Maxxair and Fantastic upgrade, move, noise, rain protection

jimcenname

While at Nucamp last week for minor warranty work the service crew installed a Maxxair 7500 in the cabin of my T@B400 replacing the Fantastic Fan 1450. Wow what a difference. So much better, quiet, more control, remote control, less power draw, on-and-on better. Awesome. They moved the Fantastic Fan 1450 into the wetbath replacing the really noisy little fan. And wow again, While the 1450 isn't as good as the Maxxair the 1450 is great in the bathroom. Thank you Austin and crew.  (A big drawback to the 1450 is you can't leave it open if rain is expected. The cheap bathroom fan at least has rain protection.)

ChrisFix

Great photo - using the mirror for a two-in-one!
And great timing of your post for me, as I'm trying to work out in my head my upgrade for the main cabin fantastic fan - between the upgraded multispeed fantastic fan and the Maxxair.
I would love to know what the removal of the bathroom fan looks like, and the installation of the fantastic fan 1450 in its place...
Did you get any pics of that by any chance?
Also, do you know if nucamp screwed the Maxxair into the roof, or just sealant attach it the way they do the fantastic fan?
Having a fan that can exhaust in the bath will be great. The current one only blows in...quite literally directly on top of my head! Plus is seems like exhaust is a useful feature in the bath...as is in every home bath I've ever seen.
Great upgrades for you...I'm sure you'll enjoy them.

Gliddenwoods

I replace my main cabin fan with a Fan-Tastic last season. Great improvement with temperature control/shutoff & start along with auto rain closure.

Have the old fan in storage. Your idea of replacing the bath fan with it sounds really good & plan to research doing so. Any pictures or advice on how to?

Gliddenwoods

Forgot to add Fan-tastic model....Model 7350.

Denny16

You you do not have to completely replace the Fantastic 1450 with a 7350, you can upgrade the 1450 to a 7350.  The conversion is just removing the inside bezel and attached circuit board/switches and replace the guts with the 4350 upgrade bezel and components.  The upgrade kit part no is FV 807357.

The top, fan motor and lift mechanism remain, no weather seals broken, and it adds rain protection.  Total,cost and labor for the upgrade is less than replacing, unless your fan motor is broken.

With the conversion, you end up with the remote, more speeds, quite operation at low speeds, and a more efficient fan.  You also get auto temp mode, where you can set a temp. range and the fan will go on and off automatically.

If you are still using the original 1450 fan, the upgrade is worth the money, and is easy to do.  There is a post here about how to do the upgrade.
cheers

jimcenname

When I tried to upgrade to the 7350 from the 1450 the directions wanted me to connect to a pre-existing switch that tells the 7350 when to stop the motor that automatically closes the lid. My 1450 didn't have such switch, of course the lid is manual. I called Fantastic and they said there is no upgrade for the 1450 to give it 7350 features. 

jimcenname

I think the lap sealant is doing a lot to hold the fan to the roof. I am pretty sure most of the roof is foam insulation with a thin aluminum skin on the topside. When I upgraded to a fantastic fan in my 5th wheel it was technically easy, a few screws and scrape off old lap sealant. In practice though cleaning the old lap sealant off was hard and tedious, That is largely why I paid Nucamp to do this swap. Also, the cabin fan is hard to reach being near the center of the roof. Fortunately the bath fan is near the edge of the roof so at least it's easy to reach with a ladder. 

Denny16

Yes their is, or at least was one, I installed it on my TaB, it goes on from the inside, you reuse the actual fan motor and external frame/lid.  See https://www.boatandrvaccessories.com/products/fantastic-vent-upgrade-kit-for-7350

ChrisFix

Denny16 said:

Yes their is, or at least was one, I installed it on my TaB, it goes on from the inside, you reuse the actual fan motor and external frame/lid.  See https://www.boatandrvaccessories.com/products/fantastic-vent-upgrade-kit-for-7350

The 1450 to 7350 is upgrade kit is available. I just ordered one from etrailer...

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Vents-and-Fans/Fantastic-Vent/FV807357.html

As much as I like the Maxxair solution, I liked not having to rip the existing Fantastic Fan off my roof even more!
It gives a lot of the same benefit, and will at least shut if it rains...which isn't as good as having a low profile rain cover, but again, I don't have to rip the existing one off my roof...

And the final thing that made the decision for me, is that on the 2021 T@B 400, the solar panel is right up against the Fantastic Fan...and the Maxxair cover would shadow it when installed. 

DenisP

I upgraded my FF 1450 to 7350 for the similar reasons.  To get all the features of low power usage, remote control and reduced noise without having to disturb the roof seal to me seemed like a win-win.  I have factory roof solar and even though I have an Aeroflo hood the solar panel is not shaded.  While the Aeroflo does stick up a bit, It allows for rain and wind protection and can even allow venting while towing.  A concern was that the fan can only be controlled by the remote and if it was lost or broken while camping, It could be a problem.  I purchased an additional remote which provided loss security but a bonus is that we have remote holders mounted by the galley/door and by the bed.  The two remotes offer added convenience.

NomadPilgrim

I bought the upgrade kit years ago only to find out it did not fit and resold it. Is this a recent change? Tired of my squeaky fan. 

jimcenname

After having the Fantastic Fan in a prior RV and now have the Maxxair I like the maxxair better. It's quieter, more controls at the fan (as opposed to on the remote), and importantly you can run the fan when it's raining. The Fatastic had a rain sensor that would stop the fan and close the lid when it rained. you can override that feature but rain gets at the fan when it's raining. 

