Ventilation during rain

[bobblangley]

My cargo trailer has what is known as a side vent -- one that is always open but well protected from rain by its outside design. It seems to me that one could install a few of these and construct a cover on the inside to prevent air from entering the trailer when it wasn't needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMDNfYjkXb4

[Rzrbrn]

This seems like a real possibility, I am going to research it a bit more. My concern is finding a vent that has a screen and possibly a gasket and door. I see some small vents that may do the trick. Thank you so much Robert.

[bobblangley]

Please let all of us know what you end up doing and how well it works out for you.

[Rzrbrn]

Will do.

[wbullivant]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

How do you keep your RV ventilated during period of heavy rain in hot weather? I have MaxxAir Window Maxx air vents on my Casita but they are no longer made, and I cannot find any knockoff or substitute for this type of product. I now own a BigFoot and it has the same type of sliding windows.

After having this problem on previous RV's, when building a van camper I installed two Maxxair ceiling fans, with one set for intake, the other for exhaust. If you have two 14" openings on your roof this solution works beautifully.

[Rzrbrn]

Bill, 2 fans makes a lot of sense. I will see how this all comes together.

Thanks to everyone who has replied.

[War Eagle]

About a year ago, I contacted the company that used to make the Window Maxx and shared with them the resurgence in sales of small campers to retiring baby boomers and suggested they might want to reconsider producing the Window Maxx again. They thanked me for the information and said they would monitor future demand (not sure how they were going to assess demand on a product no longer for sale, but I viewed it as a positive response). It may come back on the market if enough people keep asking for it. As for foul weather ventilation in our 21', I fabricated a screen to slip up into our cook top vent to prop it open for use as air intake. Works well for us.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Laura

This is a Window Maxx. Works very well.

Trying to upload pic, does not seem to be working.

Looking at that photo, if you have some fabrication skills you could take a plastic louvered vent from a marine supply source and create a surround for it. The "Sea Dog" line of products has some louvered vents that would be suitable and durable for using outside. But I would suggest just taking it to someone to do the forming. Make the surround so that it can be used on the left or the right side then all you need to do is reverse the direction you install the second louvered vent you secure into the surround. That way you will have a pair of them.


If you make a form for the surround you could get a local plastics supplier who does custom fabrication to slump form a thermoplastic material over the form. Or if you are a clever type of person you could DIY form it. There are plenty of youtube videos showing how to form plastics in your home oven.

[Rzrbrn]

Dale, That is a brilliant idea and one worth doing even if not used for ventilation.

[Rzrbrn]

KC, I contacted a plastics forming company (over the internet) with a similar idea, but they have yet to respond. Acrylic does not hold up well to UV rays, but I have painted most of the outside plastic on the Casita and the pain seems to protect such things to a degree.

[stude]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

How do you keep your RV ventilated during period of heavy rain in hot weather? I have MaxxAir Window Maxx air vents on my Casita but they are no longer made, and I cannot find any knockoff or substitute for this type of product. I now own a BigFoot and it has the same type of sliding windows.

hen in Camping world I saw MAXX Air Vents with fans for sale??
Stude

[Gerry]

Big trouble in my 91Casita FD, if I open any window, the water just runs down the side of the camper in in the open window. I will have to put on some rain gutters. Window under awning is a real good idea but just for one night "stops" I am not putting out the awning so all I can do is open the bathroom window and use my Maxxi-fan with built in rain sheild.

[redbarron55]

My door has a loose enough fit at the bottom to vent the trailer with the fan running.

[The Minimalist]

Originally Posted by Gerry

Big trouble in my 91Casita FD, if I open any window, the water just runs down the side of the camper in in the open window. I will have to put on some rain gutters. Window under awning is a real good idea but just for one night "stops" I am not putting out the awning so all I can do is open the bathroom window and use my Maxxi-fan with built in rain sheild.

I had the same problem on my Little Joe. The sides flare out a bit from top to bottom, so rain running down the sides could run into the window. I installed common vinyl J-channel, as used with vinyl siding, above the windows to deflect the rain around the window. I attached it with 3M heavy duty double sided tape. I also installed J-channel above the rear entry. If you go with this solution, you may want to extend the channel a couple of inches on each side of the window


Here is a picture of the installation. You will notice that I have also installed the now unavailable Window Maxx, which we use in more violent weather.

[Mary F]

Originally Posted by stude

hen in Camping world I saw MAXX Air Vents with fans for sale??
Stude

Your missing word is WINDOW. What folks are talking about are simple, louvered covers that fit over the end of a window. No fan. They keep out the rain if/when the window is open.

We put one on our 1999 Casita and I would LOVE to install one on our 2015 Escape (wch has sliding windows, same as the Casita).

[Jon in AZ]

I wonder... how common are sliders in new conventional RV’s? I don’t see many, which could explain why Maxx Air discontinued the window vent.

[Gerry]

J-channel sure would be cheaper then the EZE RV rain gutter system I priced on line and you had to by 50 ft.
Thanks
I always try to think outside the box and somehow this escaped me.

[Rzrbrn]

Walking through a RV dealership it looks like there are a lot of RV's with slider windows. Although the frameless window is becoming more prevalent. I would have preferred it for looks and air, but the ones that I have seen don't seem to have a screen. Hopefully I am wrong about these units not having a screen, not sure why they don't.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

KC, I contacted a plastics forming company (over the internet) with a similar idea, but they have yet to respond. Acrylic does not hold up well to UV rays, but I have painted most of the outside plastic on the Casita and the pain seems to protect such things to a degree.

Fortunately I myself would not have to contact someone over the internet. There are several companies in Seattle that do custom plastic work.



No plastics last forever when exposed to UV rays but plexiglass windows have been used for many years. Eventually they will get some crazing and if you don't design them correctly they will be prone to cracking. So anyone who creates a design should do at least a rudimentary self education on the subject of how to design a plastic part to prevent cracking.



Try this company, you do need to send them measured drawings so they can do a real estimate based on materials rather than only a captured photo from the internet. They do a lot of custom fabrication work for boats as they are in the area where there are thousands of boats as well as a very active boat building industrty. Clear Cut Plastics Custom Fabrication

[Rzrbrn]

Thanks KC, but before I seriously pursue hacking a customer vent cover made for a side window I am going to try using the two roof vents (one IN and the other OUT) and make a small screen to go inside the stove vent. If these are not sufficient I have a company that can do the plastic forming.