Skylights, leaks and poor workmanship

[dznf0g]

I have installed MaxxAir vent covers on both of my trailers. For 20 years I have left my vents open 24/7 while in remote storage lots. Never a drop of water inside. They do restrict the airflow of the FF a bit, but the newer design is much better than the old standard design.

[PharmGeek]

how much for the vent covers?

Also dznf0g - I was reading some of your posts on dehumidifiers in old threads as I am circling around this question...still researching...how is that unit of your's holding up? thanks.

[dznf0g]

Here is the model to get...with the 3 vented panels.

MaxxAir II Vent Cover, Gray - $26.95

There is a "silver" one too. A bit darker than the AS, but pretty nice.

Still very happy with the dehumidifier. Use it all year around while camping. Leave my vents open all winter in storage. No mold, mildew nor nuttin'.

[dznf0g]

Sorry, here's the silver one...Maxxair II is what you want.

MaxxAir II Vent Cover, Silver - $29.99

[Wingeezer]

Maybe the moisture/mold problem is a bigger issue in the deep south? We have never left vents open summer or winter when our trailer has been in storage and never encountered any problem. Left mouse traps set too but never caught any mice (or seen droppings!)

I'm not sure what the source of moisture would be in the stored trailer - unless it has leaks?

I can imagine heat could be an issue - possibly causing the ceiling covering to come unstuck - I gather that used to happen some years back when a water-based glue was being used. I don't think it is a problem with newer units.

Although we are up here in the frozen north it can still get pretty hot in summer and we have had no problems. I can appreciate that it could be a whole different situation in places such as Phoenix!

Brian

[dznf0g]

Well, we all know none of us have leaks. I keep the bed up so that any leaks in the rear of the trailer will have a chance to dry with the vents open. I did get a few spots of mold way up here in the North land one winter when my s.o.b roof leaked. I did get infested with mice one winter in my old SOB. Leaving the vents open helped alleviate the odor that would have accumulated.

[Moflash]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

we are managing 15amp basic power needs right now...spring we will install our electric 50amp hookup...in theory, it seems a great thing to be able to exhaust heat/moisture from the AS while in storage if possible....but not at a significant risk of leaking...

If no one has confidence in this feature, then what good is it? The rep at the dealer who did walkthrough gave me caution about the one in the back above the bunk room...said she has heard a bit too often of the rain sensor failing and getting water on the bed....im not sure which would be worse....water coming in on bed or in the middle of the floor.....

If I cannot feel confident in these fans, then I will certainly be examining changing them as IF keeping moisture and excess heat down is a helpful long term moisture management strategy, then it may be worth the fuss...

I will need to do alot of research and think about this...would not be able to think about such a change till next springe...money tree is dry...

I guess I am hoping for the pro-fantastic-fan folks to start to come out of the woodworks to tell me otherwise..

I also now need to dig through old posts about storage, venting, dehumidifiers.....later...

Hate to hear about bad quality...hope yall get it figured out and hopefully this info will prevent my own headaches

Fantastic Fans :Fans are wonderful just use common sense and close them when not needed or rain and wind is in the forecast.

Dehumidifier: I have never need one but I suppose if you winter camped it would come in handy.Always turn on the shower vent fan when using the shower and let run for a few mins after to reduce moisture buildup.

Skylights:Yours are the plastic ones that everyone has trouble with.Plan on replacing at some point,good for a couple of years as is.

Storage I would suggest indoor storage when not in use.I would not consider heating the unit while left in storage.I put down a thick plastic vapor barrier on my storage area floor to keep ground moisture at bay($25 at Lowes) Most moisture problems result from leakage for the most part when caught in the rain.I always put 15 or so dryer sheets in various inside locations when my unit is in storage and so far never a mouse.I also have installed the custom screens on my outside water heater and furnace door to keep out unwanted insects (dirt daubers etc).Available at any RV accessory store.

You cant do everything at once.
Welcome and congratulations!

[PharmGeek]

Use the shower now a couple times - the little fan does not do a fantastic job - its a little cup that you push up - click the button and fan cuts on - not impressive - but to be fair - a hot shower when slightly chilly air generates a lot of moisture

I do plan on winter camping this year - the dehumidifier can help heat and dehumidify - already seem the condensation on inner skin - fixed by running fantastic fan

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

Use the shower now a couple times - the little fan does not do a fantastic job - its a little cup that you push up - click the button and fan cuts on - not impressive - but to be fair - a hot shower when slightly chilly air generates a lot of moisture

I do plan on winter camping this year - the dehumidifier can help heat and dehumidify - already seem the condensation on inner skin - fixed by running fantastic fan

Agree about the little round fan in the bathroom - makes more noise than anything!

We have the centre bathroom arrangement with shower on one side, sink & toilet on the other and sliding doors to the front and rear of the bathroom.

I have found it much better to just leave the sliding door to the bedroom open and turn on the rear Fantastic fan when using the shower - it moves a lot of air!

