Sunroof fan... Brainstorming

[Lykos]

I have a 03 suburban Z71 with factory sunroof. That giant hole looks like a great place for an exhaust fan to use while parked and sleeping.
I thinking something mounted in a cover that uses magnets to hold it to the roof maybe? Something that would keep rain out? I don't know...

I have a suitable 12v fan so I'm good there.
I'm throwing this out here for ideas and to see if anyone has done such a thing.
I have tickets to a music festival this summer and would love to have something built by then.

 

[lowrider_rt2000]

I have a 03 suburban Z71 with factory sunroof. That giant hole looks like a great place for an exhaust fan to use while parked and sleeping.
I thinking something mounted in a cover that uses magnets to hold it to the roof maybe? Something that would keep rain out? I don't know...

I have a suitable 12v fan so I'm good there.
I'm throwing this out here for ideas and to see if anyone has done such a thing.
I have tickets to a music festival this summer and would love to have something built by then.

Maybe something like a Max Air for a camper/Rv? I'm not sure how big the sunroof opening is. Worth checking?

Sent from my WJ

 

[rayra]

I'd just make a screen insert that fits in the open sunroof. Law of Thermodynamics takes care of the rest, if you are wanting to vent heat. It's a big opening. There's about 140cu' inside a Suburban. So you can use that for fan flow calculations. I have a topic in this subforum about a couple inserts I made for my rear windows. Mk1 was a large 12"? computer case fan, moved a good bit of air. MkII used a row of (4) 120mm computer fans - native 12VDC! - and a rheostat to dial them up / down and a switch, run to a cig lighter plug that I could jack in the back of the center console. IIRC their flow was the entire volume of the vehicle in a very short time. Combined with an open sunroof, they'd keep the vehicle interior same as the exterior, while parked or camped.

I haven't taken the time to figure out how to find all my old topics yet, since the board software change. 'My started topics' doesn't seem to go back further than the current month.

 

[Lykos]

What material is that? I have a 12v fan designed for a Peterbilt sleeper that worked great in that application, that I'll be using. It cycled the air once every five minutes with little amperage draw. But still, I want to add that second battery to run nighttime accessories just in case.
There's a lot you've done to your burb that I have in mind for mine. Great minds right?

 

[jgaz]

I haven't taken the time to figure out how to find all my old topics yet, since the board software change. 'My started topics' doesn't seem to go back further than the current month.

I certainly hope that there is a way to do this ^^^. If you figure this out please post how you did it.
I’m sure your efforts in “rescuing” your many detailed threads from the jack wads at photo bucket were appreciated by many. There is a lot of good info on this forum. It would be a shame if it gets buried due to the size of the data base.

 

[rayra]

What material is that? I have a 12v fan designed for a Peterbilt sleeper that worked great in that application, that I'll be using. It cycled the air once every five minutes with little amperage draw. But still, I want to add that second battery to run nighttime accessories just in case.
There's a lot you've done to your burb that I have in mind for mine. Great minds right?

It's just pressboard, painted. I used 1/4" IIRC for the insert with the large fan. The MkII quad-fan setup I sandwiched some 1/8" pieces using wood glue, was using scrap material I had on hand. 2 layers of 1/8 is just a bit thicker than the glass and a good wedge fit into the doorframe gasket. And then I glued two skirt / flaps on the bottom edge to act as a flange socketing over the top of the window glass.

IT wouldn't be hard to use a similar method to make an insert that could be poked out the top of the sunroof and dropped in place from above, with either fan built in or just a sheet of window screen material.

One of the other sewing projects I want to undertake before summer is a set of screen mesh slipcovers that would slip over the top foot or so of all the doors (individually). Then I can crank my windows ~6" for better ventilation. And likewise the sunroof too. ripstopbytheroll.com has 'No See'um Mesh' at a decent price, easy to make custom window screens out of it.
Just roll the pieces up and stuff them in the door pockets, near to hand, when not in use.


eta here's my topic about the fan window insert -
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/window-insert-for-12vdc-fan-ventilation.161467/

 

[Lykos]

It's just pressboard, painted. I used 1/4" IIRC for the insert with the large fan. The MkII quad-fan setup I sandwiched some 1/8" pieces using wood glue, was using scrap material I had on hand. 2 layers of 1/8 is just a bit thicker than the glass and a good wedge fit into the doorframe gasket. And then I glued two skirt / flaps on the bottom edge to act as a flange socketing over the top of the window glass.

