Adding a fan to a preexisting roof ven

I installed the Vortex fan in my living area of my Premier 28RLPR. My vent is located between the kitchen and the couch.

To add power to the vent:

- I removed the microwave which exposed the wiring going to the stove vent hood.

-Then, I cut a small hole in the ceiling above the microwave. I made the hole inside the cabinet so it isn't visable when I put the microwave back in.

-Then, I removed the shroud around the vent.

-With a straightened coat hangar I was able to fish a wire from the vent, to the hole, and along side the interior of the microwave cabinet where I tapped into the wire going to the stove hood.

-Replaced the microwave and installed the fan.

The fan has constant power and can be turned on independantly of any lights.

usaclark wrote:
I also have a Premier Bullet 19 FBR, has any one had experience fishing wires through the ceiling? Would you have any tips on how to do this or what I might run into? If this were a house, I would have some idea how it is constructed but I am totally unfamiliar with the construction of a travel trailer. Also, the nearest light source I want to connect to is on the slide out. Ideas for making that connection?

TO answer your previous question, depending on what you have available, you may be able to splice into a hot wire that is not dependant on a switch such as a radio if that is near by. I wired mine into a light fixture as I wanted to be able to turn the fan and lights off by the switch when I walked out the door to prevent me from leaving it on accidently. The radio in most rigs is powered directly from the battery so generally that is an easy tap spot for something not wanting to be controlled by a switch.

If you remove the inside trim rig on your vent, you likely will be able to see in between the roof and the interior ceiling and get a pretty good idea what you are looking at. My RV has a crowned roof so it's thicker as far as how much room between the roof/ceiling in the center of the room. Other than some insulatino and some wiring running to different appliances (AC, Radio/TV from the Antenna mount)there wasn't much up there and plenty of room to fish things in the ceiling.

The struggle may be getting it up through the walls unless you have a nearby closet you can come up through the floor and stay hidden in until you fish it through the ceiling. Again, I avoided that by just tapping into the light fixture and living with the switch. If I want to run the fan and turn the lights out, I just have to do so on the individually lights. Not as big a deal to me as running a hot wire would have been.

Good luck which ever way your proceed.

I also have a Premier Bullet 19 FBR, has any one had experience fishing wires through the ceiling? Would you have any tips on how to do this or what I might run into? If this were a house, I would have some idea how it is constructed but I am totally unfamiliar with the construction of a travel trailer. Also, the nearest light source I want to connect to is on the slide out. Ideas for making that connection?

In my Pioneer, I added a Fantastic Fan to the second vent. After taking off the vent trim, I found that there was a power drop there already. Makes sense. FF was an option, and it was cheaper to use the same wiring harness in all units, rather than customizing with and without FF.

Remove your plastic vent trim and see if you don't have wiring available already. I bet you will have the wiring there.

Wayne

I want to thank all of you who have responded to my question regarding adding a fan to the main cabin vent. I am looking for a source of power that will allow the light to operate independently of the light. Thanks again for your assistance.

I don't know what model you have, but mine is a 19fbpr. I installed a Maxxair vent in the main area by removing the internal shroud from the vent and fishing a wire to the driver side exterior wall to splice into the wiring coming into the top of my slide that powers the light over the dinnette. The ceiling lights are all on a switch and not powered unless the switch is activated. Installation of the Maxxair was not difficult and requires no holes in the roof. The most difficult part was fishing the wiring. You will be pleased with the powered vent.

I replaced the oem pretend fan in the bathroom with a Fantastic Vent fan. Wow it moves lots of air! Since the 12v power is there already this is what I recommend. MaxxAir and others should be great also.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26768193/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm

I installed this MaxAir Ceiling Fan. It mounts directly on top of your existing vent without modifying the roof in any way. It does a good job of moving air like an attic fan in a home. It has 3speeds, thermostaticly controlled, and the air flow is reversable. I can leave the original vent open when raining or going down the road. Installation only took me a couple hours. I was able to tap onto a nearby light fixture for 12v power.

My old jayco had power at the bedroom vent because the ceiling light was near the vent opening. So that line was hot all the time and you turn the light on with a switch thats on the light. They put the fan in the bath because of odors obviously but it also keeps the noise away from the sleeping area. This wasn't cheap but I installed a fantastic vent remote control thenty five zillion speed or whatever vent in the bathroom and have the remote control by the bed. If you are set on putting a vent fan near the bed I would seriously consider one that is variable speed and quiet. It was one of my most painful up grades but well worth it. I run the bath fan and open a window near the bed. Its also VERY easy on the battery

There will likely not be any existing wiring available to connect to at the vent location. Having said that, it can be hooked up to the closest light fixture. I did that with my Cougar. Mine was wired into what was a 3 ceiling light fixture circuit. I did have a problem with the switch for the three light fixtures after a number of years of use in that it became overheated and I had to replace it. At that point I decided to run a wire through the ceiling space to one of my kitchen cabinets and into a different circuit since I did not feel comfortable with the chance that I could be overheating another switch.