Fantastic Fan Stripped Gears

[pcskier]

My 2014 FC has two Fantastic Fans that are the type that automatically open and close, along with the option to open manually by pulling down on the knob. They work perfectly--EXCEPT there is a small gear sleeve that connects the lid motor to the lift arm gear.

BOTH of mine are stripped out, obviously they are not manufactured with hard enough metal. Neither of my vents open...the gear sleeve just spins on the lift arm gear. They are designed so that when the fan is fully open or closed, and there is a lot of tension on the gear/motor assembly, the motor automatically stops. Obviously this the moment of wear...when the gear has a lot of force placed on it momentarily during each open/close cycle.

New fans are $300 apiece. There are various sources online that sell a whole kit that includes the motor and the sleeve, for 40 to 50 dollars. Even that seems ridiculous to me.
I've emailed dometic with these pics asking if these small parts are available, but I'm not optimistic. The 'parts search' function on their website states that only parts that are shown are available. And of course these little buggers aren't showing as available parts. In fact, the motor assembly isn't shown either...it's like they are forcing purchase of new fans when this junk fails. The online motor kits are available from resellers.

Has anyone else experienced this, and found a fix other than buying a new fan, or a new motor/gear assembly? I maybe could get one fabricated at a machine shop, but the cost would likely not make it worthwhile.


Meanwhile, advice to those of you who have the automatic/manual option on opening and closing your vent lids...I'd recommend opening and closing them manually to perhaps place a little less force on this cheap gear part at the moment when it is fully open or closed.

[pcskier]

Thinking about his some more. Maybe I'll take the vent arm out, install the gear sleeve over it, drill a small hole through the sleeve and axle gear...then insert a small pin after sliding the sleeve over the gear. This would be a permanent solution, but also make it very difficult to remove the motor later. Other ideas welcome.

[kscherzi]

Try JB Weld. Its a very strong epoxy and meant for metal. Use the original, the quick set isn't as strong.

[pcskier]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

Try JB Weld. Its a very strong epoxy and meant for metal. Use the original, the quick set isn't as strong.

Was wondering about that. There is pretty good torque on the shaft when the fan reaches the closed and open positions, curious if JB would hold.

Another idea I got was to drill a small hole in the sleeve and use a set screw against the gear axle. Or drill a hole in the sleeve and another in the shaft, and use a small self tapping screw to secure it all.

[Al and Missy]

I can't tell from the pictures what condition yours is in, but I had a similar problem. In my case the splines in the sleeve were good but the way the motor was mounted they weren't fully meshing with the shaft. There is not a lot of room for error there. Make sure everything is mounted properly and not spaced off of their mounting bosses.

IF you have to go the JB Weld way it will probably hold, based on my limited experience. When I took a used outboard apart one time, corroded aluminum had been filled with JB Weld and tapped to hold a screw. It didn't withstand pulling the screw, but until I tried that, it was fine for a couple of years in salt water.

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
With JB
Would still be able to pull the handle to disengage and open/close manually?

Bob
🇺🇸

[A W Warn]

When the gear stripped in one of my Fantastic fans, I called customer service and they sent replacement parts.

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
But the CS has gone to poop.👎

Bob
🇺🇸

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by pcskier

Thinking about his some more. Maybe I'll take the vent arm out, install the gear sleeve over it, drill a small hole through the sleeve and axle gear...then insert a small pin after sliding the sleeve over the gear. This would be a permanent solution, but also make it very difficult to remove the motor later. Other ideas welcome.

Peter, I was thinking about your idea to pin and remembered we used Lovejoy two-piece couplers on production machines. They make them down to a 1/4" bore. Hopefully you can get a replacement sleeve and not have to reengineer it.

Good luck and let us know what you find!
-Jeff

[CRH]

The same thing happened to my original Fantastic fan. I did fix mine with JB Weld. It worked until I finally replaced the fan due to it leaking because the frame was cracked.

[emelaich01]

Also, check again with Dometic. When our 2017 fan motor died, we contacted them and were told that the fan came with a 10-year warranty and they sent us a new motor/fan assembly.
Not sure when this went into effect but it's sure worth a call.
Good luck!

[pcskier]

Thanks for all the comments so far. Yes, it's def the female splines in the sleeve that are completely stripped out. I do have an email in to dometic, I'll follow up with a call and maybe I'll get lucky and they'll send parts. Yes, with JB Weld the manual function would still work, that mechanism is separate from the sleeve. My only issue with JB weld is it would be a real chore to disassemble again later.

My plan right now if I don't get free parts is to drill through the sleeve and shaft, and put in a screw or pin.

[CruizinDux]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

When the gear stripped in one of my Fantastic fans, I called customer service and they sent replacement parts.

There is a 7 year parts warranty. P &L only for 2 years.
My repair ( 3 yr old) was a bit different as my base flashing had cracked (likeky over torque at mfg) on both fans. Instead of shipping a new base, the shipped 2 new fans.

CS for me was VG on 1st and less so on the 2 nd one.

Bob

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
The original FF lifetime warrantee...
My experience also...14yrs ago I discovered that both covers were cracked from an overzealous nut driver on install, FF CS had them replaced in 3 days. A year or so later the lift arm failed...again, days later it was replaced.

After the change in ownership a limit switch failed, my lifetime had expired.🥴

If ever needed this will be installed.

Bob
🇺🇸

[pcskier]

Originally Posted by emelaich01

Also, check again with Dometic. When our 2017 fan motor died, we contacted them and were told that the fan came with a 10-year warranty and they sent us a new motor/fan assembly.
Not sure when this went into effect but it's sure worth a call.
Good luck!

I wanted to update this thread with a shout out to Dometic, as suggested above and a few other of your comments. I emailed customer service and included the pics I posted here. About a week later I received the following email. No need to prove age of fans or any hassle at all (they took me at my word...and my fans are less than 7 years old.)

Peter,
We do apologize for the problems you are experiencing. You have a seven year warranty on the fans so we can certainly help you out.
Please send us your full name, address and phone along with the color of your fan…….white or off white and we will send out two lift motors K6010-XX and two lift arms K8011-05.
The gears on the lift arm and the spline that they fit into can strip out. You just keep us posted and we will be glad to help.

I actually was able to MacGyver mine, probably temporarily, by taking them apart and cutting some short pieces of small cotter pin material to fit inside the sleeve just to provide more friction between the stripped sleeve and the gear to I could open and close them. But it'll be great to get whole new assemblies and get it done right without paying $40 each for those parts. It never hurts to ask!