Roughing it on vacation is always nice, but the primary purpose of an RV is to keep you feeling comfortable and at home no matter where in the world you are.
It’s difficult to be comfortable these days without a bit of climate control, and the key to keeping yourself comfortable in your RV, whether in sweltering heat or freezing cold, is often the vent fan.
The folks at DoItYourselfRV summarize how a powerful vent fan so effectively helps regulate temperatures:
In the summer, a vent fan will draw air through your rig, enhancing the effectiveness of your air conditioner. And if you like cold weather camping, a vent fan will reduce condensation that occurs due to single pane windows and poor air circulation.
One of the more popular options for vent fans is the Maxxair’s model with manual opening keypad control. User JohnB on the Sunline Club online forums explains the process of installing the model in his own RV, which tends to take the better part of six hours given the right know-how and dedication. For those few hours of work, you’ll enjoy many months and even years of comfort, so let’s get started.
A few images of the fan, pre-installation:
Begin by picking a spot in the vehicle for your RV roof fan, preferably one centrally located so the whole RV will benefit from the added circulation. You may choose to replace the existing roof vent due to its age or condition, as JohnB did, but the Maxxair fan will bolt onto the existing one as well. You simply have to drill a hole, three-eights of an inch in diameter, into the existing fan for the wires to feed through. Mark the spot on the edge of the existing vent before drilling, so the connector doesn’t hit and the wires aren’t low enough to get wet if water ever seeps through from above.
The fan comes with brackets to drill alongside the vent and attach to the RV’s roof.
You can see the wiring that controls the fan motor here, feeding through the hole in the vent’s side. You may need to add one more hole to the inner shroud to put the wires through. JohnB describes the best way to do so:
You have to drill a 3/8” hole in the plastic shroud. Heads up where you out this. Too low and the wires fight you big time. You need to hold the control unit up to the shroud, see where the wires come thru then mark a hole. And it needs to be high enough to not be dead on the bottom.
Finally, you plug the wires into the control module, but you’re left with the control panel hanging around by the wires.
Use common sense to figure out the best spot nearby to mount this panel, and marvel at the completed product. It should look something like this, with views from the inside and outside:
Now that all the hard work is over and done with, it’s time to enjoy the added comfort that your vent fan provides. Unfortunately, as DoItYourselfRV notes, many modern models of RVs cheap out on providing adequate ventilation, so it’s up to you to make up for it. Hopefully this guide will make the rewarding process that much more painless.
