Roof vent replacement

[DougZ]

Does anyone have pictures of replacing their AS roof vents? I have replaced several of the 14" square vents on SOBs but the vents on AirStreams look entirely different. I don't want to screw anything up on our Overlander so any help will be greatly appreciated.

[memgrove2000]

Doug, do a search on YouTube. One of the classic car shows did one and it is there. If you have done it once it will be easy all you do different is you may have to trim the old hole bigger and square the corners up.

[68 TWind]

I recently installed a Fantastic fan in my 68 Trade Wind. The hardest part was removing enough of the mounds of various sealants that had been applied over the years to get to the rivets holding the old vent in place. A good sharp center punch is needed to mark the dead center of each rivet. Then a new sharp 1/8 in, drill bit will make short work of getting the old vent out. Enlarging the hole, actually just squaring up the corners took a little time. At first I tried metal shears and then a nibbler tool. The best way was using an aluminum cut off wheel on my 4 inch grinder. Should have tried that first. The inside was much tougher since all the junk falls in your face as you cut and is scattered all over the inside. Take your time,mark the places to cut with a Sharpie and cover everything inside the trailer close to the vent because it creates a lot of trash. If you are installing a Fantastic Fan ( and I highly recommend them) there are a lot of post on the forums pro and con about using the supplied gasket. I went with advise from Colin Hyde and did not use the gasket. I laid a good bead of vulkem (Tempro 635) around the hole and set the new fan in place. The other thing I did was to place a stainless steel washer under each screw. That give a much larger surface area to distribute the force as you tighten the screws and it helps keep the flange from cracking. After that a dab of vulkem on each screw head. We have had a very rainy summer in Mississippi and so far zero leaks using the above method of installation. I could have done the job in a few hours if there had not been so much old sealant over the rivets, it wound up taking all afternoon.

[Alumaholic]

In 2006 or 2007, I rebuilt the roof vents on my '76 Sovereign 31.' I believe I posted a pictoral history of the entire process in the restoration forum. I'll try to find it and point you to it.

For starters, it does not involve removing any caulking that is still sealing. If the caulking has failed, then you must remove it and recaulk with Sika flex or any top quality varathane caulk. Never, ever use silicone.

The vent rebuild involves drilling out the rivets to remove the vent covers and replacing the translucent covers with a UV stable acrylic. Don't use plexiglass.

[Alumaholic]

of the finished product. Not sure what happened to my pictures of the step-by-step process:


And here:


If your vent covers look like this, I can step you through the rebuilding process

[njloco]

Klevan, what is the white looking coating on the roof in your above picture ?

[Alumaholic]

DESCRIPTION: Snow-Coat roof coating is an acrylic polymer elastomeric roof emulsion. A top grade coating designed for maximum protection against sun and weather. The reflective value of this product helps to reduce interior temperature and protects the roof and roofing membrane by reducing heat absorption, asphalt oxidation and rapid thermal dimensional changes. It also decreases the chance of excessive loads placed on cooling equipment.
USES: Snow-Coat roof coating is a top grade product formulated to have exceptional resistance to mildew and fungus growth. Used to provide a durable, water resistant, decorative and energy saving finish for most sound roof surfaces. May be used over de-greased or weathered concrete, cured cold applied asphalt coatings, smooth surface roofings, most prepared mineral surfaced roofings and hot-mopped built-up roofing.

[Minno]

Originally Posted by DougZ

Does anyone have pictures of replacing their AS roof vents? I have replaced several of the 14" square vents on SOBs but the vents on AirStreams look entirely different. I don't want to screw anything up on our Overlander so any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hi Doug,

Are you looking to replace the vents with new ones, or with with vintage style ones in the exact same size? If you're going to replace them with new 14 x 14 vents, there's a few pictures here in post 71: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f185...b-50967-6.html

Chris

[edglenn]

Ken, why not use silicone? The reason I ask is I had to seal the front vent with a sheet of aluminum, using silicone caulk and rivets (The PO had installed a swamp cooler on the forward vent, and when I removed it, I didn't have a replacement vent cover.
I think I did a good, clean job on it. Does the silicone fail to adhere to aluminum, or does it degrade?
Thanks!

[Splitrock]

From my blog, page 2



http://www.airforums.com/forums/blog...d-brakes-1033/

[Alumaholic]

Originally Posted by edglenn

Ken, why not use silicone? Thanks!

Silicone is simply not as good as the urethane based caulks out there. Though it does not adhere as well and last as long as the urethane caulks, it is a bear to remove (The Silicone Paradox).
Sikaflex seems most recommended by "Lewster" and other real technicians.


But I have had equally good results with Sonolastic. You will probably need to find a specialty supplier who caters to tradesmen. You won't find Sikaflex or Sonolastic at Home Depot.

Sorry about the late reply. I was at the 4CU Balloon Fiesta Rally!

[Alumaholic]

For more information on the topic:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f456...num-83291.html

[Stargirl]

Hi all!

I am puzzled about the "correct" order of installing my vents. I'm doing a full monty and have the interior walls and electric completely out. I don't want to begin installing insulation and electric until I know the trailer is watertight - which would involve installing the ceiling vents and making sure they're sealed. BUT most of the threads on vent installation are not during the full monty renovation process, and the interior walls, insulation, electrical, etc. are already in. So what's the correct order here? (I plan on installing 2 vents with fans and one skylight)

1. Install and seal vents --> electrical + insulation --> reinstall interior walls

2. Electrical + insulation --> reinstall interior walls --> install and seal vents

3. Install exterior portion of vent (is this a thing?) --> electrical + insulation --> reinstall interior walls + interior portion of vent

Thanks!!

[Amadon]

I am about to repair the Forward roof vent on my my 61 AS. I’ve secured used lifters and working on getting a new after market dome. I’ll keep you posted.

[Amadon]

I need to access the gray water tank on my 1961 AD Ambassador. Has anyone done this before? Is there a best practice on how to do this?

[pjpalm1964]

I have a 76 AS 31' that I want to keep 100% original. Do you have a process on rebuilding vents?

Originally Posted by Alumaholic

of the finished product. Not sure what happened to my pictures of the step-by-step process:
Attachment 139232

And here:
Attachment 139233

If your vent covers look like this, I can step you through the rebuilding process