Vents and Vent Options

[Tom B.]

Would someone give me a quick rundown on the vent and fan options?

Turbo MaxxFan

Fan Tastic Fan

Plain hatch

Others?

Solar options

I am looking for something of known quality. I'll pay extra to avoid junk.

Solar preferred unless it's junk. 12 volt preferred over just vent hole.

I'd just like to buy the right fan and not have problems later. Mostly for cooling during hot Texas evenings. Opening is 9.25x9.25

Many thanks

Tom

[Roy in TO]

Others?

Endless Breeze 12V quiet, powerful and flexible in use.<a href="http://www.fantasticvent.com/products/endless_breeze/endless_breeze.html" target="_blank">
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[james kent]

Are you talking about a pop-up?
You'd need some type of flexable wiring for an electric fan.

[Raya]

Just a note on size: I have a ~9" x 9" vent in my Boler (the original Hehr vents in the Trilliums were also this size), and I started a thread about a month ago to see if there were any options for replacing that size except for the slightly cheesy looking Elixir ~9" vent. Beween my own searching and the ansers in th ethread, it seems that this is the only vent still made (RV type) in this size. (There are some marine hatches that are ~9" x 9" but they are a slighlly different animal - although they could be used.)

The point I'm winding up to is that you will most likely be enlarging the opening in your trailer and going for a 14" (or other sized) vent.

On the solar topic, there are marine vents that have solar fans, but they are usually max of ~ 4" x 4". They don't lift open or let light in, but just sit and whir to pass air in or out (your choice). Look for a "nicro solar vent" if you want to check one out.

Coming from a marine background, I was a bit surprised by the apparent flimsiness of all the vents, but then they are much cheaper (and often lighter) than the marine offerings. I did find one that looked to be of better quality - can't remember right now where it was, but it was a replacement vent for a Westfalia VW van. (maybe samba.com?)

Raya

[Loren G. Hedahl]

We installed a MaxFan in our Scamp. It fit the original opening. It was quite expensive, but a quiet deluxe unit with a multi-speed, reversible motor and thermostat.

Were I to do it again, I would leave the original vent installed and mounted a Wal-Mart 12 volt fan that can be found in their camping departments. The cost would be 80 to 90 percent less.

We travel with our cat. She likes traveling and presides over the Scamp, rarely showing any desire to get out. In warm weather we crack a window and leave the fan running on low speed to maintain a reasonable temperature in the Scamp for her.

[Raya]

That's what I've decided to do when I replace my vent: Replace vent with just a passive flap, and then have a separate fan. Sometimes I like a breeze blowing right on me; sometimes not. And sometimes I'd like the maximum air flow with no fan at all (and no fan blades in the opening).

I'll probably enlarge the opening to 14" x 14" although I haven't decided that for sure yet. As it turns out my current skylight only leaks when there is a torrential downpour, and then it's just right through a crack in the lid (i.e. it's not drizzling in through the mounting flange and going behind the Ensolite or anything like that). So for now I've taped the crack and will replace the vent in spring.

Raya

[Lance MacArthur]

When we went through the fan decision while remodeling our Boler, we decided on a Fantastic fan. It required widening the vent hole, making it a complex project. After cutting the hole, we made a hardwood gusset with sides to match the curvature of the roof. Then fiberlassed the whole unit onto the roof. This allowed a perfectly flat surface to mount the fan, which comes with a thermostat, is reversible, and has 4 speeds. It runs on 12volts.
After three years of use, it works as good as new. I seldom use the air conditioner we put in, as the fan is adequate to cool sufficiently. The reversible is good for sucking out cooking odors and heat from the stove when cooking inside.
A long tale to give fantastic fan a big thumbs up.

[Raya]

Lance,

I had wondered about the curvature of the roof if enlarging to 14" x 14". For my current ~9" x 9" the opening is small enough that not much of a curve develops. On boats, we usually have to build a wooden (or fiberglass) base in order to mount the flat hatches on the curved decks (although some boats have factory-molded flanges that do that).

Since I hadn't heard much about that on campers, I wondered if the typical plastic vents were flexible enough to conform to the curved shape I suppose it depends some on which camper and where you mount the vent. It's something I'll have to check out in more detail prior to doing the job (unless I put in a new ~9" x 9" vent).

Raya

[james kent]

I removed the original 9X9 metal roof vent. It had been damaged by the "previous owner" and was in pretty poor shape. I had no difficulty cutting a larger hole and attaching a 14X14 acrylic vent. The centre of the roof section on the Boler doesn't have a lot of curvature. At least not enough to make a difference. A good layer of butyl tape and we've had no problems with it in ten or twelve years.

[Donna D.]

A good layer of butyl tape and we've had no problems with it in ten or twelve years.

And, butyl doesn't have to be the same thickness all the way around. Two layers in one spot, three in another still seals very well.

[Raya]

Good to know - thanks!

This is what I was figuring, but it's sure nice to have confirmation beforehand. I suspect it's a combination of the roof not having that much curvature, plus it's being a bit flexible (in the grand scheme of things; not that it's super flexy).

Thanks.

Raya

[Kurt in BC]

I have the fantastic fan in my Boler. The plastic frame of them tends to flex to the curviture of the roof anyway. Works great blowing out air. Close all the windows except the door window and the breeze inside is incredible. IF you do a search on here, I posted my temperature results and the termperature dropped quiite a few degrees. USed ones go for less than half on Ebay.