Pondering Fantastic Fans

[Boondocker]

The front vent on the Trade Wind got taken out by hail, and the fan/vent in the rear is more and more making scary noises. The front vent must be replaced, and I am undecided about the rear.

Question 1: Is it more desirable to have two fans, or is one sufficient?

Question 2: If one is sufficient, is rear or front placement better?

Question 3: Since the front vent currently is not served by power, how hard is it to bring power from the adjacent light (and how do you do it)?

Question 4: Would I be better off having a dealer do the installation, and if yes, does anyone know a good dealer either in Lubbock, or in central New Mexico?

Attached: a photo showing the trashed front vent and adjacent light. The current vents employ twin lifts rather than single lifts, not sure if this is important.

[dstalzer]

I do not know what is needed to put a fantastic fan in your Tradewind, but I do know form experience they really do a good job, especially with the rain sensor. While we were in Fort Davis, there were afternoons with thunder showers and the open fans closed down while it rained and then opened up again. As far as one or two, we normally use one in the opposite end of the AS from where we are at the time and open windows or the door in the area we are in the AS. The strange thing about the two fans we have is one is really quiet and the other is a little bit noisy. Both are fantastic fans! I know there is an AS dealer in Lubbock, but do not know what kind of work they do.
Good Luck
Dennis

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

The front vent on the Trade Wind got taken out by hail, and the fan/vent in the rear is more and more making scary noises. The front vent must be replaced, and I am undecided about the rear.

Question 1: Is it more desirable to have two fans, or is one sufficient?

Question 2: If one is sufficient, is rear or front placement better?

Question 3: Since the front vent currently is not served by power, how hard is it to bring power from the adjacent light (and how do you do it)?

Question 4: Would I be better off having a dealer do the installation, and if yes, does anyone know a good dealer either in Lubbock, or in central New Mexico?

Attached: a photo showing the trashed front vent and adjacent light. The current vents employ twin lifts rather than single lifts, not sure if this is important.

1. IMHO more is better...to a point. I would put two in then you can have one pushing air in and one pulling it out, also if need be you can put both on exhaust to really clear the air.

2. If going with one only...probably doesn't make much difference unless you have a rear bath, in which case I would put it there.

3. Get the power feed from the adjacent light fixture.

4. No clue.

The type of lifts on the old vent are immaterial, you will actually have to enlarge the hole slightly to install a Fantastic Fan.

FWIW I was considering a Fantastic vent in the front of my 31 and a Maxx Fan in the rear over the bathroom. MaxxFans have a slick cover that pops up and keeps the rain out when the fan is running. The Fantastic Fans can be reversed and used as a ceiling fan too. I have heard that the MaxxAir won't fit an AS because of the roof curvature, but have not confirmed it.

Aaron

[nvestysly]

I have the same responses as wahoonc. And... I'll add that we have two Fantastic Vents installed and we love them. They work much better than the original equipment that came with our Airstream. We have used them to blow air in, pull air out and in a combination of in/out, front/rear depending on the situation.

Our have the rain sensor and it works well. We do not have the remote control and have not found this to be a limiting factor.

Lucius

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Gen, I highly recommend a Fantastic Fan. One moves a ton of air. You can go in or out with the flow and it will exchange the entire trailer very quickly. A rain sensor is nice due to the fact that in summer the storms come without notice while you are day tripping. But the main reason I recommend Fantastic Fan is customer service. Mine developed a crack in the housing. It was probably me putting too much torque on the screws. I called to ask if I could buy a new housing, they said no. They sent me a whole new unit instead. I was up front about that fact that I was at fault, but they sent me one free anyhow. Now that is great customer service. If you go to International Rally, and buy one, they will install at no charge. A tradewind is so small one should do fine.

[Silvertwinkie]

I too cannot suggest whom to install it/them, nor if they will fit in that specific space, but I can tell you at the time of construction I specified that two be installed and like the larger A/C unit, it's a decision that I have never regretted. Two units can move a LOT of air, so if you happen to boondock and get a heat wave, and have no A/C, it really can make a difference. Be careful using any pull feature of the fantastic vent if it is near a plumbing vent stack/pipe. Airstream on newer units only have the exhaust due to some cases where the intake feature could draw in sewer gasses.