Denny16

NomadPilgrim, there are two models of the upgrade kit, depending on the original fan unit you have.  One has notched corners, the other just full rounded corners.  You need to get the correct version.
Cheers

anba

I'm looking to replace the fan as well. However on etrailer are two models FV807357 and FV807359.

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Vents-and-Fans/Fantastic-Vent/FV807357.html 

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Fantastic-Vent/FV807359.html

@Denny16 : You bought FV807357so I suppose that's the correct one and would fit my 2020 T@B400? 

Thanks

Denny16

Yes, that would be my guess.  You have notched corners in the inside of the fan frame?  If so, than that is the model to get.
cheers

AirBoss

MaxxAir Deluxe ordered. Moving Fantastic to the head as well.

Thanks for sharing all.

Deb55

@AirBoss we have the Maxxair installed, and tomorrow we're having the dealer change out the bathroom fan, which no longer works, for the Fantastic Fan that we took out in the spring. I'm glad we kept it because the bathroom fan is totally broken. 

AirBoss

Thanks, @Deb55. Good feedback. The Maxx is on back order but am hopeful it arrives prior to my upcoming trip to central coast wine country here in CA starting 22Aug. Fingers crossed...

Cheers!

Deb55

@AirBoss the Maxxair Deluxe is so much easier on the battery! When I check what it draws, it's not really using anything until the 7th or 8th speed, and it's working well at the 5th speed. Between that and our solar panel, I think boondocking will be a big improvement. Maybe next will have to be a tote for excess gray water-that seems to be a limiting factor now. 

AirBoss

@Deb55
Good to know. Thanks! Looking forward to the upgrade. Enjoy!

anba

@Denny16 Yes, I do. I kind of missed that "little" detail. Thanks.

Tabbers4Life

Thanks for great discussion, super informative.

Would the Maxxair 7500, or the upgrade to Fantastic 7350, add any additional exterior height to a 2021 400 BD?  

jimcenname

I think the cover on the 7500 is maybe an inch higher than my original fantastic 1450.

CJax

Awesome discussion... so now I'm thinking I've arrived at the following conclusions:

1) Maxxair 7500 > Fantastic 7350 > Status Quo (Fantastic 1450)
2) Maxxair 7500 covers up some of the solar real estate on 2021 400 BD.
3) Fantastic 1450 can be upgraded to 7350 with a kit, minimizing roof seal disturbance.
4) Stock fan in wetbath is not great.

Seems (for me) the best bet is to upgrade the existing 1450 to 7350 via kit and procure another 1450 for the wetbath. The question would then be, is an upgrade kit plus a new 1450 cheaper or more expensive than a new 7350 and just moving the existing 1450? (I should be able to figure this out via Google.) I think I like the former better as it minimizes the amount of disturbing of the roof seals.

That leaves just one question that @ChrisFix already asked: what does the wetbath stock fan swap to 1450 look like? Is it an easy swap, or does it require any alteration to the roof system? 

We should be picking our new T@B up next month and I've been taking the time to learn from this forum and start planing and purchasing things we'll be needing; therefore, I don't yet have the opportunity to go look for myself and measure things, so any insights are appreciated.

Cheers,

dragonsdofly

@CJax, wish I could, but not unless I become suicidal. Terminal advanced heart disease precludes it. But every morning I see daylight, truly, it is veni, vidi, vici et carpe diem! Please pardon the incorrect tense and nearly blasphemous useage. Happy t@bbing!

williedean

I am open to being corrected, but I think  my 2021 T@B 400 came with the same fans for both the main cabin and the bath. This was a change from previous years where there was a cheaper model in the bath. I upgraded my main cabin fan with the 7350 kit that had the cuts outs at the corners.

manyman297

Picked up our 400 this week and the bath fan isn’t the typical cheap exhaust fan we’re all used to. Ours has this in it:

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/MaxxAir-00-03810B-MaxxFan-Dome-Roof-Vent-With-LEDs-p/14-9982.htm?gclid=CjwKCAjwzMeFBhBwEiwAzwS8zFJ56cLioEtGKrDwWI8GJxjgpiJoHnDyFKyhQXoLYuRu9_NbpuQcqRoCe20QAvD_BwE

My guess is it’s due to a parts shortage. I much prefer the quality of this to the usual unit they use. Has a built in light. The biggest downside I see is it doesn’t act like a skylight letting natural light in. Not a deal breaker and I think this will hold up much better over the long term. 

CJax

@williedean & @manyman297... thanks for the info... I guess the moral of the story is to wait to see what I actually get before pre-purchasing stuff... It would be great to find out the wetbath fan is actually good enough from the start. I'm just going stir crazy waiting for delivery and was trying to distract myself with proactive accessory purchases...

Cheers,

williedean

@CJax ... Based on my observations, you are wise to wait. NuCamp makes un-announced  changes frequently within model years. Some are based on part availability and some are just ongoing upgrades. On a side note, I also have a V-6 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I think you will like it as the tow vehicle. Not Ford 150 power, but a good balance between TV and everyday around town car.

Denny16

Also, the original TaB400 shower fan was a Maxxair fan, but a different model from the main fan, designed for a wet washroom/shower use.  It has a dual direction flow to help drip the shower curtain after a shower. Ours works great, and has not had any issues, it is a bit noisy however, but it works great.
cheers

Rodent77

We have a 2021 320, and had the MaxxAir Deluxe installed befor we picked it up. One of my best upgrades, as we took our maiden voyage with trailer last week. Had it on low all 4 days to either move air out or in and never knew it was running most of the time when on 10% speed. Kept the trailer cool and was nice being able to adjust from the comfort of my bed at night. Glad I spent the money