Fantastic fan
 

The vent fan in our Hi-Lo was Ok, but it was rather small and noisy and didn't pull a great deal of air though the camper.
We'd seen the "Fantastic Fan” in a few of the campers that we looked at and we liked the air flow that they created and they were much quieter then ours, so we decided to install one.

It turned out to be a simple installation. I started by taking the inside trim off of the old vent fan and disconnecting the electrical wires.

Next I lowered the top of the Hi-Lo and used a ladder to get on the roof. I scraped the caulk off of the screws and from around the bottom of the vent. I started with a regular putty knife but it was thin and flimsy and didn't work well so I got a stiff bladed scraper and that worked very well.

There are 30 number 2 Robertson screws that have to be taken out, so after the third one I went and got my drill with a Robertson bit for the rest.

The remaining caulk still had a grip on the vent so I had to work at it a bit to pry the old vent off. The instructions cautioned me to do a good job of cleaning the area around the vent hole before installing the new vent, this was to prevent a leak.

The instructions suggested that the new vent be installed using 100% silicone caulk, so that’s what I used. As instructed I put a bead of caulk around the vent hole, installed the new vent, tightened the screws in a side to side pattern to pull the vent down evenly, and then caulked the outer edge of the vent and the tops of the screws.

On the inside I had to add a few inches of wire to get the leads to reach to the wires in the ceiling. The trim piece that came with it was 5" tall and the instructions said to cut the trim to the required height, which in my case was about an 1 1/4". The trim plastic was kind of soft and after cutting the corners with a hack saw, I was able to use a razor knife to score the sides and break off the excess trim.

It sounds like more work then it was and if I had to do another one I could do it faster, this one took me over 2 hours to do. The new fan works great and we're very pleased with it. If you ever get a notion to do one, just get an early start and take your time, its an easy job and it makes a big difference.

Neal

We had one in our 1705T and it worked very well. We did not have A/C but it did a nice job of moving the air and making things more comfortable. It is a great thing to have when boondocking and the A/C is not usable. We may consider putting one in our 2310H.

Looks great where did you get your fan and what did it cost? I wouldllike to put one in the front and rear.

Thanks

almckinney

almckinney -

I got mine at Camping World. They had several models to choose from. Some had bi-directional motors, some had thermostats, some had automatic vent covers, and one even had a rain detector that made it auto close. They also come with white or tinted vent covers.

I went with the most basic model. It cost around $90, it was all I needed. The fan runs in one direction, exhaust, and three speeds. The top model with all the bells and whistles was $300

I put mine in place of the vent in the bathroom, I only want to pull air out. I love it, it was money well spent, and now I wouldn't be without it. It's much quieter then the tiny one that was there, and it moves a lot of air too.

I think you ought to consider just getting one to start with. Most people feel that one is enough. Then if you still want two you can always add it.

Here's a link to the model we got, Create-a-Breeze Fan - Item - Camping World

Be sure to let us know what you end up with :)

Neal

Before adding the second fan you may want to check to see if the vent opening is prewired for a fan. It would be difficult to run wiring to the vent opening.

Exhaust Fan
 

Understanding the problem with the standard exhaust fan.I am looking at the VORTEX RV FAN ,amazon.com is offering for $49. A simple search on yahoo shows a couple of suppliers.It's a fan replacement using your org. frame(I prefer the the metal frame mounted on the roof ,I have metal roof, I've seen to many plastic frames crack and leak over time).Has anyone installed one of these? I'm not sure of the quaility of the product or how it's going to fit in the 1 1/4 inch thick roof of my 97 towlile. Any input would be helpful! Les

I'm curious too about the vortex. Anyone got this in their rig?

2ed max air
 

Al if you wish to install a max air or any other vent fan in the front vent, there's not wiring at the vent. But there is a sealing light about 1 foot from the vent. You can fish wiring from the sealing light to the vent opening very easly. With the light and the vent removed it is very easy to slip a bent close hanger from one to the other and drag extention wires from the light to the vent opening. Make sure you wire the fan before the light so the light does not have to be on to make the fan work.
Sam Shields

Nice pics. You mentioned that you used silicone. I was advised by my local service shop to use putty tape like this:

RV Vent Installation Kit for Sale

I wonder whether it makes a difference.

I actually noticed that the old one I took off had putty underneath it. Maybe it holds up better? The new one I put in came with a foam gasket and said to use the silicone with it. When in doubt... follow the instructions :)

We'll see how it does long term. But I sure have to say, I LOVE having this type of fan in the camper, it's made a huge difference.

Neal

sealing tape & caulking
 

There is many different products to seal & caulk the exterior of travel trailers.This is an area where you should try to find out the pro & cons of products from as many sources as possilble.Each person or service tech may have different products they prefer. I base the products I use on my 25 years in the heating,air conditioning&sheetmetal trade.The sealing tape I prefer between surfaces(vent curbs&roofing material) on trailers is BUTYL tape.I use it on exterior duct work on commerical buildings.Also, BUTYL tape has a higher melting point than PUTTY tape.The caulking I prefer is SIKAFLEX 1a /polyurethane , it holds up to the UV rays better than 100% silicone sealant and doesn't crack like a tripolymer caulking they sale for RV's.

Thanks for the tip. I'll make a note to use Sikaflex on my next job.

My next question would be where to get the stuff....found a thread over on the Airstream forum here.

caulking
 

The search for ( SIKAFLEX 1a ) Do a standard search on Yahoo
amazon.com sells this product
if you can't get locally
LES 97 21ft. towlite
2006 Toyota Tocoma V6 Prerunner

I have installed the Vortex in the bathroom and it works very good. The instruction are not good but it was easy to install, and fit good. You don't need to do anything on the outside. It does not move air like the fan-tastic but a lot better than the original.

On my unit 22T the front vent opening was already wired.

Good News, I purchased a vortex fan when I found out that Amazon.com (which had the best price) had only one left in stock. I will be installing it soon.

Les 97 21ft. towlite 06 Toyota Tocoma

Post how you like it I am very interested in one of these.


Harry

I appreciate the thread. I will be replacing the bathroom fan on my 22T and found the posts very helpful. Just got done ordering Sikaflex and Butyl for the installation. Thank you.