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Maxxair Install

Yahoo Message Number: 3886
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    MaxxAir Project
     Well, it has finally warmed up enough to do some projects! Woo hoo!  Sandy and I love to travel, when everyone else isn't. Holidays are the best times to hunker down and get 'er done. Did I say that?
     So it all started last summer.  We were in and out of bad weather for almost 5 weeks, including 6 severe storms. How we dodged the hail is beyond me.
     I am the "rain sensor" in our rig. I have an auto sensor on the front ceiling fan, and I am super cautious about not leaving the awning out in case of high winds. But last summer I missed one cloud burst when our bathroom vent was open. Well the rain cleaned the fan and screen and deposited the result in the bathroom. So this was motivation #1.
     The second motivation is that there are just times when you want to have that vent open, and the fan running - independent of weather. Say when you are dumping the tanks.
     So I decided to put a vent cover on the bathroom fan vent. I looked at the MaxxAir, MaxxAir II, and Fan/Mate. Fan/Mate seemed like a bit much for our modest fan. Our Northern Breeze is far from fantastic fan. At the same time Max Air II looked like it could move more air and therefore accommodate the fan better, and possibly better when the vent was open and the fan was not in operation - say when boondocking. I also liked the idea that it was hinged for easy access and cleaning. So that is what I purchased. It has been sitting in the slide space of the forward bins waiting for spring!
    Up on the roof!
     Well, up on the roof the vent/fan looks like this:

              Bathroom Vent
     I have seen better caulking. Not very visible in this picture, but there is a crack in the DAP at the seam where the fixture meets the roof. It could be just the minor movement, or it could be where the self leveling sealant has come into contact with the Butyl tape below. I also see footprints in the sealant. Hmmmmm.
     So I decide that as long as I am at it I will redo the Bathroom Vent seal and clean everything.

              Tools - Lacquer Thinner, Eternabond, Scissors, roller, putty knife, caulking gun
     I used a putty knife and some rocking motion to remove the caulk from the fixture:

              Opening the vent made the job easier on three sides!
     After removing the caulk I guess I went overboard. The self leveling sealant was in pretty good shape. The crack was only superficial. I only found one place where it had made it to the Butyl tape. I imagine it could have been caulked over after cleaning with about the same result.
     After the caulk was gone, I cleaned with water, wipes, and finally with Lacquer Thinner. The result was a LOT cleaner:

              Caulk removed and all cleaned up - last step lacquer thinner
     Next was to use Eternabond to reseal the fixture. It is good to start at the back of the vehicle (leeward) so wind will not hurt your work. I have 2 inch and 4 inch Eternabond, and I decided to go with the 4 inch. Lay the pieces down and cut with Scissors, "snap" the back of the piece to remove the backing and then reveal the adhesive just a bit at a time. Working from one side use hand and roller to make sure you have a good bond, pressure activated, and no bubbles or tents.

              Rolling on Eternabond
    The windward side goes on last and now the Eternabond is done:

              Last strip of Eternabond
     I like to put a bead of caulk on the leading edge. (DAP)

              Note sealed leading edge
     Sealing the leading edge gives me some confidence that an air pocket or bubble will not turn into a tunnel allowing water to seep under the Eternabond. Now I think I will let this harden a bit so I don't mess up my own work while doing the MaxxAir II.
    Installing the MaxxAir II
    A couple of days later I was back on the roof!
     I removed the bathroom Fan just to make things easier. Incidentally - MaxxAir (http://www.maxxair.com/ ) has instructions for mounting over fans that includes using more ½ inch self tapping screws. Such a method would make mounting without removing the fan easier. However I have always been a bolt man, just gives me a different level of confidence. A further consideration is that the wiring wraps around the fan, and it seems to me that drilling into the wiring channel could damage something.  
     So I just went ahead and pulled the fan.  Just remove the four screws holding the roof molding. Then remove two screws holding the fan face. These screws do double duty and also help to hold the fan body to the vent fixture. There is a snap on molded piece with the fan switch in it. This can be removed to make things easier. Then there are three more screws which attach the Fan Body to the vent fixture. Voilà, no fan! Once the fan was pulled another benefit was immediately clear. You can give all the parts a good cleaning - and they needed it badly!
     At this point I really did have to get back on the roof. Time to measure and position the MaxxAir II

              MaxxAir II Hinges Set - Vents to leeward
    After placing the Hinges on the MaxxAir II it was simplicity itself just to draw a mark at the two points that needed drilling on the fan base. Next a couple of bolts, washers, lock washers, and nuts. That meant it was time to measure the feet on the opposite side (See photo above). Two more holes drilled (3/16" for #8 bolts) and then the MaxxAir II can be closed with pins placed and locked in. At this point I tightened things up and put a drop of loctite on the nuts. Hmmm, is that robust enough of a mounting? Has anyone found roof mounting to be required?

