Botched fantastic fan installation. Need help! - Fiberglass RV
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Old 08-05-2014, 05:13 AM   #1
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Name: Courtney
Trailer: 1982 13ft Scamp purchased on May 2nd
Georgia
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Botched fantastic fan installation. Need help!

So.,,pretty sure I got taken to the cleaners, and now I need advice before I go in and talk to the guys in the service department at a local camper dealer/shop.

I garage my Scamp, and clearance is an issue. The only way we could fit it in was to remove the vent cover. It JUST fit like that.

I needed two things done by the shop. First, I asked that they remove the existing vent frame and cover the hole with a skylight whose height DID NOT EXCEED the original height of the the old vent frame. Done, no problem.

Second request was that they install a FF at the front of the Scamp, again, not to exceed the height of the old vent frame. Since that part of the roofline is lower than the part where the vent was located, they said it wouldn't be a problem.

Well....I've had a FF that came factory installed in a teardrop camper before, and the interior and exterior profile looked NOTHING like this one.

First some interior shots:

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Aside from the workmanship on this trim piece being shoddy, does this trim piece HAVE to be so thick? It's 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. The guy said something about the screws not being long enough? My previous FF was flush with the ceiling around it.

Now for the exterior. Guess what won't even come CLOSE to fitting in the garage?!?! The only way we could get it in was to let the air our of the tires, drop the tongue all the way to the concrete, and shove it in.

See below:

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Advice, please? Is there another model FF that is lower profile? What can be done to remedy this?

Thanks, y'all!


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Old 08-05-2014, 05:14 AM   #2
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Name: Courtney
Trailer: 1982 13ft Scamp purchased on May 2nd
Georgia
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Here's a better pic of the exterior profile:

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Old 08-05-2014, 07:12 AM   #3
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You would almost have to remove that entire exterior piece and cut it down by at least half, you need a lip for water run off. Maybe save 2" off. The inside looks like shoddy workmanship and as far as stews not long enough, do they not have other screws in their shop to use? In addition, that top can easily be removed with 4-5 screws, that may help getting it into the garage.
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Old 08-05-2014, 07:41 AM   #4
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Remove the wheels and place them on a dolly assembly that you can get at Harbor Freight or Northern Tools and roll the egg in the garage.

Vehicle Dollies - 2 Piece, 1500 Lb. Capacity
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Old 08-05-2014, 07:42 AM   #5
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If you have a local plastics fabricator, they could make you a new topper for the vent that doesn't have the raised dome in the center - probably just cut out the one you have and substitute a flat panel for it so you still have the wraparound on the edges. I did that on a van once for the same clearance issue.

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Old 08-05-2014, 07:59 AM   #6
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Those fans were designed for installation in stick-built trailers with 2" thick roofs. FanTastic has a free spacer that can be used in singles or doubles with thin, single layer roofs, such as FGRV's have. It looks like one or two of the spacers was installed on top to make it fit. Take it all apart, take out the top spacer(s) and reinstall.

Another option is to buy a set of 8" pop-up trailer wheels and tires and switch them out when parking in the garage.

BTW: Was this a local dealers work or that of a national chain who's initial's are CW?



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Old 08-05-2014, 08:39 AM   #7
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Name: Courtney
Trailer: 1982 13ft Scamp purchased on May 2nd
Georgia
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Botched fantastic fan installation. Need help!

Have entertained removing wheels for storage, but sounds like a huge hassle if I'm taking it in and out of the garage 3-4 times a month by myself.

I found this pics on the forum:
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Looks pretty flush on the inside.


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Old 08-05-2014, 08:40 AM   #8
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If anyone has a fan installed, would you mind posting interior and exterior pics?


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Old 08-05-2014, 08:48 AM   #9
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I recall some wanted the flush interior look by raising the entire unit outside, you on the other hand want it flush both in and out, which may not be possible with the fan.
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Old 08-05-2014, 09:11 AM   #10
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At this point, lower outside takes precedence!



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Old 08-05-2014, 09:36 AM   #11
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Your only option at this point is to un-mount the fan and take the cover off the top. now remount the fan inside the trailer going up through the the inside that puts the mounting flange on the inside. You will now have to seal this very well with butyl tape. I would also make a plastic flange on the outside to spread bolt/rivet load and seal that with butyl tape to make a rain curb I would either pop rivet or screw the assembly. this will allow you to space the fan down as low as you can stand it hanging down inside. then you will need to build a custom frame to trim it all out so it looks as good as it can be.

Your issue is your fan is now in a bad spot where as when it was in the back you could lift the tongue and pivot the trailer back lowering the fan dome until you get on the other side of the door jamb. With it on the front your only option is to lower the tongue to lower the fan dome. Get a swivel caster and weld a 2" ball on it and lock it into your coupler or get a floor jack and remove the jack pad and mount a ball in its place. You need it any way as it must take to people to lift that tongue when its on the ground.
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Old 08-05-2014, 09:43 AM   #12
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Steve--great ideas, thank you!

Upon further research it appears they chose the wrong product for the job. I needed the low profile option with a flat lid, and they installed the high profile option with a dome lid. Difference in height: 2.75".

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Old 08-05-2014, 09:46 AM   #13
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Hi Courtney,
The outside profile of your FF looks normal to me. If the "new" fan is located at a lower spot in the roof than the fan replaced with a skylight, and if all you had to do before was to remove the lid and it fit, something doesn't seem to make sense. Maybe I'm confused about what you are describing. As far as the inside work, the RV shop should be ashamed of the job they did. The FF's main body is essentially a "box" with an open top and open bottom, and a flange running around the outside. That flange sits on and is riveted through the roof. The trim piece inside should not need to be any more than 3/4-inch thick approximately. A good finish carpenter (or friend who does woodworking) should be able to fix that. And screws come in all different lengths! If you roll it, I would assume you have a wheel on the bottom of the tongue jack. Have you tried pushing the back end in so the trailer is halfway or 3/4 if the way into the garage, then lowering the front end to push it the rest of the way in?


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Old 08-05-2014, 09:48 AM   #14
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Maybe you can just switch the dome, that may be enough, the low profile base saves you 1", the top saves you 1.75"……..
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Old 08-05-2014, 09:56 AM   #15
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CPW, I thought about putting it in the garage backwards as you suggested. I'm just a long, lanky 130 lbs and have a hard time pushing and pulling it around. Our driveway is also at an incline into the garage.




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Old 08-05-2014, 11:11 AM   #16
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Old 08-05-2014, 01:09 PM   #17
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Courtney, I'm not 100% positive, but I think fantastic fan uses the same housing for both the low and high profile; they just turn them upside down during the assembly process. Obviously, the low profile extends slightly less above the roof.
If you have difficulty rolling the trailer (I understand, I used to store an Aliner in my garage, slightly uphill and a raised edge to keep rain from running in), you might want to consider a portable winch from Amazon. Put an I-bolt into the concrete near the back wall centered where you park the trailer. Hook to the I -bolt and hook the cable around the trailer's bumper, and press the button. The winch will pull the trailer slowly into the garage for you and all you have to do is make sure it doesn't contact anything going in. You can even use the I-bolt during extraction to ensure the trailer doesn't "get away" from you when it hits the downslope. Portable winches will run you somewhere between $100 and $200. PM me if you want more detailed information.


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Old 08-07-2014, 01:01 AM   #18
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One way or the other, even if it is the proper fan for the job, that is one jacked up install job. I would be livid.


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