Van Roof Vent Installation

So you have selected a roof vent fan for your Conversion Van and now you need a little guidance to help you install it? Well, keep reading. In this How-To Guide, we detail Step-By-Step how we completed our Maxxair Fan install to help you with your Van Roof Vent Installation.

We were super excited when we unboxed this new Maxxair Fan, Now its time to install it.

Van Roof Vent Installation How-To Guide

Step-1: Collect Required Tools And Materials

The first thing we needed to do for our Maxxair Van Roof Vent Installation was collect all the parts, materials, and tools. It is a lot of tools and materials, but most of them will be used again throughout our van build. Luckily at this point, we already have all the pieces we need.

Parts & Materials:

Roof Vent Fan
Roof Vent Fan Adapter (eBay) (Optional but highly recommended.)
Windo-Weld / Glass Adhesive (Needed if using Roof Vent Fan Adapter)
Butyl tape
Painters masking tape
Duct tape
Isopropyl Alcohol
Shop Rags
Plastic Sheeting
Touch Up Paint/Rust Paint
Self Leveling Lap Sealant
Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scour Pad
C-clamps.

Tools:

PPE (Safety Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection)
Cordless Drill
Drill bits
Jigsaw with Metal Blades
Permanent Marker
Measuring Tape
Caulking Gun
Metal File
Shop-Vac
Screwdrivers

Step-2 Locate and Mark Out Your Vent Hole Location.

Firstly, when selecting our preferred location, we made sure to miss the roof cross members. Remembering to take into account other roof-mounted accessories we plan to install on our van. E.g. Solar Panels, Roof Top Storage Boxes, etc. Where we locate our fan will also be dependent on our interior floor plan. For improved circulation, we tried to have the largest possible distance between the roof fan and your air intake vents I.e: the front windows.

Purchasing a fan adapter is highly recommended as the adapter works great as a template to mark the hole. Also, the adapter perfectly centers the fan in the roof channels. Using the adapter as a stencil, we traced out the fan hole location with a permanent marker. This will be our cut mark.

Step-3 Preparation and Cutting Out The Fan Vent Hole.

To help prevent scratches from the jigsaw when cutting out your hole, we taped off the surrounding area. Next, we hung some plastic sheeting to catch falling swarf and metal shavings We didn’t want this stuff all through our van, it is a pain to clean up.

When we drilled the holes in each corner, starting with a smaller pilot drill bit and working our way up to the required size to prevent the drill bit from wandering.

Tape off the area surrounding the cut mark.
Tape up the plastic sheeting below where the fan hole will be cut.
Drill a hole in each corner. Drilling inside the line with your pilot.

Next, we used our Jigsaw to cut out the hole after each line was cut, we added duct tape to hold the cutout and prevent it from falling. We used a file to take off the sharp edges, then touched up the bare metal with rust paint.

Use the jigsaw to cut along your mark
Use tape to prevent the cutout from vibrating and falling in.
File the sharp edges of the new fan hole cutout.
Touch up bare metal with Rust Paint

Step-4 Glueing Down the Roof Vent Adapter

If you are using the Roof Adapter, Heins gives some great instructions. Here is a brief of his instructions for gluing down the Roof Vent Adapter:

Use painters tape to tape down a square ¼” larger than the fan Vent Adapter.
Use Scotch pad to take the shine off the paint where your Roof vent Adapter will sit. Then clean the area with isopropyl alcohol and let it dry completely
Apply three beads of 3M Windo-Weld to the Roof Vent Adapter. (the side that mates with the roof)
Press the Adapter down in place until the adhesive oozes out the sides.
Wearing gloves, smooth out the adhesive around the edges. Then remove the tape. And let the adhesive set overnight.

Step-5 Drill Out Roof Flange Assembly Mounting Holes

Next, we place the Roof Flange Assembly in the hole and clamp it down so it doesn’t move. We decided to use stainless machine screws and lock nuts and drilled the holes to suit. Painting the holes with some Rust Paint from below

Clamp the Roof Flange Assembly in place.
Drill out your mounting holes.
Paint the bare metal with rust paint.

Step-6 Mounting and Sealing the Roof Flange Assembly

It is recommended to use Butyl Tape between the Roof Vent Adapter and the Flange Assembly. Butyl mastic is non-drying and remains flexible. Using Butyl will prevent cracking and keeps the flange sealed throughout the constant thermal expansion and contraction caused by daily temperature changes. Be sure to correctly orient the Flange assembly in the correct direction. (The metal clips the sides of the Van)

Tape the Roof Adapter with Butyl tape.
Bolt in the Roof Flange Assembly place. Be careful not to over tighten.
Seal all edges and screw heads with a self-leveling lap sealant like Dicor.

Step-7 Installing The Fan On To The Roof Flange Assembly

The Maxxfan needs to be in the fully opened position prior to proceeding with this step. This is done by turning the black knob on the bottom side of the fan. Remember to tuck the power wires into the hole to so they don’t get pinched or caught when installing the fan.

Set the Maxxair Fan down onto the Flange Assembly.
Install the 3/4” #10 stainless steel screws that came with the fan.

Step-8 Connecting the Power

To connect the fan to your vans 12v dedicated fan circuit, making sure to connect the fan positive lead to the vehicles 12v+ positive supply. it is recommended to use Heat Shrink Solder Sleeve Crimpless Butt Connectors. These connectors will give you peace of mind knowing that your spliced wire connections are soldered, sealed and insulated.

Step-11 Installing the Interior Garnish Ring

The garnish ring will need to be ½” longer than the distance between your Maxxfan faceplate and the ceiling.

Measure the distance between the ceiling and Maxxfan faceplate.
Mark and cut your Garnish Ring to size.
Insert the Garnish Ring and install the stainless steel screws.

JOB WELL DONE!

I am so glad this step is finally done as this is the last major hole I plan on cutting in our Van. Hopefully, this helps you with your project and feel free to ask questions, I would be happy to help.