer the very next day, they confirmed they have seen this issue and would order parts, that was 2 weeks ago. Dealer can’t give an ETA for replacement as these are on back order at AutoTrail. 

Got fed up today, we had a slight leek yesterday and phoned AutoTrail to chase replacement. Spoke to a nice chap in parts and explained that I’m not happy as I’m now sitting with a bowl on my lap collecting water in a 4 month old 60K motor home and the wife is taking pictures of me for the next publication of MMM

He traced the order from the dealer and confirmed delivery of a complete new roof with blinds will be at the dealers in the next 3 days 

Waiting in anticipation?


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## Broom

Hi Boggy

Not good is it, I spoke to Auto Trail about it yesterday.

Best Regards
Broom


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## averhamdave

This is interesting. My roof light winds to OK but I don't hear a click. We just wind until you can't push it open or move it upwards with your hand. We then stop winding but do not "park" the stupid little handle as I can never fathom how to get it out of its recess.

Problem occurs when you try to open it, as either one or both of the catches sticks and there is much pushing etc to get it to release, which it usually does with an un-nerving bang.

I hadn't realised that there was a general problem with these rooflights so I think this thread will prompt me to take it in for repair.

I wish it was fitted with a Heiki. In my opinion all the Seitz products within my van are poor - front and side screens, blinds and rooflights.


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## Broom

Hi Dave

On a slight off topic, does your near side sliding window leak when you spray water on it from the back of the Motorhome.

Best Regards
Broom


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## averhamdave

Hi Broom, no because sorry, the Apache 700 doesn't have a sliding window of the type the Cheyennes do.

I've booked my m/home into Camper UK today for the rooflight to have a new gearbox fitted.

Spoke to Autotrail first and they confirmed that they had had dozens of motorhomes with faulty rooflights. They were currently waiting a new batch of gearboxes and handles being delivered as they had run out.

Their strong advice was to get it looked at asap - there is a strong possibility of it "flying open or even being torn off" whilst driving. Camper UK also confirmed that they were well aware of the problem and had repaired / replaced quite a number.


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## Broom

Hi Dave

Thanks for that.

Best Regards
Broom


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## waspes

Hi Broom, my window leaks if you spray water on it, and it is draughty.
I am taking it back for a fix in a couple of weeks.

Peter.


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## andynkim

Hi Broom
I have the sliding window on the nearside on my 660 but I have to say I have not had any leaks.

I have wondered why the window on the offside is push open and the one on the nearside is sliding!!! Any idears...

Cheers


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## Broom

Hi Andynkim

It's because of the habitation door it would hit an open window if it was the lift up type.

Hi Peter

I think they all leak from what I have seen and what the dealers are telling me.

Best Regards
Broom


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## andynkim

Broom said:


> Hi Andynkim
> 
> It's because of the habitation door it would hit an open window if it was the lift up type.
> 
> Hi Peter
> 
> I think they all leak from what I have seen and what the dealers are telling me.
> 
> Best Regards
> Broom


Cheers that explains that then


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## bigbazza

*Cheyenne*

Sorry guys I know it's off topic but what do all the Cheyenne types mean
i.e. 696, 840D, 660SE, 632SE etc etc?
I realise they're model types but do the number etc have an obvious meaning?
Barry :?


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## Broom

Hi Barry

To get the full info you could go on the Auto Trail web site it shows the different models, in short the higher the number the bigger the Motorhome.

Best Regards
Broom


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## seamusog

Hi everyone,
we have just returned from Brownhills North East today,after having a skylight replaced on our Cheyenne840S.Yes,same problem,A/T replaced the full skylight but have told Brownhills that in future they would only replace the gear mechanism.I was told it was a "design fault"
The original skylight winder mechanism was flimsy and so is the one we had fitted today,we had to stop several times on the way home to tighten the skylight a little bit more as it kept clattering about.Now the skylight seems to be firmly in place but the winder is not aligned to its recess.I just know that we are going to have the same problems with the new skylight.
regards,seamus.


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## Broom

Hi Seamus

Auto Trail told me to force the handle round until you can put it into the store position, its on a type of rachet and you hear it clicking.

Be gentle

Best regards
Broom


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## seamusog

Thanks Broom,
its got about half a turn to go before I can recess it so I will get in about it today.Its a crappy set up anyway,no poblems with my previous 840 which was a 57 reg,but I have no confidence in this one,I feel its going to disintegrate in my hands as I apply pressure.Every time I buy a new Auto-Trail the cost cutting and drop in quality are glaringly obvious.thanks once again,regards,seamus.


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## scept1c

Hi All, I purchased a new Auto-Trail Cheyenne 696G about 5 weeks ago and at the time had a Cobra alarm fitted. The alarm can be triggered if there is a sudden air pressure change inside the van.

I first noticed a problem with the main skylight one windy night about 3 weeks ago when the alarm went off at 3am. I found that when the skylight was fully closed it could be pushed up slightly and did not lock in the same way as the other 2 smaller skylights. I also noticed that the winding handle did not have a latch button and I don't know if this is normal. The 2 smaller skylight handles have latch buttons.

