roof vent

[harycadbtopenworld.]

Hi there. I am thinking of fitting a roof vent in the rear of my motorhome, I am a reasonable diy guy. Has anyone got any tips or pitfalls in doing this job.

regards Harry

[davenewellhome]

Hi Hary, it would help if you could give us some more info about your motorhome. For example what make and model is it, coachbuilt or panel van. How big a roof vent do you want to fit? 350 square? 400 square? Mini, midi or maxi Heki?

 

As a general rule try to avoid cutting through any stiffening/strengthening members (especially if its a panel van) and check for cables etc with a "stud finder" first. Finally measure very carefully inside and out several times and mark your hole out with masking tape on the inside of the roof before you pick up that jigsaw.

 

D.

[harycadbtopenworld.]

hello again. the van is a autocruise starfire coach-built.

It already has a large roof light in the centre of the van, but i think it requires a 350x350 vent over the cooker area at the rear of the van. the roof is flat in this area and i have already checked for cables and pipes and it is clear.

regards harry

[davenewellhome]

Then check and double check your measurements, mark it out carefully as previously described the ntake a brave pill and cut your hole out. I would suggest you tape a large bin liner over the area inside to catch the debris from cutting. Also its a good idea to start by drilling a hole in each of the four corners large enough for your jigsaw blade. I usually stick a screw into the middle of the piece (from the top) to be cut out so you can hold it while you make the last leg of the cut. One final tip, cover the sole plate of the jigsaw with insualting tape so that it doesn't scratch the roof around the cut. Once you've cut the hole out carefully remove the bin liner containing the debris, wrap it up and bin it. I would use sikaflex to seal the new vent to the roof.

 

D.

[Guest peter]

Have you thought about fitting an extractor fan?. Much smaller hole required.

[harycadbtopenworld.]

thanks peter and dave for your advice.

[Derek Uzzell]

Harry:

 

There is an illustrated section on installing a (Remis) roof-light in John Wickersham's book "Build your own Motorcaravan" (Haynes Publishing).

 

I notice that John W uses ribbon sealant to bed the roof-light on to the vehicle's roof and then seals round the roof-light's edges with Sikaflex-252, but it's worth saying that the Remis product he fitted to his motorhome was considerably larger than the one you are proposing to install. Sikaflex-512 Caravan should be equally suitable for the bonding/sealing task.

 

The roof-light you choose needs to be matched to the thickness of your Starfire's roof and, because your motorhome already has a large central roof-window, I'd be tempted to opt for a model of roof-light without 'permanent ventilation' for the kitchen area, as this will remove the risk of draughts when cooking is not in progress. (This assumes you intend to open the roof-light during cooking, but otherwise keep it closed.)

 

There are plenty of roof-lights on the market, though I'm not aware of a 350mm x 350mm model. In the smaller sizes the norm seems to be 400mm x 400mm or 280mm x 280mm. For the 400 x 400 size my own choice would be a Seitz Mini-HEKI Plus and, for a 280 x 280, I'd go for a Fiamma Vent 28. The latter is also available as Turbo-28 with an integrated 12V fan that should prove useful in the kitchen.