So I gave in and put a roof fan in Turtle III. Did I need it? Not 100%. But on hot nights it is sure nice!!!!! Or on days when we have the van out on location it helps to let the heat out when it is parked.
So what did I go with?
A Maxxfan Deluxe was my choice. It does not have the remote and honestly for a van that you can reach the roof it is not needed. I can see the need for the remote in higher roof vans or in RV’s. The remote allows you to operate the fan without having to reach it (you can tell I am short).
Install
The install was very easy. I never broke a sweat! I had a company install the fan for me. Why? Well mainly it is my health and the fact that I did not want to start something and then not be able to finish before a rain. The second reason is that for what they charged me to do it was more than reasonable and just getting the little extras like cutting blades, glue and solvent would have cost me a lot and it would be stuff that I only would have used once. The van went in and was done right away, could not have asked for better service!!!
If you are in Western Canada or are passing through and need work done look up Wilderness vans! It is SOOO nice to have a local supplier for parts and supplies and they are priced in Canadian dollars. PLUS having people that understand vans to do the work is great! I got a price from another shop and they were $1000 higher!!! Why? Because they do large builds and I was just a tiny job not worth it for them to do. Wilderness vans fit me in and did a professional job.
So far I have used it a few times. One night it started to rain in the middle of the night and I had the vent open. It is designed to not let rain in and it did the job. A heavy downpour and I was dry.
Drawbacks
Only one so far. I am camped and fast asleep and at 6:30 am I hear a strange noise. It was not loud but it woke me up. Could not figure out what it was. I tracked it down to the vent and after a few minutes to wake up I realized a Crow or Raven was on the roof of the van tapping on the roof fan. I closed the fan and the noise stopped when I was closing it and as soon as it was closed it started again. Opened it up and told the bird to get lost and fortunately it did. It must have seen something interesting on it!