OVRLND CAMPERS ONLY : Post your OVRLND Camper build here or a link to your build thread to inspire others!
- Thread starter aaaslayer
- Start date
dstefan
Well-known member
Anybody with the Maxxair fan having malfunctions? Evidently a lot do based on my research of my problems, though a cursory search can’t find reports on EP, so thought I’d post my experience in case your’s craps out.
Apparently the fan motor isn’t brushless and uses carbon fiber brushes which shed carbon dust leading to irritating squeaking noises and binding.
My 4.5 yr old fan started squealing in the middle of the night two years ago (I almost always run it all night on low to exhaust condensation). I managed to get rid of it several times by repeatedly reversing the fan direction while running it on high for 5 mins or so. It would run OK for 6 mos or so and I’d have to repeat.
Then it started flashing the green light on our last trip, stop working, and chirp repeatedly until I cut the power. I could reset it by cutting the power and then turning it on and running it from lowest setting to #3. Going to 4 or 5 would immediately start the green light of death and beeping again.
Sometimes the control board is a problem and apparently those malfunctions have to do with corrosion (for older ones) and/or seeing too much voltage when charging and maybe with Lithium batteries and unregulated voltage. Apparently older fans were limited to a max of 13.5v input and also didn’t have a waterproofing, so called conformal, coating on the control boards.
Maxxair CS was really helpful — diagnosed a bad fan motor based on the working up to speed 3 behavior. Told me that newer motors have been redesigned slightly to deal with the problems. Also said the control boards have had the conformal coating for quite awhile now and can handle up to 15v input.
They also said that running a new fan/fan motor on high for 24 hours seats the bearings and helps eliminate the squealing. So with a new rig/fan, this might be worth doing right away.
I just installed the new motor this morning and every thing works great. The control board (which I didn’t replace) looks like new despite once or twice getting some minor rain splashed in and exhausting a lot of moisture (we heat preprepared food and boil water inside under the fan).
The motor is actually fairly easy to remove and install from inside the camper — there’s tons of YouTube videos showing how. Also a bad board is pretty simple to replace too. I could tell my old fan motor was binding up — it was noticeably harder to spin by hand than the new one. I’m going to take it apart later to see if it’s recoverable for a backup.
So if you’re having problems or do in the future, the fix is pretty easy.
Apparently the fan motor isn’t brushless and uses carbon fiber brushes which shed carbon dust leading to irritating squeaking noises and binding.
My 4.5 yr old fan started squealing in the middle of the night two years ago (I almost always run it all night on low to exhaust condensation). I managed to get rid of it several times by repeatedly reversing the fan direction while running it on high for 5 mins or so. It would run OK for 6 mos or so and I’d have to repeat.
Then it started flashing the green light on our last trip, stop working, and chirp repeatedly until I cut the power. I could reset it by cutting the power and then turning it on and running it from lowest setting to #3. Going to 4 or 5 would immediately start the green light of death and beeping again.
Sometimes the control board is a problem and apparently those malfunctions have to do with corrosion (for older ones) and/or seeing too much voltage when charging and maybe with Lithium batteries and unregulated voltage. Apparently older fans were limited to a max of 13.5v input and also didn’t have a waterproofing, so called conformal, coating on the control boards.
Maxxair CS was really helpful — diagnosed a bad fan motor based on the working up to speed 3 behavior. Told me that newer motors have been redesigned slightly to deal with the problems. Also said the control boards have had the conformal coating for quite awhile now and can handle up to 15v input.
They also said that running a new fan/fan motor on high for 24 hours seats the bearings and helps eliminate the squealing. So with a new rig/fan, this might be worth doing right away.
I just installed the new motor this morning and every thing works great. The control board (which I didn’t replace) looks like new despite once or twice getting some minor rain splashed in and exhausting a lot of moisture (we heat preprepared food and boil water inside under the fan).
The motor is actually fairly easy to remove and install from inside the camper — there’s tons of YouTube videos showing how. Also a bad board is pretty simple to replace too. I could tell my old fan motor was binding up — it was noticeably harder to spin by hand than the new one. I’m going to take it apart later to see if it’s recoverable for a backup.
So if you’re having problems or do in the future, the fix is pretty easy.
montechie
Active member
Yep, mine got the chirp of death last summer (~2 years old), and won't reset. Just getting to debugging it now things are warming up again in MT, but I think it's the control board. There's some aftermarket replacements that come with a regulator. I was a little surprised since it is only being ran off of a portable power station, not some hack power setup created by me.
dstefan
Well-known member
Sounds all too familiar! I started out thinking control board too, but mine is fine. New fan motor has been running 20 hours on high so far on the old board just fine.
MaxxAir customer service was very helpful and knowledgeable and helped me realize the fan motor was my particular problem. Might be worth a call to them to see what they think.
Phessor
Active member
It was great meeting you, hope you had a safe trip.
Nice meeting you as well! If you are ever out this way to camp feel free to reach out.
The people over at OVRLND are awesome to deal with. I had them build me a shorter bed panel and mattress and they knocked it out quick. I was taking a customers truck over for an install and gave them about two weeks notice and they had it ready when I arrived. They also hooked me up with the parts to flip my drop down door over to open up. I also had a custom pad made to fit a bench for one of the kids to sleep on.
And here are a couple pictures of the truck we took over, just because it's cool.
And here are a couple pictures of the truck we took over, just because it's cool.
ChopperCopper
New member
Now I'm suffering from paralysis of analysis deciding if I should get the chubby or the regular.
Fergie
Expedition Leader
Ya know...the chubby version, as a Bivvy, would be great for folks that are 6' or less. You could sleep width wise, and still keep the camper as a low profile.
Actually, for a full size like my Tundra, it would be 75" wide.
ChopperCopper
New member
I'm 6' with a Gladiator. The bed is only 56" by 58", so very small. A chubby would provide precious few inches inside, I think, without being overly large for the tight trails of the east coast. I dunno. I can't decide.
I’m about to order a overland cubby soon, I’m not really a over lander, I have both a jet ski and sxs and like camp at lakes and areas to ride, but anyway, I want to insulate it after I get it, but I always want line most of it with some kind carpet that Velcro works on, so what’s best type carpet?
