Nighttime Ventilation questions for newbie..AC or Fan?

[yankeeslover]

this is my second year camping with trailer. we camp in the Adirondacks in NYS... can have warm days and cool nights.. I noticed last year with my new camper that even on nights when it was cool outside that it was always stuffy inside the camper at night.. we would have to close the windows and turn the AC on everynight.. just seems like a waste of electric on cooler nights... opening windows didn't seem to help... the AC unit also has a fan instead, but then the fan would blow all night long, whereas atleast the AC would turn on and off with the digital thermostat...
has anyone else been stuffy inside there TT? any ways around this besides wasting a ton of electric? I can understand hot nights, but not even the cool nights to have to use the AC..
I own a 2014 Primetime Tracer... thank you...

[mosseater]

I installed a Maxxair in the bedroom and a Fantastic Fan in the bath, both with rain covers. They really pull in the air. I figured a complete air change in the trailer every few minutes. And, you can run them when it's raining with the covers over top, though they reduce flow slightly.

One other point to keep in mind. Make sure to keep all the screens in the trailer clean. The fans can't get the air out if none can come in. It's amazing to see how much air they move by the amount of dirt that accumulates on the outside of the screens. We use a soft brush on a vacuum to clean them. Have to do them two or three times a season to keep the efficiency up.

[mlts22]

I live in central Texas where it gets fairly warm. In 100+ degree temperatures, I run the A/C until about 8:00. Then, I switch to, believe it or not, an O2Cool desk fan that takes two "D" batteries, and sits on my bedroom's nightstand. It is quiet, and moves enough air in the middle of the night to keep me cool enough so I don't have to have the loud A/C on at night. However, once 10:00 in the morning rolls around, it becomes A/C time one again.

In cooler climates, I'd just go for the fan mentioned above, which should push enough air to keep you comfortable. If it doesn't do the job, its big brother, an 8 D cell operated fan does the job well. I've used the larger one tent camping in Texas summers, and it kept me cool enough to sleep.

I prefer battery operated fans when RV-ing because they work regardless of what type of power I'm on, be it full electric, generator, or just 12 volt battery power. The 12 volt system can even be disconnected (likely because it is outside generator hours, and I don't want to damage the jars) and the fans are still operable.

The downside is changing batteries. You can use "D" cells, which for me will last about 7-10 days, using the batteries at night for ~8 hours. You can also use "AA" batteries with an adapter to make them work as "D" cells, as well as a battery charger to compensate for the ampere-hour loss.

Even when it is freezing out, and I have my furnace cranked up, I still like moving air, so I like keeping a fan running regardless.

[yankeeslover]

the dealer gets $150.00 just for installation..doesn't matter what fan I get... plus another $300.00 for most fans...seems kind of steep for me...my wife already shot it down..LOLOLOL.. she likes the heat... it only seems to keep me up at night... I might try to get a little desk fan and just put it next to me on the night stand as there is outlet right there... on the hot nights gonna need AC either way.. but on the cooler nights, I will open all the windows and vents and just plug in a fan next to my head... instead of using the FAN on the AC and burning that unit out... not sure what else to do..i guess the wife wins this battle

[DustyR]

camp-n-family wrote:
I have a Fantastic Fan in the bathroom that we leave on all the time. Works great to circulate air and cut down on condensation in the TT while making very little noise. I'll never buy another TT without one.

X-2

The best accessory to have on any RV IMHO.:C

[Bumpyroad]

yankeeslover wrote:
.. that's $500.00 that im not sure I want to shell out for a fan...im not very handy person, but it doesn't look to hard to install the unit over the old one esp if I caulk it correctly, its the wiring.. ?

if you install a maxxaire over an existing vent you do NOT caulk it at all. I suggest having somebody else do the install. like I said, use the L brackets to install the cover, do NOT drill into the roof of your RV.
bumpy

[yankeeslover]

ok, I just took a trip down to my local dealer... the max fan is around $350.00 plus $145.00 for dealer to install.. this is to install it in the non fan vent in the middle of the camper... that's $500.00 that im not sure I want to shell out for a fan...im not very handy person, but it doesn't look to hard to install the unit over the old one esp if I caulk it correctly, its the wiring.. im not comfortable with wiring... so I guess, my other option would be to just replace the unit in the bathroom instead? does the same install apply there? would having a fan bringing in cool air in the bathroom still circulate the whole camper????