IT wouldn't be hard to use a similar method to make an insert that could be poked out the top of the sunroof and dropped in place from above, with either fan built in or just a sheet of window screen material.

One of the other sewing projects I want to undertake before summer is a set of screen mesh slipcovers that would slip over the top foot or so of all the doors (individually). Then I can crank my windows ~6" for better ventilation. And likewise the sunroof too. ripstopbytheroll.com has 'No See'um Mesh' at a decent price, easy to make custom window screens out of it.
Just roll the pieces up and stuff them in the door pockets, near to hand, when not in use.


eta here's my topic about the fan window insert -
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/window-insert-for-12vdc-fan-ventilation.161467/

Something like this?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/321804501919

 

[rayra]

That is the idea. That ebay acution appears to be for a single door. IF you know someone that can sew it could be made for about 1/3 the cost. But $80 isn't a terrible price
You wouldnt even need one with awindow fan insert. Those 120mm computer fans move 50-70cfm. Four together, even dialed low, will move the entire interior volume of air every minute.
And if you are using a powered ventilation setup, you don't even have to cover the whole window like that, if you don't want to roll the window all the way down.

Another idea I mentioned in tha ttopic (?) and certainly elsewhere is an idea to add a bit of wire and a switch in the rear passenger cargo sidewall on the Sub. Just happens a PowerPort is right next to the rear AC squirrel cage fan, near the rear corner of the vehicle. Would take much effort to rig things so you could have a switch back there to power the rear AC fan and circulate air thru the vehicle's own rear ductwork, without having to key on the whole vehicle. An appropriate diode on the factory fan wiring to prevent backfeeding, a wiring change on the rear power port to a constant-hot Aux battery source, and your switch. Next time I pull my drawers / platform out, I'm going for this mod (too). I just recently installed an aux fuze panel on my aux battery to provide some direct power for CB and HAM radios and wtih the intent of re-sourcing all my PowerPort receptacles so they draw from the Aux battery. And once my rooftop solar integration is done, I can literally throw the fan insert in the window and let it run if the vehicle is parked in the hot sun somewhere. Most of these 120mm fans draw about a quarter of an amp. x4. ~1A on a 50Ah Aux battery. Or with a 3-5A feed from a solar panel setup.

 

[Lykos]

That is the idea. That ebay acution appears to be for a single door. IF you know someone that can sew it could be made for about 1/3 the cost. But $80 isn't a terrible price
You wouldnt even need one with awindow fan insert. Those 120mm computer fans move 50-70cfm. Four together, even dialed low, will move the entire interior volume of air every minute.
And if you are using a powered ventilation setup, you don't even have to cover the whole window like that, if you don't want to roll the window all the way down.

Another idea I mentioned in tha ttopic (?) and certainly elsewhere is an idea to add a bit of wire and a switch in the rear passenger cargo sidewall on the Sub. Just happens a PowerPort is right next to the rear AC squirrel cage fan, near the rear corner of the vehicle. Would take much effort to rig things so you could have a switch back there to power the rear AC fan and circulate air thru the vehicle's own rear ductwork, without having to key on the whole vehicle. An appropriate diode on the factory fan wiring to prevent backfeeding, a wiring change on the rear power port to a constant-hot Aux battery source, and your switch. Next time I pull my drawers / platform out, I'm going for this mod (too). I just recently installed an aux fuze panel on my aux battery to provide some direct power for CB and HAM radios and wtih the intent of re-sourcing all my PowerPort receptacles so they draw from the Aux battery. And once my rooftop solar integration is done, I can literally throw the fan insert in the window and let it run if the vehicle is parked in the hot sun somewhere. Most of these 120mm fans draw about a quarter of an amp. x4. ~1A on a 50Ah Aux battery. Or with a 3-5A feed from a solar panel setup.

I've given the aux switch for the rear fan some thought as well. Somewhere on here there's a thread I started about it. But, what I wanted to do was run the fan backwards to exhaust the hot air from inside. Apparently squirrel cage fans don't work like that. Who knew?