I had been in discussion with the dealer about a couple of other minor issues and intended to raise a query about the skylight next week.

8O Disaster, last night it was raining and a little windy when the alarm went off again which in some respects was fortunate because I discovered that the skylight was open to the elements. I was able to take action before any water damage occurred inside the van. I got my house ladder out and in darkness, wind and pouring rain discovered that the skylight had parted from the opening mechanism. I did a temporary repair using a couple of bricks to keep the skylight closed to stop the rain coming in.

This morning in daylight I was able to more clearly see the extent of the problem. The skylight glass/perspex had broken away from the riser arms and it is also broken along the hinge side. I am quite sure that a gust of wind caught it because it was not securely locked down. If I had known that it should have been securely locked I would have taken immediate steps to get it repaired as soon as possible.

Does anyone know if there is an upgrade and if so do you have any details so that I can ensure that the best possible repair is carried out.


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## zulurita

We also noticed, when our Hekki was replaced during our habitation service mid Nov, that the new one doesn't have that latch for the handle to click into! 

We assumed that the design had changed. We did find that we could still lift the hekki window by pushing from inside so had to wind the handle some more. We do hope that we aren't going to have more problems from this new unit!! Will have to monitor it carefully. So far not seen any rain leaking via this Hekki. Mind you I haven't checked today after that horrendous rain and wind last night.

We had the same problem with a Sigma alarm with wind via the Hekki. Not in this motorhome but the previous one and had that adjusted by Brownhills but to no avail!! As we had always had a Vanbitz Strikeback alarm before, we had the Sigma one disabled and had another Strikeback alarm fitted. No problems now with alarm going off at night.


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## scept1c

Thanks for your input Rita.

I hope that it is not normal that the skylight is not securely locked down. Where I live the wind yesterday was not particularly strong and should not have caused any damage. I live by the sea and we quite often experience much stronger winds. My previous Cheyenne 634 came unscathed through far worse conditions.

At first I thought that the problem may have been caused by my winding the lever an extra click and putting the unit under too much tension. After reading some of the posts in this forum it appears that this is not the case.

If the lack of secure locking is the norm, I would consider it to be not fit for purpose. I find it difficult to believe that Auto-Trail would release something of this nature.

I'm glad that this happened while the van was parked at home and not when abroad. I had been thinking about the purchase of a telescopic ladder in case of any roof problems, this event may be the deciding factor.


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## Annsman

Our roof light has become loose when it should be fastened and we are in Spain. At the moment it is gaffer taped down. I have contacted the dealers, Spinney, who are going to send me out a new "gear box", which I can then swap. It is apparently a reasonably simple job, so I'm told! I rang Autotrail to ask if I was having problems if I could take it to a Trigano dealer in France when we pass through in March. I was told that none of the other Trigano group use these wind up Remis lights and only have manual Heki rooflights fitted, as they don't rate them that much!

If it continues to fail with the new gearing on it I'm thinking of asking Spinneys to fit a manual Heki instead of the wind up job, because it's not "fit for purpose", What's the chances of me getting it for nowt?


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## scept1c

My rooflight has been repaired and I am reasonably happy. It now locks securely however I have a some reservations about this type of unit.
It is not as robust as the rooflight fitted to my previous Auto-Trail and I would be very wary about having it raised even in the slightest breeze for fear of it breaking again. I would certainly not leave it slightly raised at night. There are 3 of these Remis rooflights on my van but I think the main one is most vulnerable due to its size.
If it should break again after the extended warranty, I would seriously consider having a different type fitted.
If faults of this type become more common as more new vans come on the road, would insurance companies be less likely to pay out if a Remis rooflight was damaged due to not being properly closed?
It can't be very good for Remis or Auto-Trail's reputation. :roll:


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## Broom

Hi All

These units are of concern, it does worry me when you hear of all the problems and now Motorhome is coming out of the first years full warranty.

Annsman

Please keep us updated

Best Regards
Broom


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## Broom

Hi All

After talking to a fellow MHF member on site at C&CC Keswick last week he advised me to check the retainers on my roof lights, today I have and found the one in the bedroom broken and unable to shut properly, now tapped shut, The one in the toilet the retaining catches are not locating correctly.

Will get on to Auto Trail tomorrow, however the Motorhome is now 13 months old and out of the Auto Trail warranty.

Best Regards
Broom


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## James A. Simpson

My motorhome roof light will not come down far enough as the winder comes near the bottom it starts to ratchet or as it were miss the cogs


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## dghr272

James A. Simpson said:


> My motorhome roof light will not come down far enough as the winder comes near the bottom it starts to ratchet or as it were miss the cogs


Gearbox probably looks like this if it's a Vario 1, I was able to refurbish this one and reset the cables.
New parts are available if required from leisureshopdirect.

Welcome to MHF.

Terry


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