Spare Tire, Ceiling Fan

Thanks much Sweeney. I just emailed Cary for his take on things. Asking him pretty much everything that you just touched on. Except I needed to get from him the wisdom of obtaining the "extended" version and any undue torque on the lift mechanism (since they possibly only install the 4500 version, and possibly for that very reason, if they do), and if they had experienced any voltage limitations/circuit board BBQs with any of their installs in the past.

So, then... the extended versions (6200, 7500) essentially rainproof only when stationary? And even then, I suppose, there can be some splash-back up and into the fan during a heavy rain?

What butyl thickness is best if just using that? Maxxair is silent on that one. And if going belt and suspenders with the Dicor, can you/do you/must you go thinner?

I'm also somewhat concerned about neatness up there. (it's not exactly an 8 foot high Sprinter installation that no one will ever see). Can any over-zealousness on my part with the Dicor, or natural run-out/squeeze-out be easily tidied up? I've never used it. I'm guessing that exterior-grade clear silicone is not advisable if Dicor is what you are recommending.

 

I'm not sure why you'd be worried about voltage. The auto-opener only runs for a few seconds, and it's perfectly fine. It's not a high-amp load. I ordered mine on Cary's recommendation, if memory serves correctly it was what was installed in the showroom when I was there last.

It's 'drops in' except for having to drill new holes in the mounting shroud (which are marked, but you'll never line it up exactly with the factory-installed fan.

I have the 4500K. Its not rain proof, meaning it stays open. It just auto closes when a rain drop hits a small sensor, then the motor just adds a little tension to keep it closed. Drive with it open? I'm sure you could --- but I wouldn't. Stress the plastic....drive long enough and on the roadside you'll see vent covers that have been blown off the vehicle. But the vents are closed they're fine...

The butyl tape comes in one thickness that I'e seen...probably 1/8 inch thick. I got mine on Amazon. 4 sides, 18 inches each...so get an 80 inch roll and you'll be fine. I used this.

This is just like a gasket material that has the texture of a soft putty. Once its on, its on forever, it will get into the cracks and is basically impossible to remove just because its so pliable and sticky. Its really good stuff, and you can find resources online about its use. Its nothing to be scared of.

I just put a dab of dicore on the heads of the screws and a small bead of it on the perimeter of the fan where the fan met the roof. I just ran a 'fat bead' around the perimeter and then a dollop on top of each screw head. Leveled out and it doesn't look terrible. When it needs refreshed a putty knife and some mineral spirits will remove the residue.

All of these sealents are thick, icky, nasty, difficult to remove, flexible non porous. Theres a ton of youtube on the subjects...If you can put in the shunt, this is easy.

 

Cool. Thanks for the extra "dope". I feel more confident. I've seen the butyl up to 3/8" thick, but thought that must be for highly irregular surfaces, unlike ours. Besides, I don't think you want to be reefing down on the screws , unevenly, to squeeze it all out, and end up cracking the plastic.

I knew you had previously pondered in a post getting the 7500; I thought that's what you ended up putting in.

I'm not worried what amperage the fan would draw. I was curious about what voltage the battery sends.

Apparently the dainty circuit boards of previous Maxx fans were designed to cut out (most times harmlessly) if receiving a voltage higher than 13.6. which is a voltage which can easily be reached if you are using the fan at the same time as connected to shore power and charging. Others have had their boards completely fried. If low amperage and high voltage can do this, then I guess it's a stupid design. This problem apparently was accepted by the engineers at Maxx, and after sending out numerous warranty replacement boards, the new post-2021 boards can now reliably handle 14.4 or higher. Of course, this is all anecdotal and taken from various RV forums, and many owners, even those pre-2021, have never had an issue So place what weight you want on that little tidbit.

I'd place more weight on C-I doing their due diligence and figuring they were a reliable and ultimately better option than the Fantastics. But I still thought I'd ask the V question anyway.

 

As an active participant on the fiberglass Escape forum; there have been two issues with the Maxx Fan. The first was when the transition was made to lithium batteries and the increased voltages was frying the boards. The second was moisture which owners solved by adding a conformal coating to the board. Not sure what modifications Maxx Fan has made; but the instances of these failures have greatly subsided.

 

Thanks V&T for clarifying this.

 

Dropped off Silver Lily at the nest to have her get upgrades, and yes, I added the fan upgrade. Picking her up next week, I’m looking forward to enjoying her new look.

 

Yeah! I'll tell ya...I have no regrets about this fan. Last night was a big thunderstorm in Minnesota. I had to have everything closed but with the ceiling fan running at 10% the cabin was noticeably more comfortable this morning. I look forward to your feedback.

Confession: this morning, while waiting for the rain to stop I was fiddling with the fan remote. I touched the lid button and the lid takes off and fully opens, dumping water into the cabin all over my sleeping bag! Until I learn differently the only way to minutely crack the lid open is by hand. The remote seems to only fully open or fully close the lid.

I'm also going to need a fan curtin cover that is a bit bigger than the old placemat from a Walmart in Arkansas. It served me well.

 

We have noticed the same thing as you experienced with the remote. The buttons on the fan itself will do the same thing. The lid will open fully or close fully. I just made my adjustments to the lid manually.

 

Don't confuse voltage and amperage. Voltage is maxxing (get that!) at ~14.4 volts from the charger, this voltage will not hardm the fan.

Amperage is what the van "pulls" --- You can hook up a 12 volt power supply that makes 1000 amps, even if the fan only draws 1 amp.

