Roof Vent Fan Replacements a Plus

[Jay Tea]

Most of our camping is boondocking (no outside utilities for A/C), and I am resisting purchasing an expensive & noisy generator. Any air movement inside a camper makes a huge difference in perceived comfort, but I was frustrated running the noisy (~56 dB), power hungry (~1.5 amp), and weak ~50 CFM vent fans all night.

The solution was replacing the two OE fans with new Noctua NF-A14 PWM computer units. These easily fit into the existing roof housing, generate only 25 dB at 1500 RPM, move 82 CFM, and draw only 0.13 amps. Both running all night are barely noticeable from the bed, do a nice job of drawing in cooler night air from open windows, and I awake the next morning with a still-full battery!

I was SO impressed, I just installed a new Noctua NF-A14 ULN fan in the shelf directly over the bed, blowing downward. It is rated at only 12 dB at 800 RPM, moving a gentle 47 CFM, and drawing only 0.04 amps.

What a difference these three fans make! At less than $25 per fan, a bargain for boondockers!

[eatSleepWoof]

Interesting approach!

I recently replaced one of my original fans (the whole structure) with a Maxxair 5100 Deluxe. I've used this exact fan on another trailer and loved it, so I put the same thing into the Winnie. Direct replacement for Winnie's original fans.

On lowest speed it's absolutely silent and moves about ~270CFM. On highest speed (ten speed levels) it moves 900CFM.

Having a fan in the shelf above the bed is clever - can you share a photo of what your end result looks like? My longer-term plan is to install a pair of Sirocco II fans above the bed, but your approach is interesting, too.

What I'd really love is another Maxxair right above the bed, so I could have one of them sucking air in and another exhausting. Unfortunately my trailer didn't come with any fan/vent/anything above the main bed, and I'm hesitant to cut a hole for a new fan (for now, anyways)...

[Jay Tea]

My over-the-bed fan is mounted on the topside of the bed shelf (can not be seen), blows down through a circular hole cut through the shelf, and has protective grills on both the topside and bottom (the bottom grill can be seen). I'll get some photos posted after I return to the MM.

[Fanrgs]

My Coleman-Mach AC unit had a serious meltdown last year--fried all the 120vac wiring on the terminal board in the control box. You can't replace just the terminal block, but must replace the entire box for $212 from Airxcel. And I would not replace it without also adding a SoftStart (another $280) because the draw on compressor startup has been measured as high as 45A on a 30A electrical system! So, I removed my AC roof unit and replaced it with a rooftop 12v TurboKool evaporative cooler. Now I have a "swamp cooler" on my RV (just like I have had on my houses for the past 50 years) and I can use it when boondocking just off solar and Li batteries because it is 12v. Perfect for the warm, dry, semi-arid SW where we live and camp and we don't have to rely just on vent fans to control the inside temps!

[akeagle]

Originally Posted by eatSleepWoof

Interesting approach!

I recently replaced one of my original fans (the whole structure) with a Maxxair 5100 Deluxe. I've used this exact fan on another trailer and loved it, so I put the same thing into the Winnie. Direct replacement for Winnie's original fans.

On lowest speed it's absolutely silent and moves about ~270CFM. On highest speed (ten speed levels) it moves 900CFM.

Having a fan in the shelf above the bed is clever - can you share a photo of what your end result looks like? My longer-term plan is to install a pair of Sirocco II fans above the bed, but your approach is interesting, too.

What I'd really love is another Maxxair right above the bed, so I could have one of them sucking air in and another exhausting. Unfortunately my trailer didn't come with any fan/vent/anything above the main bed, and I'm hesitant to cut a hole for a new fan (for now, anyways)...

We wanted to replace the non-powered vent above the bed in our 2016 Minnie Winnie with a MaxxAir powered vent with remote control. I used a steel rod to see if I could penetrate the Styrofoam insulation layer to get to the power source in a light fixture a bit over 2 feet away. Unfortunately the probe ran into something solid about one foot in. I suspect it was a cross member for the roof structure. My Plan B was to run a piece of surface mount conduit from Home Depot from the light fixture to the vent cavity. It worked like a charm and is not visually intrusive.