Which Fantastic Vent?

[uwe]

I have decided to install 2 Fantastic Vents in the 1963 Overlander roof openings. One would be in the rear, near the bathroom ceiling, shortly before the ceiling goes into the end cap, the other one in the center, right above the galley, near the bedroom wall. The vent opening in the very front of the trailer is a large rectangle, this will be used sort of like a sunroof, with no ventilator motor.
The different Fantastic Vent choices are confusing, and I don't want to buy too much or too little. I see thermostat, rain sensor, remote clear bubble, tinted bubble, flat cover, low profile, high profile, etc.

1. Which vents ( fans) do you use?
2. How many?
3. Which options, and do the options make sense?
4. Wall mount control/thermostat?
5. Which cover? Flat/domed?
6. What color? Clear/smoked?
7. Any other considerations??
8. Wall mount controls/fan mount controls?

Fantastic Vent owners and users, please share your experiences and opinions, both good or bad, before I shell out $$$ for 2 vents.

[BobbyW]

After you wade through all the replies that you will get on this...

Call Scott at http://members.aol.com/fantasticvent/
1-440-937-5694 or email at adohen@aol.com

Fair pricing and he knows his Airstream stuff.

[wahoonc]

Uwe,
I haven't bought mine...yet, but I am going with the rain sensors, not going to mess with the wall mount controls, (I figure those are for those 5'vers with the 10' ceilings) I am mounting a reversible in the front and an exhaust only in the bathroom(probably) For domes the jury is still out but probably smoke in the front and translucent in the rear or smoke and have an inside cover for it. I like the Domed domes and don't forget to get the AS interior trim piece. FWIW I have the rear bath 31' Sovereign.

Aaron

[spinolio]

I have the model 6000a with the rain sensor, thermostat and smoke colored domed cover. I installed it over a year ago and no problems to date, it's functioned beautifully. No wall controls either, no need.

[Ken J]

One thing that I've heard is if you have two fans, have one exhaust and the other bring air in - is really supposed to work great. My plan is to use one with a rain sensor - no thermostat.

Ken

[Pahaska]

I have one with the wall-mount thermostat and one with the thermostat in the dome. The wall-mount is, IMHO, worlds better. In fact, I'm plotting to change the one with the thermostat in the dome to a wall mount thermostat.

The trouble with the thermostat in the dome is that it is affected by sunlight and hot air pooling in the dome. That's why the non-wall-thermostat models have the dome open all the time and not just when the fan is called for The Fantastic folks concur with this as a problem. The fan can be rewired to keep the dome closed, but this doesn't get around the problem entirely.

I'm going to replace the thermostst in the fan with a relay so that I can conceal fine gage wires over to the valance and then to the partition where I will install a thermostat. This is for the safety of our cats in event of AC power failure. As it is now, I have to have the front vent open for them to be safe and that doesn't work in our Texas temperatures since the AC can't keep up.

[thenewkid64]

I have 3 fans. One is the low profile dome. With that dome you have a flat pancake motor. It is a bit noisy compared to the traditional motors. The wall mount thermostats offer unlimited fan speeds. vs. 3 speed fans as normal. The wall mount also allows you place the controls where they are convenient to your sleeping quarters. Pahaska mentioned the heat build ups, that is eliminated with a wall mount. Spend the money on the rain sensors, you will be glad you did the first time a storm rolls in and you are not there

The full insulated domes are nice in the sleeping quarters, and they reduce the solar load on the AC here in FL. I have the low profile in the translucent style, It works as a mild skylight in our kitchen. This is good, because in our floor plan the kitchen is somewhat dark.

[Flyincloud]

I just love mine , even trust the rain sensor now , its on all the time , has been for weeks , draws less amps than the old one . I didnt realize they had wall mounted thermostats or a model that would only open when the fan goes on , but I`m real happy with the built in thermostat , the opening every time would use more amps . I got the white to match front vent and stop uv rays , fade your upholstery you know . price from scott @ adohen was right and shipping was instant .
Chris

[overlander64]

Greetings uwe!

The Fantastic Vent representative installed two of their vents on my '64 Overlander at the WBCCI International Rallly in Dayton, Ohio (1999). I have been absolutely thrilled with the durability as well as performance. They were configured as follows:

solar gray acrylic covers, rain sensors, reversible 3-speed motors, and thermostats.

I don't belive that remote controls/thermostats were available in 1999, but I have been quite pleased with the model that I have. In fact, I had the identical product installed in my '78 Minuet at this year's WBCCI International Rally in Lansing.

The one thing that I learned with my '64 Overlander that may apply to your '63 is that the interior wall bulkhead is too close to the vent opening to utilize the Fantastic Vent Airstream trim kit. The installer's suggestion was to simply utilize the original Airstream trim which turned out quite well. The installation can be seen in the photo below:



The front fan in the kitchen area was installed with the Airstream trim kit as can be seen in the photo below:



Good luck with your decision!

Kevin

[Ken J]

Wow, I like the way the original trim looks - note to myself - remember to use original trim on the fan.

Ken