Need help venting a truck cap

[SGTCap]

I'm hoping for some helpful ideas on venting my truck cap. I have a utility cap that I'm getting ready to install. I love the design and the cargo space but there is one huge glaring flaw. The entire thing is enclosed with no way to vent the South Carolina heat. I know it will reach 100+ degrees inside the cap in the summer and even if I don't sleep back there the heat after a few minutes of digging through my bed drawer system back there will be brutal.

Here's what I'm working with:





Originally I planned to cut a hole in the roof for a 12v RV fan/vent, but looking at it now there is no way I can install that and add a roof rack latter, unless I want the roof rack the sit a foot above the roof of the cap.
Here it is closed sitting on the roof. The plexiglass cover raises almost a foot.


My next idea was to cut the sides out of the side boxes and replace them with expanded metal. Opening the side boxes would then allow for a cross ventilation, but it would mean leaving the contents to unsecured while it is open. I doesn't seem real convenient to have to open the sides up every time I want to let the heat out and that area may end up so packed with gear that it wont help.

So now I'm kinda at a loss for ideas and hoping y'all can help. I'm think small 12v fans mounted somewhere with some means of weatherproofing them, but I really don't have any ideas of where or how at this point. Anyone have any brilliant ideas they care to share? Hell I'll settle for plain ol' ideas at this point.

Thanks
Cap

 

[jeeps4fun]

Main question would be, what do you plan to store/carry on a future roof rack that you won't have room for? Seems like lots if storage in the camper.

If you really want a rack, what about working "around" the top vent Vs over it? Would that leave room for what u wanna store up there?

 

[SGTCap]

I should have addressed that. I plan on adding a RTT which should take up most of the area above the cap. I can barely fit in the bed by myself (I'm 6'3 230lb) but there is no way my girlfriend can fit in there as well. FOr now, we're tent camping on the ground, but a RTT is definately in the plan.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I'd approach this by building an inner skin that wasn't aluminum, say using nice looking plywood. Leave a gap between the roof and the inner wall. I'd then put small louvers or vents so that air could circulate between the inner and outer walls. The crank up vent is fine but not super useful daily because it requires you not to be moving and only works once you've stopped and open it. You want to let the air move all the time, let thermodynamics work for you. When air heats up it naturally wants to rise, so let in relatively cooler air come in low and flow up.

The problem is finding suitable vents that wouldn't let water in, which when you're driving down the highway in a storm would be driven with significant force. I might look for passive vents and build a cover that seals them when it's raining, when you wouldn't need them anyway. Also you could choose to seal them on dusty roads or when it's not hot.

I figure having full time venting is nice anyway to prevent the inside from getting full of condensation when (if) someone sleeps inside, including a 4-legged fur kid.

 

[Martinjmpr]

You could try looking at Marine vents. We put a round marine-style vent on our teardrop and it's worked well, though I will be the first to admit the dry heat we get in the Rocky Mountains is nowhere near the heavy, humid heat you get down South.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-8130...71310&sr=8-1&keywords=solar+powered+roof+vent

Super easy to install (all you need is a 4 1/2" hole saw) and as a bonus, it has a solar fan. Now I know you're thinking "I'm putting an RTT on, so the solar panel won't work" - well, not neccessarily. Depending on where and how you mount the RTT, you could put this in an area that the tent doesn't cover. The cool thing about the solar vent is that you can leave it running when you're not in the vehicle so it will vent the interior of the vehicle. It also has a light, again, this is powered by a rechargeable AA battery that is charged up by the solar panel.

 

[Desert Dan]

Paint the top white. That will help a lot with the heat.

 

[keezer37]

Beyond the white paint and insulation if practical, you could look at waterproof axial fans. Small but quiet (isolate them from the metal with rubber washers), 12V. Check Grainger but always verify Grainger's prices. Don't know if these will move enough air. How many? Fans on one side, louvers on the other perhaps. Easily reversible fan direction with the proper plug to take advantage on wind direction. How much power consumption can you suffer?

I would guess you had better insulate or take whatever preps or you may have a rain forest in there.

And as always: McMaster-Carr for all your other hardware needs that may arise during the project.

 

[SGTCap]

These are some great ideas. That Sunforce solar fan lloks like the perfect combonation of ease of installation, price and power usage (essentially none). I'm going to order one and see how it does.

As y'all mentioned I was thinking some insulation might help too. I'm thinking some kind of foam board I can cut to fit between the supports in the roof pannel and maybe add som sort of fabric on the outside. I'll look at Lowes tonight to see what's available.

The white roof makes sense. I'm not going to due it for esthetic reasons (I'm a ************** like that sometimes), but it would be smart. If ever get to use this thing for extended trips I might. Right now it's a daily driver and sees occasional camping use, so I'll deal with the heat in other ways if possible.

 

[Martinjmpr]

As long as you're leaving it black, it's going to get hot back there, no way around that. A vent like ours will reduce that heat but won't eliminate it by a long shot. IOW the vent might take it from 110 degrees inside to 95 but that's still pretty brutal.

If you really need it cooled, you could try mounting a window-type AC unit and running a power inverter. If you only run the AC while you are driving, it wouldn't be too much of a drain, though that might be overkill since you don't plan on living or sleeping back there. Just a thought.

Here's another thought: Cut a hole for a large fan into one of the bulkheads between the inside storage compartment and the interior of the topper. The fan can be mounted in the tool storage area so it doesn't cut into the space inside the shell. Put louvers on the outside tool box door to vent hot air outside.

I think you're going to need a pretty poweful fan to cool that hot interior, so the AC might actually be a better bet.

 

[SGTCap]

More good ideas. i'll start with the Sunforce and go from there once I really get a feel for how it will be used. I'm still new to all this so I've go a lot of experience gaining to do.

 

[gsdog2]

SoCal Teardrops has a nice 12v 6-inch round fan in their website......I may use that for my cap.

 

[robert]

You could add a safari/tropical roof too- the double roof like Land Rover used on some of the series vehicles destined for hot climates. I'd add reflective insulation then foam board then screw some sort of liner such as thin plywood to the inner frame to cover it. The small solar boat vents actually work pretty well in a boat and should work even better in the small confines of the truck bed- I've actually seen several of them on Aussie trucks (of course most of the vehicles are also white). If you're not worried too much about dust, you could use louvers or scupper styled vents like on a boat.

One of the guys I met in Baja was living in the back of his Toyota in a homemade plywood camper (Cheers Lance!); it was a very simple affair with a simple vent near the cab on one side and a vent with a powered fan pushing air out on the opposite side near the tailgate. It wasn't a big fan but he swore it moved enough air through the camper to keep him comfortable enough. He had canvas flaps that Velcroed down while he was driving to help keep the dust out but it was still quite dusty.

 

[pappawheely]

I have a much larger solar powered attic fan but it does not run on batteries at night.

http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Powered-Colored-Application-70441/dp/B000MW60VO/ref=pd_sbs_auto_7

 

[jlocster]

I vented my roof like so...link. Very inexpensive, easy to install, waterproof, and effective.

Different vent options available here...link.

 

[trailscape]

Temp's are rising, thread revival time! Anyone out there have further visuals of how they might have gone about this?

I have my truck topper all fixed up for use complete with ARB fridge, but I realized after last summer I really needed improved ventilation. I just have your basic cab-high fiberglass topper with a 100w solar panel attached. I'm considering installing a Fan-Tastic vent fan with thermostat and possibly one of those two-way popup vents for mobile ventilation. The other crazy thought is that the air under the vehicle would be much cooler. Perhaps I could recirculate through the floor? This would likely require cutting into the bed.