Front vent won't crank down

[mavapa]

I noticed the vent cover on the front of my '95 Excella won't crank all the way down. It's the type that has the big plastic cover inside with lights as well as a fan. The fan turns on when the handle is turned to open the vent, and it turns off when it's turned to close the vent. But the vent remains partially open and the handle just keeps on turning. The vent is the type that pops straight up on a scissor type mechanism rather than being hinged at one end. Is the opening/closing mechanism shot? Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Airstream 1975!]

Did you check to see if anything is blocking the cover from going all the way down? You should go up on the roof and lubricate the arms that raise and lower the vent. Rob

[mavapa]

I put a ladder against the trailer and tried to check the vent operation by hand. It seems to want to kind of pop back up even if I push it down by hand. It will not seal tightly, so it looks like the lift mechanism is binding somehow.

[Dwight]

Our '99-34' had the same vent cover and same problem. I replaced it with a Fan-Tastic fan and two recessed lights.

[mavapa]

Originally Posted by Dwight

Our '99-34' had the same vent cover and same problem. I replaced it with a Fan-Tastic fan and two recessed lights.

Dwight, can you give me a little more description of how you went about it? It sounds like a good solution, but I'm not sure what the recessed lights would be.

[Dwight]

When I removed the original light/fan combo and replaced it with a Fan-Tastic fan, but then I was missing the ceiling lights. So I bought 2 matching Thin-Lite light fixtures and mounted one on each side of the Fan-Tastic fan. Hooked the wires up to the original switches and it looks like a factory installation.

[mavapa]

Dwight, that sounds like a good fix. I will definitely look into that when I get a chance to do some more fixing up. I even have a Fantastic Fan still in the box. Thanks.
Mark