Spare Tire, Ceiling Fan

Heads up from Cary today. My 2011 550 #452 is getting some factory maintenence. Cary said "let's check the air pressure on your spare tire", my 13 yr old spare tire. It was about 0.

I also got the new ceiling fan...wow, I feel like I just came out of the dark ages. It even runs a little breeze if the lid is closed.

 

Hmmm, I’m taking Silver Lily in for some upgrades next week. Maybe I need more things!

 

Jenn: I have you beat. After posting on another tire thread the other day, I went and audited my 13" spare I use for my small enclosed trailer, which is very useful, but doesn't see the road that often. I bought it in 2003. The spare was pristine, and fully inflated. But is now 21 years old and unlikely that it would be able to hold its own, if I pressed into service. Time flies. It got replaced yesterday.

I am now making entries in my iCalendar into 2029 to gently remind me about other automotive maintenance timelines.

 

Sherry: yes! If you can swing it get the fan. And ask Cary to do the thorough list. We had more than the fan and tires. I was surprised but not surprised.

 

Wow! You do win!
Makes me realize that I need to have the car spare tire checked out. It's also from 2011.

 

The trailer brakes were a locked up crumbling mess:

And the pretty new ones:

a BIG thanks go to Chris at camp inn. He was just going g to do the wheel bearings and discovered the brakes and alerted Cary. He also removed all the hand brake parts that had sized up and rusted and not worked for years. Thank you, Chris!

I think the feeling is that I didn't have working brakes for several years.

The car now has one of those Bluetooth Curt system deals so it will be a whole new driving experience!

 

Jenn: Re the fan: Is there a model number I can reference?

Our factory Fantastic from 2017, is obviously decent enough. But even when using just the lowest setting (out of the 4) it's still CFM overkill for such a small space. I'm wondering if the "new" one is a little more modest in terms of the air that it can move around, quieter, or even a lesser amp draw. Any of which would be appealing upgrade features to me.

I assume that what you're getting is a drop-in replacement for the Fantastic, with no trailer modifications necessary for a retrofit.

 

Does this have that info?

 

If the current model that C-I uses ends up being pretty much the same thing as what we have, I have run across this article where the author has all the same niggling beefs that I have. He has put an infinitely variable speed control into his Fantastic. Which addresses (presumably) all three things: a lower and more reasonable CFM, quieter and a resultant slightly lesser Amp draw.

A Better Fantastic Fan/Vent Speed Control - Airstream Forums

Fantastic Fan variable speed control - Truck Campers - Wander the West

I have yet to digest his modification steps, and others' comments in the entire post, but hopefully the reverse direction and thermostat features would remain functional.

 

It does. Enough for me to work with. Thanks.

Those links above I posted, about putting in a variable speed PWM control, could be deceptively simple. And f0r the sake of installing $10 part, I could mess up a $400 fan.

Did you have an older Fantastic that gave up the ghost? Or did you never have one, and C-I cut a brand new hole for you?

 

I had the older fan that Ken wrote about above. There is another model that is being used on the road toad and it has a longer roof cover. I don't know if it's only for that trailer. But I am massively happy with what I have!

 

Excellent. Nice to know. Thanks.

Ours was never really that quiet on low right from the beginning. Nothing really wrong with it; it's just that low-level white noise can only be tolerated so long. Especially if you're not trying to drown anything out.

 

Maxxair fan is amazing, I love mine. Though on the spare tire -- hmmm...need to check my ol' jeep!!!! That looks factory from 1998....I may be the winner in this competition!!!

 

Sweeney: I'll let you walk away with the prize. You deserve it.

Looks like the Maxxfan could have a new fanboy in the near future.

I'm seeing specs of 0.2A on Low. Which beats the pants off the Fantastic that boasts a considerable 1.5A as its lowest draw, according to my new Victron shunt. And if it's quieter, then those two things alone would justify the upgrade. The Fantastic easily could be put up on the Canadian version of Craig's List and subsidize the cost.