As for winter camping, cooking can also throw a lot of moisture into the air - not only from boiling water, but one of the products of combustion of propane from the stove is H2O!

Brian.

[dutchie]

I climbed up on the roof yesterday to take a good look at my new trailer , them skylights are indeed cheaply made , I had no screws holding mine on, seems AS has now gone to just using 2 sided black tape , I think I will be swapping them out when I hit Texas next month , As for the fan vent covers , I added the new grey / silver maxi II vents , I leave my covers open pretty well all the time , even when driving down the road , the covers don't open as high as befor , but they still open very well and with the new style of cover from maxi , it allows more airflow then the old style , on my old travel trailer I used maxis befor and they were good The nicest part about the new ones is the one side is hinged , your able to just climb up and you can open and clean the cover inside in seconds ,

[KYAirstream]

No trouble with rain blowing in with a side wind with the MaxAir II? And how about their Fanmate? They say it allows more flow for the fantastic fans, but it's pricey,

Which of the MaxAir II looks better on the Airstream, the grey or the silver?

[dznf0g]

I've never had rain blow in. Once or twice, in wind driven rain, I've had enough hit the sensor that the lid closed, but never water inside the AS. Silver is a little lighter than the gray, but neither really "matches" the AS aluminum.

[dkottum]

We have a gray MaxAir II in front over the living space, a second one won't fit between the solar panels in back over the bed. I think sideways rain could come in a little bit, probably not much.

The gray color is not an exact match to the Airstream shell but looks natural and unimposing up there, a good choice.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by KYAirstream

No trouble with rain blowing in with a side wind with the MaxAir II?

I've left my Interstate's MaxxFan vent open in a howling thunderstorm, on more than one occasion, with no leakage at all, whether the fan is blowing or not. I'll close it for a hurricane, or if I'm running the furnace and don't want all of my heat escaping through the vent, but otherwise I can leave it open with no worries.

[dutchie]

Originally Posted by KYAirstream

No trouble with rain blowing in with a side wind with the MaxAir II? And how about their Fanmate? They say it allows more flow for the fantastic fans, but it's pricey, Which of the MaxAir II looks better on the Airstream, the grey or the silver?

Here is what they look like , I think mine are the silver ones , in my opinion they look better then the white ones on the AS

http://s170.photobucket.com/user/dut...88635.jpg.html

[m.hony]

I have the white MaxxAir vent cover-
The silver one would be nice, but there are still 2 white a/c units up there-
I would like to have silver a/c units as well-

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I have the white MaxxAir vent cover-
The silver one would be nice, but there are still 2 white a/c units up there-
I would like to have silver a/c units as well-

No reason why you can't paint the air conditioning shrouds. Covering them with paint will also slow down the inevitable UV degradation and make the shrouds last longer. Win/Win.

But if you do paint them, you might want to add a blue horizontal pinstripe, just to provide a neat dividing line between shiny silver of the trailer and painted silver of the shrouds.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Yep...

[Howard L.]

Fantastic fan in our 30 works great. If anything, it closes sooner than it needs to. Will close in heavy humidity at the beach, for example. I think the little bath and shower fans do a great job also. Just me happy camper here.

[cwf]

If sensor kept clean, the FF rain sensor should be fine. We removed ours to install new AC. Sent it to someone on this site and they never said "thanks" as I recall. Ah well, hope it works great anyway. We run bath fan exhausting when showering. I crack open the front roof vent and it clears well in our 34'. One thing, tho, it helps to not run the shower as hot as at home. Warm enough to clean, not heavy steam. Same with cooking. Open a nearby window helps the range vent pull more efficiently (btw, add "unlatch hood vent" to your arrival checklist. And "close" to your preflight. ) The MaxAir vents...I am studying as something to allow "leave open" of vent when stored. The important point to understand is that for the convection rate we are likely to see, the vent cover may not need to be fully open. An inch or two should suffice. I added the "damp rid" to pull up stray moisture, but the average humidity inside is not high unless granddaughters are camping with us and bathing suits and soggy towels are hanging up... And my wife starts cooking. That is 2 adults, 3 kids, small dog, rainy day and lots of humidity generation inside. At night in cool weather (35 degrees) with wife and I it was getting higher humidity so I cracked open roof vents. Heater only ran about a minute longer on cycles and started up just a little sooner. Overall not much diff in run times. In the end, try the venting where possible and dehumidifier a where you must. BTW, a good rule of thumb for humidity is a small pile , about a teaspoon, of table salt piled on a glass platter. If it looks shiny, humidity is above 50%. If sticking together, it is too damp in the area where the salt is. It takes time to get results with the method, like overnight. But it is still a good indicator. After using salt, put in your oven at about 150 for a few minutes. It will drive out moisture in about 10 minutes. Or put in while baking biscuits. It will dry out just fine for reuse or for melting ice.

PS... Maxim skylights are the only way to go.