Fan-Tastic Fan Addition

am doing mine as I speak. had power close by. when you clean the roof, just be careful not to tear roof material. after being very careful when it was clean, I noticed right around the lower edge, it had been cut. I know I did not do it, but now wonder if the sealant will protect the seam. it is about 8 inches long. the tape will fit around hole, but not cover seam. have tried the fan, it is awesome

We went with a basic model with manual switches for In/Out and the 3 speeds. Our reasoning was:
* Both DW and I can easily reach the switches, so no need for a remote.
* We were also adding a Maxxair vent cover, so no need for a rain sensor.
* We'll do some dry camping, so don't want a thermostatically controlled model kicking in while we're not there.

Thank you all. Great advice! I haven't torn into it yet, but will do so when I get back from our trip. (I'll get in trouble if I tear it apart now.) There is a light nearby, but I think it's switched.

Any preference as to models? There are so many it's hard to know which to choose. Are the extra bells and whistles worth it?

remove inside trim from vent, see if you can get a clear shot to a light fixture. get a maxxaire type fan, not a fantastic, as you can get one where the fan motor and noise is moved out and away from the opening and you can leave the vent open in the rain. no need for rain sensor, etc. which can fail.
bumpy

From what I'm reading sounds like you have a vent there but its not a powered vent ????


so what you need to do is get the fantastic fan you want (I would recommend getting one with a remote control ).....and the setting for air in or air out .

make certain it has the rain sensor on it -----get some caulk which is self leveling and make sure you have assortment of screws .

then you should be able to pull off your in- side trim offf the current vent, and that may help you to see what's inside there .

pick a time when it's not going to rain---- pull off your current vent----run wires from a light( there should be a ceiling light somewhere in your bedroom) you should be able to tap into.

Clean up the roof where you pulled the old vent off make sure you get all the old caulk off things like that ----but do not use a real strong solvent on the roof basically a damp rag on a warm day works the best and make sure that if they include a gasket you put the gasket in .

Screw down evenly but not too tight make a good bead of the self leveling caulk around the edges and then up onto the vent plastic itself (the edge )and make sure you put a--dap on the screw holes also.

If you decide to do the project yourself & if you can locate a 12 volt source in the ceiling area to connect to, use what's called "T Tap" connectors. They are by far the easiest method of connecting to existing wiring.

Hi,

My Fleetwood Bounder had 12 volt power to all of the vents, even though only the bathroom had a small and noisy electric fan installed at the factory. I guess that Fleetwood expected their dealerships to be able to install these as a option and installed the wires at the factory on all of the Bounder lineup.

Have you removed the inside vent cover and looked for wires?

Do you have a light within about 3 feet? If you can remove that light fixture, and then using a coat hanger, run wire between them, it will work. You only need #16 gauge wire. If you do not have any wire sitting around the house, a small extension cord (kind you get at Dollar Tree to plug in a electric Christmas tree will work fine) and cut off both ends, use only the wire.

My 'attic' is all foam. I was trying to figure out how to run the wires through it before finding them factory installed. Once the vent cover is totally out of the hole, you can use a long drill bit to drill a hole through the styrofoam towards the light fixture. Yet you must also avoid all existing wires (cutting through them would be bad) by just using the drill bit as a knife.

For my automatic satellite dish, I installed the dish above my ducted air conditioner air duct. Then I ran all the wires through that air duct. It went all the way toward the TV set, and I drilled a hole above the TV into the space behind the TV, then ran the wires back there, to the receiver. On the roof, I drilled a hole into the air duct through the roof, and sealed it with rubber roof sealant, then ran the wires under the dish, protected from the rain. It all worked out pretty well.

My A/C ducts also lined up with the roof vents, so it probably would be possible to use those as a pulling chase for new wires too.

Also most Fleetwoods have a removable cover where the wall meets the roof. This is where I ran new wiring for the inverter, rear camera, ect. The Factory runs wires there for everything from the electrical panel to the microwave, speaker wires, 12 volt ceiling lights, ect.

The fantastic fans only draw about 3.3 amps on high fan speed, so you do not need 15 amp rated #14 wire. #16 should be used just because anything smaller would have a lot of resistance in it, with only 12 volts to start with, you do not want to run to small of wire.

Good luck on your project.

Fred.

Is there a 14 x 14 inch hole thru the roof already there... Hope so...

Otherwise follow the install directions to a TEE... Otherwise you may create a roof leak.

If it were me I would have the RV DEALER install it with guarantee - They have the proper tools to cut the "square and plum" 14 x 14 inch hole with...

Roy Ken

Not heavy gauge wire for 12V low amp DC. Is there an overhead light nearby? Does it have a negative and positive wire running to it - or is negative and switched positive?

If hot positive - not switched - then. Can you get from the light to the vent inside the attic space? Maybe use a coat hanger or some other kind of wire to fish around between the light and the vent.

Warbler, I've added a fan to an existing vent where there was no previous fan and no electricity. I just tapped into a nearby overhead light.