I am looking at their installation instructions, and am hopeful it's a straight drop-in, with some careful and meticulous caulking. But am wondering if there are any gems of wisdom from those (if any) who may have done their own switch-out. From what I can gather here on this post, those who do have it, have it as a result of it being factory OEM over the last several years, or recently by way of an overdue upgrade done at the factory. Maybe I'll have to contact Cary before I pull the pin.

 

Too funny!
And bragging rights go to...........

 

Nearly sold on the Maxx.

It seems that earlier versions of the MaxxAir and their circuit boards had a very low Voltage threshold and they cut out when being fed by more than 13.8V, or something. Which is indeed almost a certainty when charging on shore or the road. Or it fried the circuit boards. Some even had to go to the trouble of installing voltage limiters to get them to prevent them from doing so. It looks like that problem has been created, and then solved, by Maxx's engineers. No on-line complaints anywhere since 2021 that I can see. But I will check with Cary to make sure they aren't having this issue, or that C-I is having to put in a limiter in an abundance of caution.

Lots of different models:

View attachment upload_2024-5-3_6-33-22.jpeg

I'm leaning toward the 6200K model (manual opening, with no remote or rain sensor) with the optional basic shade attachment (no LEDs).

Given the difficulties some here on this forum have had with rain sensors in the past (erroneous dewpoint operation) I thought it best to avoid that feature. Besides, the 6200's elongated, cantilevered design is already protected from rain infiltration. And my arms are long enough that I don't need a remote. Their 10-speed fans are also far more amp-efficient, than the 4-speed versions; the 4-speeds versions mimic the Fantastic in terms of power consumption (1.5A at the lowest setting) which is considerably more than the 0.2A draw on Speed1 for a 10-speed, or even 0.8A at the #4 setting. Here's a good overview on the 6200 with their real-world power consumption and performance tests:

In-Depth Review: Maxxair MAXXFAN Deluxe — Methow Van Company

Still need to talk to Necedah about proper techniques for a neat, watertight installation, which must be eminently do-able. There's many DIY installation how-to posts on-line that appear as though the installers had some sort of medical episode while using the caulking gun:

View attachment upload_2024-5-3_7-1-2.jpeg

View attachment upload_2024-5-3_7-9-17.jpeg

I'm pretty sure Jenn's installation doesn't look like these.

 

Its as close to a drop in as you can get. Butyl tape is needed to seal out water (I also put dicor on mine as a belt/suspender though campinn does not use it in the factory) Just remove the screws inside, the plastic that is there --- set it aside you can reuse it. You'll see the wires there that are attached to the existing fan, you'll use those. Depending on your trailer age you will notice on newer campers other unused black/red --- these are pre-wires for roof mounted solar. Ignore those.

Reassembly is just reverse of that. The plastic is not predrilled, so you will probably cut new holes through the wood an aluminum, but the butyl tape (and in my case dicor) will seal those. up.

Tools needed are minimal. Screwdriver, drill (optional, if you use self tapping screws) , wire stripper/cutter, crimp tool, and butt connectors. EDIT: Oh, yah, and a cualking gun if you use dicor. "the more the better" is the philosophy with that stuff. It's self-leveling, the gloppyness will flatten out over 24 hours.

Things to watch for are pretty minimal but this is important --- center the new fan, and ensure it does not interfere with the 'roof' screws that hold the skin in place (note the tone of experience) then and only then start screwing things into place.

Installation took me about an hour then 30 more minutes to fix the screw interference issue

FWIW, Get the one with a rain sensor. I've left the campground with it open, having no rain forecast. Yet on my return I found the fan closed and a wet roof. This has happened more than once. I was pretty sure the self opening would be frivolous, but I like that feature too after having it. I also had problems with the OEM cover opening as the trailer bounced down the highway, caused by the slight pressure was trying to open the vent combined with the mechanics of the crank. The motor resistance on the Maxxair negates that issue. You can still open it manually. Obviously if you get the rain sensor, you get the motor.


If you have a roof rack the 'rain hood' model will not fit, it will not clear the rails, which disappointed me. I loved the idea of a fan in the rain. But it also is bigger and would look gross, even the low profile one