Community Forums

Unicorn Driver · 08-20-2019, 11:12 AM

Hi,

I was at a dealer the other day and saw a Camco branded "unbreakable" vent cover and got me thinking I need to checkout mine and possible replace them.

Vent covers are 11 years old, how will I know if they need replacing?

Thanks,

Edit: my apologies for the typo in the heading

Agesilaus · 08-20-2019, 11:31 AM

When they break? In my experience that would be when something falls on them or hits them (tree limb etc)

Unicorn Driver · 08-20-2019, 11:37 AM

Thanks,

I was more thinking of preventative maintenace

keymastr · 08-20-2019, 12:23 PM

At 11 years old they may be getting brittle already. Sorta depends on how much sun they get where you are. Different answer for everyone. One good hailstorm may take them out or maybe you get 5 more years out of them. They are cheap enough that after 10 years I would change them.

Waiter21 · 08-20-2019, 12:28 PM

If your replacing the cover, consider changing the seal also, They get very brittle and then don't form a good seal.

ClassAboater · 08-20-2019, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keymastr

At 11 years old they may be getting brittle already. Sorta depends on how much sun they get where you are. Different answer for everyone. One good hailstorm may take them out or maybe you get 5 more years out of them. They are cheap enough that after 10 years I would change them.

I changed out our bathroom fan/vent a couple of weeks ago. That fan was original to the 2008 rig. It had a metal edge to it and was not easy to take off. The butyl rubber was still sticking like mad. We replaced this fan because of the amount if noise the little fan made. We went with a new Maxxfan 4000K. We liked it so much that I ordered another one for above the kitchen area.

Well... the one in the kitchen area was a Fantastic Fan. It worked just fine, but was getting yellow. Taking it off was a lot easier than in the bath area. Whoever put it in used some kind of 1/8" plastic foam for the seal. While the fan never leaked, the screws were rusty to the point of needing to use an easy-out on my drill to get them removed. The Dicor was in good shape and not easy to remove (from either of the fans). But not using butyl rubber to seal the fan to the roof seemed to allow moisture from inside the RV to rust out the screws securing it.

Thankfully, the new Maxxfan went in fine and the screw holes were not in the same location so it is all nice and tight against the newly applied butyl rubber tape I put under the flange.

Getting to the OP question, the Fantastic Fan that had yellowed was brittle and the flange was cracked at the screw holes I could see once I took off the Dicor. The Dicor kept any water/rain out. I don't know if the cracks were from over tightening the screws when it was put in or if it happened later. When I tossed the fan off the roof to the gravel driveway once off, the flange and cover did break up quite a bit upon impact... But, I don't expect that it was designed for a 14 foot fall even when new.

Teamfoxy · 08-22-2019, 01:30 PM

If you are in Florida most of the time, plastic deteriorates faster than in northern climates. The vent covers on our 2005 Itasca all needed replacing last year. The ones on our 2011 Mirada are still very good.
If you add the Max-air type hoods that go over the vent hatches, buy the black ones. Black pastic stands up much better to UV that white does.

RI Expat · 08-22-2019, 02:57 PM

At the risk of sounding silly, the time to replace them is when you feel a drip on your head or can see damage. And if changing anything that has a seal, replace the seal at the same time. I went for 20 years with a former RV and never replaced a vent cover. But, I have also replaced them multiple times in the same year due to damage. Don't go looking for problems you don't have, but if you see signs of deterioration of anything on your coach, then preventive maintenance is always a good idea.

gazingm42 · 08-22-2019, 09:11 PM

Mine broke at 5 years on thanksgiving day. DW sent me outside a n a storm to get a trailer pan. Only to see a small drop of water or n the floor. I looked up to have a rain drop hit my eye. I eas now up on the trailer covering it with plastic.

I now been proactive to replace the vents and checking their conditions.

IC2 · 08-23-2019, 08:35 AM

If the vent covers aren't a Lexan type material. probably about 5 years is a good rule of thumb to at least give them a good look and maybe a twist to see if brittle. Most OEM covers are from the lowest cost supplier, so that may be a good indicator as to quality (or lack thereof)

W5CI · 08-23-2019, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waiter21

If your replacing the cover, consider changing the seal also, They get very brittle and then don't form a good seal.

I have never seen a vent cover with a seal

glwinger · 08-23-2019, 04:13 PM

Replace the original cover and then install one of the roof top vent covers. Maxair, Camco make them. Protects your vent cover and it also allows you to keep the vent open during a rain or while traveling. Only takes about a half hour to install.