     When I climbed down Sandy surprised me, she had cleaned all the fan components so all I had to do was reverse the process, install the fan and screen. A final vacuum and we were done.

              Fan replaced, screen is next.
    This is my first MaxxAir, so suggestions for improvement welcome.
     Tools for part 2: Drill, Phillips Head #2 Screwdriver, Knife, Needle nose pliers, pen or pencil.
     Kevin
     30.3815N, 97.9610W
    ("Roscoe Ventura" Jayco Seneca HD SS 34 Diesel 2006;
    "Toad" Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 2007)

    Re: Maxxair Install

    Reply #1 –
    Yahoo Message Number: 3888
    Nice job/project report. Wish I had the newer Maxx Air vent covers with hinges on my vents. Mine have been on for 4 years with no problems.
    We use the vent in the bathroom to draw fresh air in from the one in living area. Have to leave bathroom door open for this to work. Works well with little noise in rest of MH.
    Have you tried running on the high fan settings? I very seldom use settings above 2.

    Re: Maxxair Install

    Reply #2 –
    Yahoo Message Number: 3889
    Quote
    MaxxAir Project

    I think Kevin does this just to irritate the rest of us :-) Really a nice
    job! Doing the job, not irritating us :-)

    Question for you....how difficult was it to remove the old caulk around that
    vent? I'm thinking of replacing mine with the new tape, but have held off
    because I'm afraid of getting into a mess removing the old caulking. I'd
    really like to do this along the front seam between the cap and the roof at
    the front of the unit.

    I see you used lacquer thinner too. My Greyhawk 32SS has the TPO roof
    material and worry about what to use to clean the caulk residue once I get
    into it.

    Take care,
    Greg

    Re: Maxxair Install

    Reply #3 –
    Yahoo Message Number: 3898
    Greg: Roof Material: I believe my roof is Fiberglass - so your situation may be different. For Cleaning - I have tried a lot of stuff, warm soapy water, cleansers, etc. And some solvents, Acetone, Lacquer thinner. For my roof I have found that using a brush with water followed by lacquer thinner gets it the cleanest and prepares the surface well for the Eternabond. I was nervous at first, but after doing a trial area, I have been really happy.
    Caulking: I understand perfectly. I was nervous about it too. However my unit is getting old and the caulk is showing its age. I am only using the Eternabond on the flat fixtures. I intend to use DAP self leveling sealant for re-caulking antennas and vents. Some of these I intend to just touch up after cleaning. The caulk is not hard to remove. I use a knife to get things started. Then place a putty knife under the caulk and use a rocking motion to separate it from the surface. Then a combination of pulling and scraping gets it off in a single chunk. Again I am on fiberglass so your result may be different. Maybe someone else with the TPO roof can weigh in here?
    I think it took me about 15 minutes to get the old caulk off.
    I too am looking at that front seal, but I have not done it yet, and as far as I can detect there has been no leaking yet. Aesthetically I think it suffers in that when they were finishing and painting they painted up over the caulk, and that is not aging well.
    Ron: Will try the fan test and do an inspection to see if there is any lift or issues.
    Kevin (Real) McCoy
    ("Roscoe Ventura" Jayco Seneca HD SS 34 Diesel 2006; "Toad" Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 2007)

    center
    From: KodiakChassisClassC@yahoogroups.com [mailto: KodiakChassisClassC@yahoogroups.com ] On Behalf Of Greg Gimlick
    Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 9:17 AM
    To: KodiakChassisClassC@yahoogroups.com
    Subject: RE: [KodiakChassisClassC] Maxxair Install

    > MaxxAir Project
    I think Kevin does this just to irritate the rest of us :-) Really a nice
    job! Doing the job, not irritating us :-)
    Question for you....how difficult was it to remove the old caulk around that
    vent? I'm thinking of replacing mine with the new tape, but have held off
    because I'm afraid of getting into a mess removing the old caulking. I'd
    really like to do this along the front seam between the cap and the roof at
    the front of the unit.
    I see you used lacquer thinner too. My Greyhawk 32SS has the TPO roof
    material and worry about what to use to clean the caulk residue once I get
    into it.
    Take care,
    Greg
     

    Re: Maxxair Install

    Reply #4 –
    Yahoo Message Number: 3900
    We have two Maxxair 800s on ours - put on as part of our purchase contract. We had to have them added to our Journey and Ambassador after purchase (gee, I did learn something for the next purchase). They are great since we simply leave the vents open unless living in it and it is too cold (like some FLA nights recently).

    When we purchased them for our DPs we had Camping World install them - about $15 to do the work and it only took the tech 15 minutes.

    Don