Vent Covers or Not?

[dacostadesigns]

I just got done cleaning the roof vent covers from my rv and it was a chore. They seem to hold quite a bit of tree fallings and they eventually work their way into the opening and down to the screens. Are they necessary? I drove by the rv dealer today and the new rigs do not have them. Any thoughts?

[jfkmk]

Love the vent covers. Like others have mentioned, out vents are open 24/7/365 and we've never had water come in.

[Gene_Ginny]

path1 wrote:
... But the first time it rains and you forget to close your vent and get water on the inside I bet you wish you had them. ....

Saw that happen. Camped next to a nice family one time and each of us was out sightseeing when a sudden storm came up. When I got back to camp my Maxair kept the rain out of the open bathroom vent. My neighbor, without a vent cover, came back to a VERY soggy floor under his open vent.

[dacostadesigns]

As it storms outside my house right now, I think I may leave them on. I will be the first one to forget they're open before the rain. I do like the idea of raising them a little. That might also help to blow them out while traveling. I imagine not too much or they will go flying off with the tree junk.

[path1]

Your choice to cover or not and nobody else's. But the first time it rains and you forget to close your vent and get water on the inside I bet you wish you had them.

(Cleaning out junk) I put a big nut over the mounting bolts maybe 1/4 inch thick, it's used as a spacer. And then put on mounting bolts. So I can clean out the neighbors tree out of them without taking them off. (Hate those trees) When they were mounted flush I had to take them off to clean, now I just wiggle out debris with ruler or stick. Includes frig vent also.

[lanerd]

Wait! Are you talking about the vent covers that are part of the vents, or an aftermarket vent cover cover that you put on to keep the rain out when the vent cover is up? :?

Ron

[bluie5]

I have covers on both my vents and they are open all the time.

[scbwr]

I love the Maxxfan I just installed as it doesn't need a cover and will draw air out or blow cool air into the trailer. I prefer to have a cover on my bathroom vent....but I will be replace the stock fan with a Fantastic fan sometime before it goes into winter storage. If you have to keep your RV outside where it builds up heat, a vent cover is essential so you can leave vents open and reduce problems caused by heat and excessive humidity.

[WyoTraveler]

My Maxi vent covers have two snap pins. Pull the pins and the cover is hinged. We pretty much leave our vend open 24/7. Takes just a couple of minutes to clean.

[jchonroad]

We have had vent covers on all our RV's from our first pop-up to our current class A. I have found that if you fill the gap with the 1" X 1" air conditioner foam gasket - available at any appliance dealer, Wal-Mart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc - keeps most of the debris out.

[spoon059]

They aren't necessary at all. They are added aftermarket for those that want them. I have one on my trailer and love it. It allows me to vent out humid air in the shower and not worry about rain coming in. More importantly for me, it allows me to leave the bathroom vent open when my trailer is in storage. I've found that allowing the camper to air out naturally eliminates the mildew smell that you get in campers.

My camper is parked under a pine tree, so we have the needles that work everywhere. When I installed the cover on my new camper, I used a little foam insulation tape under the vent. That provides a tighter surface against the roof and so far has prevented any pine needles from getting underneath the cover. I've never had a problem with them going through the screen... just underneath the cover.

[brirene]

I've only got one on my br vent, which I leave open pretty much 24/7/365. Others have rain sensors, which I really don't use that often. So yeah, I like my vent cover.

[wildtoad]

Without them you will get far more tree stuff. If you desire to have the vents open during rain, while driving down the road, then they are a good thing.

[time2roll]

No vent covers on my two vents. No issues, no problems.

[oldmattb]

Our bath vent leaked a little without a cover.

Install with wingnuts for easy removal for cleaning.

Matt B