MaxxAir II Question

[sfrye5853]

I've read where some people leave their vents open 24/7 or somewhere close to that. I'm curious about how well these deflect rain and snow. Living in Indiana, our rain varies, but sometime we have driving & blowing rain. Do these keep the water out completely? Curious because my wife is pretty sensitive and if water comes in the musty/moldy smell will keep us at home.

Also, would installing fans in each vent be overkill or a good ventilation idea? We run ceiling fans in each room in our home for ventilation...

Thanks for the input.

[skgeorgy]

I have never had a problem with rain or moisture getting in. I leave them open all the time. The only thing to remember is if you are driving with them on, close your vents before you hit a gravel road.

[grhodes50]

I have had a little water get in during rain with high winds, if the wind is blowing just right. Never enough to cause any damage.
I still leave the vents open, but if I know a storm is coming I will only open the vents 1-2". That seems to work alright, even in high winds.

[trjohnston]

I put a pair on each end of my trailer this spring and haven't had a problem at all. Of course, I forgot to close my center vent the other day and have a wet floor in the kitchen area now, so I may be purchasing a third one to put on the center vent. Very easy to install and its nice to get some of the heat out of the unit when its being stored.

[cfsoistman]

Have had them on 3 fans since day one. Warm weather I have them open and have not had a problem with rain getting in. Winter time I usually have them closed with the pillow installed but that's because I use it with the heat on watching football. Great product especially if you have a Fantastic Fan with T-stat. I set mine and have the regular bath fan cover open. Fantastic Fan comes on, draws air through the open vent and keeps it from being extremely hot. Also keeps the coach from retaining any smells.

[KyDan]

We installed a maxxair fan in the skylite over our bed when the trailer was new.
It's been priceless!!! We occasionally dry camp and nearly always use the fan to
pull in a breeze and blow down on us in bed. It's a very similar feel to the ceiling
fan we have over our bed at home.
We installed a standard maxxair vent cover in the existing fan in the bathroom
so we can leave it open 24/7. Be careful when you wash the trailer as you can spray
water up and into that one from the rear if you're not careful.

I suppose it would be possible for fine dusty snow to blow in but we've never
had a problem. We laid in bed during the hardest roof pounding wind blowing
thunderstorm and only felt the slightest droplet once in a while.
We leave both ours open nearly all the time.

[frankm]

Originally Posted by grhodes50

I have had a little water get in during rain with high winds, if the wind is blowing just right. Never enough to cause any damage.
I still leave the vents open, but if I know a storm is coming I will only open the vents 1-2". That seems to work alright, even in high winds.

X2, open year round down here in Florida.

[SaskCampers]

Left ours open a couple times and while they do minimize water entry, if you get a good storm coming from the rear of your unit you will without doubt get water in the trailer. We did just 2 days ago when a 100mph plow wind tore through our yard with golf ball size hail and horizontal rain.

[KyDan]

Doesn't golf ball size hail typically knock holes in the roof skylites and vents

Also gotta wonder if you had 100 mph winds how did your RV remain upright?

[grhodes50]

When my Salem tt recieved hail damage the skylight and vent covers were not damaged. There was some golf ball size hail reported at the time. The front and curb side had to be completely replaced.

We have had a storm or two that had micro-burst with 100+ mph winds. I don't recall any tt's being turned over. I know mine wasn't.

Those kind of storms are rare, but we do get a few with winds that blow horizontal rain, 40+ mph winds. Those storms can cause water to enter the vents, even with the MaxxAir covers.

But like I said in my earlier post, I have never had enough water to enter through the vents that would cause any damage. I'm more worried about the hail and wind!

[KyDan]

We chatted with a couple we met in Utah last summer.
They were motorcycle camping on that trip but told us they'd
had a 5th wheel blow onto its side in their yard during a straight
line wind event earlier that year. I believe they were from Texas.

I would not think a straight line wind from the front or rear would
do it but I'd be very worried about a side wind that strong.
I would expect my ultra-light to blow over in a side wind that strong.
Hope I never find out!

Oh yeah, I guess we've kinda hijacked this maxxair thread

[sfrye5853]

No worries... my TT has to be at a storage facility since our home owners association won't allow trailers of any kind on our lots... good to know about all weather conditions.

[SaskCampers]

Originally Posted by KyDan

Doesn't golf ball size hail typically knock holes in the roof skylites and vents

Also gotta wonder if you had 100 mph winds how did your RV remain upright?

The hail put 7 holes in the liner in our pool and smashed 4 of the solar heater manifolds for the pool so you tell me. Think what you want but when grain storage bins get blown out of farmers yards and get destroyed it wasn't going slow. Come visit sometime when we have one and see how you like it.

[KyDan]

Not doubting your word.
Just wondering how an unsecured trailer did not blow over.
I'm pretty sure mine would have rolled in that kind of wind.
Also have read many posts where hail knocked holes in roof vents.

[backin15]

The only time we have had water come in is when we had a very heavy rain and the Fantastic Fan was on. The water was pulled in the other open hatch.