Voltage is compared to PSI. Amperage is compared to the thickness of the pipe...this fan can absolutely be used. Don't sweat the thickness of the of the butyl either....the 1/8 is plenty thick enough. but if you are worried bout it you could put down 2 layers. It will fuse to itself as soon as the screws are tightened....but that really isn't necessary.

When I put the fan on, the 'tape' goes on the fan side -- you kind of stick it to the fan as you place it. Its unusual to work with, and looking at videos about it may be helpful. It isn't sticky like superglue, its sticky over time --- but once it adhere's ita horrid to remove.

This is another one of those don't over think it things....just as long as it is pressed together when you drive the screws, it will all be just fine as long as there is some compression between the roof and fan. Just make sure yo don't have gaps or spaces. Stack end ends like lincoln logs, and make sure there is a slight 'overlap' between the head and the tail....

I'm not sure that is making any sense at all...it almost calls for a video

 

I understand that amperage is the thing that turns wires in to glowing filaments, and living bodies into corpses. As opposed to strictly voltage. But I'll go with your analogies.

I was just trying to point out that the previous versions had circuit boards that weren't up the task. Whether it was the fact that they drew too much amperage and quite literally fried, or there was some aspect of the board that was voltage-sensitive, I'm not exactly sure. I didn't uncover what the specific issues and causes were eventually admitted to be by Maxx.

Some posters on those RV forums had spoken of an over-voltage protection safeguard, built in to the Maxx by engineers (for some inconceivable reason) that caused it to predictably and intentionally shut down if it had to deal with a voltage in the neighbourhood of 13.6 or 13.8 . I can't remember what the exact design threshold was. This could easily be a common occurrence, and a bother for a lot of people. These engineers likely didn't understand that the fans were used in trailers that used 12V batteries that needed to be charged to 14.4, quite possibly while concurrently running the fan. (It wouldn't be the first time an engineer had failed to take into account the full system and use parameters for the part they were designing.) These affected fans were still quite operable after a reset or some type of easy end-user fix. But it didn't really have anything to do with an aberrant amperage draw; it was specifically voltage.

Other fan owners, I believe, possibly had a completely separate problem and their boards "fried" (their words) requiring a board replacement by Maxx, because the boards weren't fixable at all. If this were truly the case then it would indicate some sort of over-amperage issue. However, maybe it was easier and more efficient for Maxx to simply replace a board that had "frozen up" and wasn't burnt at all. And the owners assumed it was crispy inside. I don't know.

Van and Terri have confirmed that some sort of chronic malfunction(s) and design flaw(s) in earlier versions weren't the imagination of a small group of fan owners and it was indeed a "thing". But most likely, those things are no longer a concern for those who have put in a Maxx within the last couple years, or those who wish to do so now. Which was the fear that I was trying to allay if anyone else did a deeper dive into Maxx's manufacturing history like I did, and discovered a bunch of unhappy, disillusioned customers in the not-so-distant past.

 

Fully open: ‘Thanks’ for soaking your bed first , so I don’t have to learn that lesson myself!

I have a couple of trips planned for weekends in May, so I will enjoy the new fan. Cary did show me the fan on the floor model and I did immediately fall in love with it.

I will have to decide exactly where that remote will live!

I also have a fan cover sized for the old fan. I did assume it may need tweaking for the new fan. I will have to see if I need to re-do it, or if I just need to attach Velcro to different places.

 

As usual, all the crew at the factory did an excellent job of upgrading and inspecting #582. Silver Lily is back in the garage and packed up (mostly) for next weekend's camping trip. Once packed up... I "inspected" the bed and the quality of the new fan by putting it on 20% and promptly taking a nap this afternoon. It was as lovely as expected.

I don't do as much traveling as you do, Jenn, so my trailer brakes just needed a small adjustment. I did get to see what was left of your trailer brakes lying on the floor, lol.

Otherwise, it was just a few tweaks to some seals.

 

Isn't that new fan heavenly?

My old brakes would be a good doorstop! I'm now using the Bluetooth KURT braking system. I really noticed the difference coming across the country. In Souix Falls I almost parked in the back of a box truck on I90. Strangely stopped in the road. Hit the brakes and prayed. Immediate td response. Worth all the $ right there. Thanks again to Chris. And to all the good folk at csmpinn. They tweaked up all sorts of things for me and I really noticed little things here and there.

 

Can you talk about the KURT braking system --- is this the controller or did you change the drum/shoes? I didn't see it in the above part of the thread.

I started a new job, and am not working from home any longer -- the time I have for goofing off here is severely limited

 

More spare tire maintenance:
I have a newtome subaru outback and it needed a hitch and all that includes. A couple weeks ago we checked the spare tire inflation level on the outback. It would not inflate. It was discovered that when the wiring was installed under the back that a screw went up through the tire holding bin, into the tire. I went back to the install company and within 15 minutes they had filed an insurance claim for the tire. That same day a new tire was on order and I had the insurance money within days. Also, the screw poking into the tire well was cut off and the hole patched. that was a 5 min job in the parking lot I'm really grateful that was discovered and that the install company was so good to work with.

Edit: my purpose with this post is not to call out the workmanship of a company but to say how important it is to check into the belly of your gear. I would never have thought of this but a friend suggested checking the car spare tire since it's a 2011 vehicle and the back of the car was empty of gear. And this would not have been caught if we hadn't taken the tire out to try inflating it. Good lesson for me.