[JesLookin]

You could do a little exploratory surgery on your vent without an exhaust fan. Simply remove the screws holding the shroud covering the hole in the ceiling, it comes off pretty easily. The shroud is easy to put back up. Then look around to see if there are already some wires running through the area. If there are wires there you simply tap into them to power the new vent fan. If there aren't any wires, I'd upgrade the fan in the bathroom. You would be surprised how much air on of the upgraded exhaust moves.

[GrandpaKip]

CampingWorld has a $39 install special going on.

[Bumpyroad]

yankeeslover wrote:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/turbo-maxx-deluxe-model-1200t-12v-ceiling-fan-vent-with-th...
I am assuming this one here will allow me to have open while its raining?

yep, that's the type I installed.
bumpy

[Bumpyroad]

yankeeslover wrote:
which one is easy for a non handy person to install?

I installed a maxxaire replacing the little whirr and buzz in the bathroom. removed blade from little fan, used 12 volt from there to hook up maxxaire. maxaire went over the existing vent/cover. nothing to remove. fan is out away and facing down so it can be left on in the rain. use the aluminum L brackets to mount fan/cover. control box mounts on inside bezel of opening.
bumpy

[the_happiestcam]

yankeeslover wrote:
which one is easy for a non handy person to install?

Since you already have shore power (or you wouldn't be able to run the A/C), why not just get a small electric fan and plug it in?

[RoyB]

yankeeslover - In my opinion the EXHAUST method is best for pulling in outside fresh air. My BATHROOM also has an exhaust fan installed in the ceiling. There is also a pretty large size hole between the bathroom door and the ceiling. My opening is about two inches between the top of the door and the ceiling

This will allow the exhaust fan to pull air for the trailer thru the opening above the bath room door.

All you do is crack open a couple of windows on the opposite side of the trailer and the exhaust fan will pull in outside air from these these two opened windows providing most of the trailer with fresh cool air.

My FANTASTIC FAN is installed in factory pre-drilled 14x14 inch hole in the bedroom ceiling put there by the manf for an optional second air conditioner. My fan is operated from 12VDC and picks up this voltage thru a couple of wires run thru the ceiling and taps into the 12VDC wiring for bedroom lights. My fantastic fan roof lid is cranked up and down from the inside and can be opened just a small amount to keep rain from coming in. Installing this yourself is not really hard but may overwhelm folks not used to doing things like this. Might be a good thing to have the RV folks to install it for you.

You can also purchase one of the twin window fan units from Lowes and adapt it to a trailer window in the bedroom and do the same thing putting this fan on exhaust mode (Blowing out) and allow fresh cool air to pulled in from opened windows on the other end of the trailer.

In the early days of air conditioning this was the way many home were setup with what called swamp coolers which was setup on the house roofs and pulled outside cool air into the unit and forced all of this cool air out a couple of windows on the other side of the house. They had water flowing over wooded slats to cool the incoming air. This was a closed water system that pooled in the bottom of the swamp cooler and pumped up thru the wooded slats vanes. Our house in Tempe AZ was setup this was back in the 60s and 70s.. Pulling or pushing cool outside fresh air has been around for years. You can still today purchase an RV SWAMP COOLER type roof mounted air conditioner that works like gang busters in the very dry climates with low humidity.

The early people of the great southwest would so the same thing by mounting a sheet type material down over their tent windows and keep them moist with water to help cool the air coming into the tents.

Hope this helps somewhat with your additional questions.

Roy Ken

[yankeeslover]

when you install these fans, do you have it set to exchaust or to bring in fresh air?

[yankeeslover]

engine, my bathroom has a normal vent fan..just vents out air form the bathroom.. doesn't bring air in.. and in the main living room section is a normal vent without a fan... I really hate to pay dealer to run wires and install...the turbo maxx is nice as it goes right over my vent, but then I still have to have dealer install the wires for it.. im not handy myself and will mess it up... the fans on the AC unit when not in AC is not too bad and they are vented right into the roof so even my bedroom has vent ontop with that fan, but problem is no Thermostat when in fan mode, only low and high. but it is nice having multiple fan vents thruout for the fan and the AC... im not sure yet what I want to do...ARGHHHHHHH