MaxAir MaxxFan Install
MaxxFan
Another lesson learned from my first van was the necessity of a good roof vent. On warm days, while cooking, and just to get some fresh air, these things are a must. In my book, a rain cover is also mandatory – nothing worse than not being able to ventilate the van during a warm rain. We camped through much of the spring without it and damn, we missed having one.
I liked the integrated design of the MaxAir MaxxFan (00-06200k) and also the variable speeds and thermostat control. I didn’t opt for the one with remote control as I figured I’d probably lose it.
Headliner Removal
The first step in the fan installation was removing the headliner. The Sprinter passenger model comes with an “insulated” headliner which I sought to preserve in my final build. In short, this process is a pain. There are a few online guides, so I took a bit from each keeping most everything intact. (Hint the key is do NOT attempt to preserve the roof clips – it takes more time and you won’t succeed.)
Yet, the point of this blog entry is installing the fan. Since many of you may not have headliners, I will spare you the details of this process and put it in separate post.
Measuring & Marking
The 2019 Sprinter has a pretty obvious location for the roof vent; it is the place on the ceiling at the front of the cargo area between the roof beams. There’s a circular bump-out in the middle of this location that looks like it’s made for maybe a siren or light. The spacing between the ribs and roof beams here allows for the 14″ standard cutout. I was okay with this location, but if you want to move it forward or aft, you will need to deal with spacers to accommodate the roof ribs.
On the top of the roof, I placed a broad band of painter’s tape over the approximate cutout line. I made this taped “box” wide enough to protect the roof paint from the foot of the jigsaw I was going to use. (Sorry no photo of the tape.)
Using the cowling from the fan as a template, I centered it over the cutout area between the ribs. I measured everything a few times inside and out to ensure I didn’t make any major blunders and drew the cut line on the taped area on the roof.
Cutting
From the roof side, I drilled a pilot hole to the inside of the marked box and used a jigsaw to cut out the square. I found it easiest to cut curved corners and after the panel was removed, square them up.
In the photo you can see that I also protected the roof with old towels and placed plywood pieces over them to spread my weight out when I was actually on the roof. Of course this photo is after I removed the painter’s tape.
Placement & Sealing
I fitted the MaxxFan mounting bracket over the hole to test the fit. I was being conservative with the tolerances so I had to trim a bit, but I was happy with it being too small rather than too big. Once the hole was sized, I taped the mounting bracket in place and pre-drilled the screw holes. As an extra weather-proofing precaution I put a band of butyl tape around the opening then mounted the bracket using the screws provided
.
As stressed in every other online guide: make sure the mounting tabs are to the sides!
Finally, I used lap-sealant to weather proof the whole thing. I hadn’t used this type of caulking before and although it’s not super tidy to apply, it really does the job.
From here on out, I pretty much followed the instructions that came with the fan. At the time of installation, I had not installed my electrical system so I wired this into an existing always-on circuit with a 5A fused connector. Later, I connected this to a dedicated circuit in my final electrical layout.