 

[Stumpalump]

I live and camp in the Arizona desert so I've tried everything. Swamp cooler works if you sit right in front of it. $99 5000 BTU air condition works if you turn it on early and run the Honda generator but as soon as you open a door all the cool air is gone. The best I have found is to maximize airflow. Those tiny commuter fans will pull heat from the top air layer but your not going to take a nap with those tiny bees buzzing. You need air flow. I'd see if a fantastic roof fan will fit into a wood insert in the sunroof opening. They are 3 speed, blow in or out, has a tuff screen and have an easy to close rain cover. You could even drive down the road with it installed. It does it all. http://www.adventurerv.net/fantasti...rtsfeed_ppc&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Froogle

That will keep the vehicle the same as outside temp and give some breeze in the vehicle. If I want to nap and I often do in the heat of the day then I run a second fantastic fan that is basically a cigarette plug box fan. With the roof fan keeping the heat out of the vehicle and a box fan blowing toward my napping area I stay cool.



The box fan is kept in a cheap messenger bag for when I need air blowing on me. It's 10 mph air and is basically the same great fan as the roof fan. Your not going to get that from tiny fans.



The box fan rides behind the front seat in this. It stays clean and protected but gives real wind in a moment.


Dang is it harder to post on this site now or will I get used to it? I have no idea how this is going to look like. Lol

 

[Lykos]

Well, since heat rises stripping off that top layer will help a great deal. My little computer fan, designed to be used in heavy truck sleepers, moves about 75 cfm. The suburban is about 160 cf so I'm getting full air exchange every two minutes. That should keep up with the BTUs I put off while sleeping at night.
If I were day napping it would be a different story. No matter how well you insulate the windows you're still in a big metal box and would need faster air exchange to keep up with the sun beating down on your roof. In that case I'd absolutely go with the bigger fan as you have, or simply idle the truck with the AC on for a short amount of time.

Good input! Thank you!

 

[rayra]

running the rear AC in reverse wouldn't do what you want, it's not connected to the outside. The squirrel is just drawing air thru the slots in the cargo area interior sidewall trim, facing the Liftgate.
My storage drawers / platform blocked the inner-facing extensions of those slots, got noisier trying to suck wind when I set the rear fan to high. So I added some more holes by the slots, in the clear.
I also considered adding a row of 3" dia soffet vent inserts in the face of the cargo sidewall, in a row above the deck of the storage platform. There's room in there fo rthe vents to fit. My build topic has some links and a lot of pics of the rear AC structures and cargo sidewall interior.
I originally opened up that area to steal / extend some power from that rear panel PowerPort to the LED lighting strips I added to my rear Liftgate. When I saw how things were arranged inside there, that's when the idea for adding a power switch to power that rear AC/Heater fan.
I intend to run a fresh power line from the small aux fuse panel I recently added to my under-hood Aux battery which will become the new source for the PowerPOrts in the vehicle. A couple months ago I left a small powered drink cooler plugged in and running and 36hr the vehicle was stone dead. Which also screwed me due to my simple solenoid dual battery charging setup. So I had to self-jump from Aux to Main battery. I spend a lot of effort to run the heavy cabling to my cargo area and an extensive multi-flavor power setup in the back but never swapped the factory powerPorts. And when I plugged that cooler in it was more convenient to use the port on the back of the center console. Silly mistake.

 

[gwest1000]

I was looking to do the same thing as the OP. I wanted to be able to keep the fans going in the sunroof during rain, or leave them on during the day when i leave the van, and there might be rain. So, i'd need a rain cover over the sunroof that still lets air out. I haven't been able to find anything online, somewhat surprisingly (just sunroof air deflectors). Any ideas?

 

[Lykos]

I was looking to do the same thing as the OP. I wanted to be able to keep the fans going in the sunroof during rain, or leave them on during the day when i leave the van, and there might be rain. So, i'd need a rain cover over the sunroof that still lets air out. I haven't been able to find anything online, somewhat surprisingly (just sunroof air deflectors). Any ideas?

I really thinking that some abs plastic rigged to put a fan in the window is going to be the best bet. One pf those little cover things you use on your diet exhaust will keep things dry inside. The truck is building the plastic to fit our not square windows.
Rayra did a nice job with his.

 

[Buddha.]

You could use a RV/ travel trailer vent cover. You could even use a RV vent with RV fan under it. Some of the fantastic vent fans have thermostats, remotes, and they close if it rains. They fit standard 14" RV roof vents and draw about three amps on high.

On my 30' travel trailer I have two such vents. When they're both sucking out on high you can feel a decent breeze coming in the windows.

It was hard to find specs but I think they move almost 1000 cfm on high.