Completely agree. You will want a foam board plug for the escape hatch if you use the camper in the winter. Otherwise condensation will form on the cover and it will rain on you. You do need the fan for circulation PLUS a second fan as Les stated over the sleeping area. This is key to comfort in high heat areas. I use a large 8" brushless DC fan over the bed blowing on me. You could also locate the Fantastic fan over the bed. There are no energy efficient air conditioners for off grid mobile use. You would need a generator for that.
ventilation?
- Thread starter Baloo
- Start date
Completely agree. You will want a foam board plug for the escape hatch if you use the camper in the winter. Otherwise condensation will form on the cover and it will rain on you. You do need the fan for circulation PLUS a second fan as Les stated over the sleeping area. This is key to comfort in high heat areas. I use a large 8" brushless DC fan over the bed blowing on me. You could also locate the Fantastic fan over the bed. There are no energy efficient air conditioners for off grid mobile use. You would need a generator for that.
Most RV fans are cheap noisey junk. Some furnaces, cooking vents, etc most often have noisy rattle trap fans. I have had to upgrade all of that. The fan in the Fantastic fan is the nicest I have seen. It also has the advantage of thermostatic control. I use that alot when the overnight low is 55 but it is 75 at 10 PM. It happens in the desert areas. I can set the fan to quit blowing at 65 and not wake up freezing at 3 am. I have not however actually used the Maxx fan, so it could be OK. I know for sure that the combination I described works well.
two roof vents work great if at least one is reversable. You want the option of air in on one fan and air out on another for maximum turnover. I also have one very small vent mounted at floor level that is about 2" in diameter that cannot be closed. It assures that some air turn over is always occurring when the heater is running. My top vent has an air leak so no matter what, there is some exchange of fresh air. That's important in such a confined space IMO.
westyss
Explorer
The fantastic fan is a great product, what it has going for it is a very tight surround that allows it to literally suck all the air from inside, so with that, unless your rig is huge only one is needed, but the volume that it moves has to be replaced by another opening, ie, window, vent etc. Having two seems unnecassary to me and definately dont need one sucking and the other blowing, all thats happening there is you are using double the battery power.
I also wouldn't have a vent over the bed, many say that is a bad idea because it will eventually leak. For cooling, the fan could be any where as long as the air coming into the camper flows over you, ie, window open in the bed area.
I always keep in mind that hot air wants to rise, so using the fan for bringing in air reduces the efficiency of it,
" just go with the flow"
I also wouldn't have a vent over the bed, many say that is a bad idea because it will eventually leak. For cooling, the fan could be any where as long as the air coming into the camper flows over you, ie, window open in the bed area.
I always keep in mind that hot air wants to rise, so using the fan for bringing in air reduces the efficiency of it,
" just go with the flow"
Baloo
"The Bear Necessities"
Well considering my truck is roughly 16X8 with a 5.8 ceiling height I think one powered vent and one free flowing should be good. I am looking at the 5000 model that includes both a reversing switch and a thermostat for temp control. After much looking and planning, the powered vent will be slightly aft of the center of the box, and the free flowing will be on the top of the cab. Both will be covered with ventmaxx covers so they will be good in the rain.
Just a heads up. Fantastic Fan says not to use their fans with the covers. The only reason I can find is that they have motor driven models that would jamb the lid. I don't use the motor driven lid models, and I've been using that combination for years on more than one rig with no issues. Also Maxx sells a hinged mounting system for their covers that I really like. They allow you to pop open the cover and clean the vent. You might want to consider that. best of luck!
hdemetrious
Adventurer
Their website says the cover reduces the amount of air flow by a considerable amount.
Agreed. I'm sitting under mine right now on low, and it's moving plenty of air.
