Vent modifications - Part 2
Posted 03-31-2013 at 10:15 AM by blickcd
I wanted to make some sort of improvement to the hehr light/vent combo located in the galley area. The location makes for some limited choices.
When the TV antenna is lowered, the back end rests almost on top of the vent lid. Not a good location for any type of vent whose lid would hinge open at an angle and interfere with the lowered antenna. Then I looked through my pile of old parts and got an idea.
The first photo shows some vent parts I had laying around. The vent lid in the lower right was on my living room vent, which I replaced with a Fantastic Vent.
You can see the vent lid has some sort of plastic panel in the center, cracked, gooped with sealant, and discolored with age. the original intent may have been to let in some natural light though not much ever came in through the dingy plastic, but I had the nutty idea that I might be able to turn this into a skylight of sorts and install it on my center vent.
The second photo shows the underside of that lid, which has a second layer of plastic. That will have to be removed, along with the weather stripping, and the aluminum braces.
I didn't take many photos of this job, but a description should suffice.
The braces are riveted at the corners so you drill those out. The interior plastic panel was held in place by the braces, and a lot of sealant.
The exterior plastic panel was riveted in place. Once those rivets were drilled out the entire lid was scrubbed down with steel wool and paint thinner to remove all the old sealant.
The old plastic was replaced with 1/8" thick clear Lexan. It is UV stable, and can be cut and drilled with conventional tools. Both inner and outer panels were cut and the vent lid was used as a template for marking all the holes that needed to be drilled.
To ensure proper sealing, I put a bead of Vulkum down, then gently pressed the plastic into place. I inserted a few pop rivets at the corners, without fastening them, just to ensure proper alignment.
After letting it cure overnight, I fastened all of the rivets in place. My thought was that if I clicked all of the rivets in place with the sealant still fresh, it would all be squeezed out.
The third photo shows the lid with the outer panel installed. Note the protective film on the Lexan which will be completely peeled off just before installation, and the holes near the corners of the lid where the braces attach.
The inner panel was then set and allowed to cure before fastening with the braces. New self-stick weather strip of the right thickness was installed. The final touch was a dab of sealant on each pop rivet head.
With the center vent lid raised all the way, along with the TV antenna for some working room, it was just a simple matter of unbolting the old lid with a socket wrench and installing the refurbished one.
I went an extra step and replaced the flaky 3-way light switch with a new one.
The final result is that I now get some natural lighting in the galley, which always seemed a little dark. The plastic cover for the lights and the vent screen do cut down the light some, so it may not be as good as a skylight, but it is an improvement and keeps with the original look of the trailer, which I like.
The last photo was taken on an overcast day with all lights off inside the trailer.
If you have a vent lid with some old yellowed plastic panels for natural light, you see that they can be easily replaced. A more daring person could even cut an opening in their solid lid and install Lexan panels.
When the TV antenna is lowered, the back end rests almost on top of the vent lid. Not a good location for any type of vent whose lid would hinge open at an angle and interfere with the lowered antenna. Then I looked through my pile of old parts and got an idea.
The first photo shows some vent parts I had laying around. The vent lid in the lower right was on my living room vent, which I replaced with a Fantastic Vent.
You can see the vent lid has some sort of plastic panel in the center, cracked, gooped with sealant, and discolored with age. the original intent may have been to let in some natural light though not much ever came in through the dingy plastic, but I had the nutty idea that I might be able to turn this into a skylight of sorts and install it on my center vent.
The second photo shows the underside of that lid, which has a second layer of plastic. That will have to be removed, along with the weather stripping, and the aluminum braces.
I didn't take many photos of this job, but a description should suffice.
The braces are riveted at the corners so you drill those out. The interior plastic panel was held in place by the braces, and a lot of sealant.
The exterior plastic panel was riveted in place. Once those rivets were drilled out the entire lid was scrubbed down with steel wool and paint thinner to remove all the old sealant.
The old plastic was replaced with 1/8" thick clear Lexan. It is UV stable, and can be cut and drilled with conventional tools. Both inner and outer panels were cut and the vent lid was used as a template for marking all the holes that needed to be drilled.
To ensure proper sealing, I put a bead of Vulkum down, then gently pressed the plastic into place. I inserted a few pop rivets at the corners, without fastening them, just to ensure proper alignment.
After letting it cure overnight, I fastened all of the rivets in place. My thought was that if I clicked all of the rivets in place with the sealant still fresh, it would all be squeezed out.
The third photo shows the lid with the outer panel installed. Note the protective film on the Lexan which will be completely peeled off just before installation, and the holes near the corners of the lid where the braces attach.
The inner panel was then set and allowed to cure before fastening with the braces. New self-stick weather strip of the right thickness was installed. The final touch was a dab of sealant on each pop rivet head.
With the center vent lid raised all the way, along with the TV antenna for some working room, it was just a simple matter of unbolting the old lid with a socket wrench and installing the refurbished one.
I went an extra step and replaced the flaky 3-way light switch with a new one.
The final result is that I now get some natural lighting in the galley, which always seemed a little dark. The plastic cover for the lights and the vent screen do cut down the light some, so it may not be as good as a skylight, but it is an improvement and keeps with the original look of the trailer, which I like.
The last photo was taken on an overcast day with all lights off inside the trailer.
If you have a vent lid with some old yellowed plastic panels for natural light, you see that they can be easily replaced. A more daring person could even cut an opening in their solid lid and install Lexan panels.
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