I also wholeheartedly suggest the rain sensor unit. Saved my behind one time so far and the rain sensors work flawlessly (as do the fans).

[Gene]

Rodney,

The FF's are really good and I think they are pretty expensive. I think they don't come with the exhaust switch, but will supply it free if you ask them. Where to put one will depend what you want to do.

Do you want to change air in the front or back most of the time? With just a vent on one end, and a fan on the other, you can push or pull air through pretty fast, but where do you want the noise? I think they're pretty loud so I run the one farthest from me a lot of times, but if there are too many cooking odors and the stove fan isn't doing enough, I turn on the one by the kitchen. So, if you get one, then where will it do what you want?

As for connecting it to the nearby light, how much capacity is left on the that branch circuit and how much do the FF's draw? If there's a rib between the light and the fan location, you could have a problem. Maybe there's another 12v. wire nearby, but I think you'd have to take out the broken vent and see whether you can get between the inner and outer skin and how far in you can get. Maybe someone with the same Tradewind you have knows where the wires go.

Gene

[Smokin Camel]

I put two in my 72 TW. I like the flow with both on. Remember to be conscience of the potential to pull fumes in from the waste tank vent if you run the rear fan on intake.

I installed both myself after gathering information from this forum. I second the service dept of FF. I tried to order the spacer for the curved ceiling o the AS...FF sent it at no charge!

[SilverRanger]

I have one in the front, but would rather have it in the back over the bed. It came with the AS, and it only blew air out, but we had a switch installed at the International in Perry that enables the fan to move air both ways. The rain sensor has worked flawlessly, and Frank is right about their customer service, it has been solid. The next time the rear vent cover disintegrates (and it will), I will probably install a Fantastic fan in its place. I like lots of air.

If I recall, I believe MaxxAir makes a vent cover that fits over the Fantastic Fan, enabling it to be used when it's raining.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

another comment... I like the sound of the fan. It is very soothing to me and blocks out any outside noise. I also run my kitchen exhaust fan at night too. I wish the FF hummed as loud as the stock fan. Install is easy and will take less than an hour....

YouTube - Replace Your RV Ceiling Vent - DIY

[Frank's Trailer Works]

YouTube - Airstream Restoration - 04-2 Vent Fans

[Boondocker]

The cut out area of my roof has rounded corners (see pic in post #1) does the mean I would have to cut the corners square? The scares the bejeebers out of me.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

The cut out area of my roof has rounded corners (see pic in post #1) does the mean I would have to cut the corners square? The scares the bejeebers out of me.

Yup but it is easy to do, all you have to do is use a set of aviation metal snips and cut to the pattern, HOWEVER check underneath to make sure there are no wires in the way

Aaron

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

The cut out area of my roof has rounded corners (see pic in post #1) does the mean I would have to cut the corners square? The scares the bejeebers out of me.

Rodney, take a few minutes and read over this article, it just got put up a couple of days ago:

A Fantastic Story

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Rodney, take a few minutes and read over this article, it just got put up a couple of days ago:

A Fantastic Story

That is very helpful, thanks. Cutting on the stream makes me nervous. But it may be the only thing to do.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Don't be afraid, it is easy....

[overlander64]

Greetings Rodney!

I had two Fantastic Vents installed in my Overlander at the WBCCI International Rally at Dayton, Ohio in 1999. If my Minuet would have had two roof vents, it too would have had two Fantastic Vents. Setting one on intake and the other on exhaust really can make the coach bearable even in a heat wave -- the days before 30-AMP service at the International rallys was the original reason that I had the vents installed. This spring, the RV technician making my pre-season reparis discovered that the operator lever and a related part were broken and that the cover was fractured where the operator attached -- a short call to the folks at Fantastic Vent and a new Vent cover, operator lever, and an improved motor were all on their way at no charge -- and this was for a vent that is approaching 10 years of age!

Both of my vents have the thermostatic control with rain-sensor, and I am thrilled with their performance. In areas where morning dampness is common, the rain sensors can be fooled into thinking it is raining resulting in periodically running through the open/close routine -- this wasn't enough to disuade me from ordering the features on the Fantastic vent for my Minuet.

Kevin