Hey friends, welcome back to Grand Adventure! I'm your host Marc Guido,
and while we're enjoying warmer weather in Quartzsite we're going to embark upon
one of the best upgrades you can make to your RV,
installing a MaxxAir MaxxFan Plus! So stick around.
In our living room space, KZ RV installed only a passive vent without any fan.
I've already removed the decorative interior shroud from our old vent,
and to my delight I've discovered that KZ actually ran a 12-volt line
right to our vent location,
saving me perhaps the most difficult part of this job,
which would be running power to the new vent.
So let's head up onto the roof and get to work.
With power already at the new vent's location,
the most difficult part of this job is now removing the old self-leveling lap sealant,
also known by the brand name Dicor.
While this stuff remains pliable after it cures,
it's nevertheless very difficult to remove.
It's best to work with a paint scraper or putty knife to remove the old sealant,
taking great care to not tear your roof membrane in the process.
I'm not going to bother removing the sealant from the frame of the old fan,
as that's going in the dumpster.
I'm just going to remove it from the roof membrane up to the old fan's frame,
and also remove it from the 16 or so screw heads that attach the frame to the roof.
If it's cool out, you can use a hair dryer to soften the old lap sealant a bit
to make it even more pliable.
The MaxxFan Plus from MaxxAir is a remarkable unit.
The model we've chosen, number 4500K includes a 10-speed fan that is reversible
to move air either in or out of the RV at a rate of up to 900 cubic feet per minute.
The smoke tinted transparent lid is motorized and includes a rain sensor
that will automatically close the lid when it detects rainfall.
Everything may be controlled by either buttons on the interior of the fan assembly,
or from a multifunction infrared remote control with an informative LCD display.
It will fit any existing 14"x14" roof vent opening.
At the time of this video's production it costs $255.86 on Amazon with free Prime shipping,
while other models with fewer features are available at a lesser price.
As usual, you'll find this MaxxAir MaxxFan Plus available
in the Grand Adventure Shop on Amazon,
which we'll link to both right here on the screen,
and in the video description down below.
This is just plain grunt work, and it's taking me over 90 minutes
to remove all of the lap sealant necessary to pull the old fan out.
OK, I'm happy that's over!
Next up, we'll remove all of the screws attaching the fan to the roof.
With the screws now removed, it's just a matter of lifting out the old fan --
again, exercising care to not tear the roof membrane while doing so.
Except I just tore my roof membrane...
Now it's time to start installing the MaxxFan Plus.
Let's strip about a half inch of insulation back from the wire that will lead to our new fan.
One nice thing about 12-volt DC electrical systems is that they're so simple to work with.
There are only two leads to connect -- the positive and the negative.
Usually the positive lead is the one with color (in our case it's yellow)
but it's best to break out a multimeter to test each wire to be sure.
We'll twist the two wires together,
and then crimp a cap connector onto each for a solid connection.
We'll apply some butyl tape along the underside of the MaxxFan's housing
to make a more effective seal against the roof.
With the butyl tape now in place,
we'll drop the MaxxFan into the roof opening
with the hinge side of the lid facing the front of the RV,
taking care to not pinch or bind the power leads.
Next we'll take the 16 provided screws and insert them through the fan housing
and roof membrane into the plywood roof decking below.
We'll take a tube of new self-leveling lap sealant and place a bead over each screw head,
as well as a 3/16" bead along the entire perimeter of the fan housing.
As the sealant cures it will spread out a bit for an effective seal.
Those plastic tabs you see there along the bottom edge
are for a tool-less installation of an optional Fanmate Vent Cover available separately.
That completes our work on the roof,
so it's time to head inside to complete the remaining installation,
which involves installing the decorative interior shroud.
Everyone's RV is a bit different in the amount of space between the ceiling and roof.
Some are not the same thickness on all sides, either, as some have a taper.
This shroud is therefore designed to be trimmed to fit,
but we're lucking out once again as it fits our ceiling perfectly
without any trimming required.
It's therefore just a matter of inserting the four screws provided
to secure the shroud to the ceiling.
And that's it! About two hours after beginning our project,
our work is complete. Following a quick ad break to pay the bills,
we'll see the MaxxAir MaxxFan Plus in action!
As mentioned earlier, you may use either the buttons located right on the fan's housing,
or the multifunction remote control to operate all functions of the fan.
With two solid arms holding the lid open,
it's acceptable to keep this fan vent open, even while traveling.
There's a button on the fan to turn off the rain sensor if so desired,
with a red LED to alert you to the fact that you've turned it off.
There's also a knob to manually open or close the lid
in the event of a power or motor failure.
Information displayed on the remote control's LCD panel includes fan speed,
fan direction, lid position, remote control battery level,
inside temperature and temperature setting.
By placing the fan in automatic mode, it will automatically open or close,
and change speed and direction to try to maintain the temperature you've set.
The fan can also be used with the lid closed in "ceiling fan" mode.
After using the MaxxFan for a couple of weeks I can tell you right now
we love this thing so much that we may well later on
replace the low volume vent fan that's in our bathroom.
If I put that on "out," and I put the one on our living space "in"
we'll be able to create an amazing cross ventilation airflow coming through the RV.
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