It's Fan-Tastic

 

Newly installed Fantastic Fan

The lid on Rosie's old vent had torn away from the hinges and was just strapped down with some wire. It also didn't have a fan so the airflow would be somewhat limited. So I decided to replace it completely. Fortunately it was a standard 14"x14" vent so there are seemingly endless choices.

I really wanted to stay with the original look but the best I could figure out was a replacement metal vent with a small retrofit fan. I investigated fabricating something better but that would take more time and energy than I wanted to invest on a vent right now. So I gave up on maintaining the original look. I did some research online and chose a MaxxFan by MaxxAir. It had the best reviews and the mechanism was reported to be rock solid.

But...I checked the installation details and the MaxxFan requires a ceiling thickness of 2"+ inches and Rosie is just 1.5". I could have trimmed it with something nice looking but there is limited headroom and that extra 0.5" would be eating into it.

So I went with my 2nd choice, the Fantastic Fan. I thought about getting the remote control one with a thermostat and rain sensor (it closes automatically when it senses rain!) but it was $200 more and I wasn't really sure how I'd actually use the vent fan. The deal was sealed when I found that all the Fantastic Fan models are basically the same with some added parts, and they sell a retrofit kit that'll give the cheaper models all the same bells and whistles if I decide later that I need/want them. So I bought the 1250 model (which is 2nd from the bottom of the line - I wanted to be able to reverse the fan flow).

Getting the old one out was a piece of cake: I had to drill out about 20 rivets. The YouTube videos all show people struggling to get the old sealant off before they can install the new vent, but not me. The sealant was crumbling and I almost just sweep it away with a hand brush (did I say the trailer had water damage?)

One thing I'll point out: the Boles will not support any body weight on the roof (unlike many other RVs). That means you need to reach across to do all the work. It was fine, but if I had a "wide" Boles Aero model (7.5' wide vs 6.5' wide) I probably would have had a problem.




Putting the new one in was pretty easy as well although I took some extra precautions. First I used Sikaflex 221 to seal the vent down. I let that set up overnight (Sika cures really slowly). Then the next morning I laid down Sikaflex 715 "semi-self leveling sealant" to seal the screw holes and edges. In the videos they all show people using Dicor self-leveling sealant but I'd read that while it does self-level and sets up quickly it can go bad quickly as well. Reviewers all said the Sikaflex 715 is much better over the long haul. The downside is it doesn't fully self-level so the finish isn't as appealing. It's on the roof so I'll rarely see it.




I think it turned out okay and I'm one step closer to being "dried in" so I can reinstall the floor. Now I need to: 
  • finish replacing the window screens (they were galvanized metal and rusty after all the years). 
  • make sure the seams are all sealed
  • reinstall the exterior lighting (something I've been sorting out over the past couple months) so that all those holes are covered

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