Upgraded My Fantastic Fan - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Gherzig

I purchased the Fantastic Fan upgrade and the Camco Aero-Flo hood for approx $250.  
Having just completed the install, I thought I would share my observations with others who may be considering doing the same.

The upgrade takes longer than it should due to the very poor installation instructions.  The wiring shown matches neither my existing 2021 400 fan nor the new upgrade packed with the instructions.  Photos provided are of such poor resolution that they are of no help.  I eventually discarded the instructions and figured it out on my own as best I could.  It is not a straight replacement as the original lift knob, reverse switch, and speed control are all replaced with an electronic control board.    If anyone would like a copy of the wiring diagram I developed, just let me know.

Once completed, I am mostly pleased with the improvement.  There are 13 speeds; it is relatively quiet, it is all controlled from a remote, and it has a rain sensor which will automatically cut the fan off and close the lid when it gets wet.  

Two concerns are:
     -Unlike the original lift arm which had a solid connection to the lid, the new lift arm simply pushes against the lid to open and then lets it close with its own weight.  I do not understand what will prevent a good breeze from the rear from flipping the lid forward to the full horizontal open position.
In which case, one would have to climb up on the roof to close it.  (Am I missing something here?). Of course the rain sensor will be useless when this happens as well. 
     -There are no controls on the fan so if your remote batteries go bad or you break/lose your remote, you will have no control of your fan.

The Camco Aero-Flo hood's installation was hindered by existing brackets (see photo) which I imagine are for the Dometic Hood which I don't want because it is so much taller.  While I am sure I could have figured something out, I decided to hold off on the hood installation as I am also concerned about it interfering with my All Pro cover.   Unfortunately, this will probably increase the likelihood of the lid blowing full open.  We shall see.

Thoughts from others who have installed this upgrade are appreciated.

Denny16

I didn’t replace the lift arm, just used the original one, no need tomuse the lift arm included, and the one I got was for the wrong side anyway.  Did you keep the locking latch for the lid?  It needs to be secured some way, even with the outside hood added.  I carry spare batteries and plan to buy a spare remote which are a separately.
 Cheers 

DenisP

I purchased an additional remote after the upgrade and have one available near bed and galley. Very convenient and provide redundancy should one fail. Have been enjoying the upgrade for three years. 

Gherzig

@Denny16
My original lift arm is shown below  It has 2 90degree bends so that it can slide into a plastic sleeve attached to the lid closer fo its center line. 

The upgrade arm is short and straight with a wheel attached to the end (Photo from Dometic shown is post below)..  It is clearly designed to ride along the lid as it pushes it open with no mechanism for attaching to the lid.  It works quite well (until a gust from the rear can blow the lid forward to lay flat open on the roof).  I am blown away (sorry!) by this design.  I spoke to Dometic who states that there should have been a track in the lid to which the wheel could attach.  They were very helpful and asked for photos as they said they never made a Fantastic Fan that did not have a track attached to the lid. I might try seeing if the old arm would work.

Gherzig

Photo of Upgrade parts.

Freespirit

@Gherzig, first let me say I have not seen the specific kit upgrade you purchased and I have not attempted to upgrade my fantastic fan. There are many fellow TAB’ers on this forum with more experience related to your fan upgrade installation than me. With that disclaimer, like you I find it odd that the lift assembly is not firmly attached to the lid. 

I did some internet searches and found several videos showing the arm of a fantastic fan upgrade kit being attached to the existing lid. Although the videos lacked clarity and explanation. I also found some installation instructions for the 7350 fantastic fan upgrade kit that stated:

(If you have a Manual Fan), REMOVE 2 SCREWS FROM

THE LIFT ARM ASM BASE, UNHOOK THE LIFT-ARM FROM THE DOME slide and pull through the slot in the base. Put new lift arm through slot in base and hook to slide on the dome. Secure lift arm to base with 2 #10 screws. 

The videos and instructions I found may not even be for the upgrade kit you purchased. 

As Denny16 stated above the lid needs to be secured some way, even with the outside hood added. 

Gherzig

I contacted Dometic.  They said that may lid could not be a Fantastic Fan lid if it does not have a track along the inner side for the lift arm to which the lift arm would attach.  They asked for photos and I am sending them these photos.  Mystery persists.

Freespirit

Our fan attachment looks identical to yours. Our user manual for the fan we received in our new camper packet says Dometic model 1400 and model 1450 fans. 
  

Denny16

The Fantastic fan in out TaB400 had the track on the side, and the wheel rides in the track, which is just some aluminum C channel and the wheel on the arm rides in the C channel with open side facing the arm. Simple to a bit of C channel to the load with epoxy or JB Weld adhesive. Some of the newer strong two sided tape adhesives might also work.  

I do not see why the original arm wouldn’t work.  He upgrade kit replaces the original  hand crank with a motor unit, so it applies the same torque (or more) to the lift arm.
 Cheers 

Freespirit

@Gherzig, unfortunately I think the upgrade kit you purchased(and I was thinking about purchasing), is not a direct “plug and play” install. I called etrailer and they indicated the kit was not compatible with the 1400 or 1450 fantastic fan lid due to a different style lift arm assembly mechanism. I was able to find a fantastic fan lid only with the slider assembly, however in my case it attached to the fan base differently than my current lid. 

Gherzig

To follow up - I followed @Denny16 advice and re-installed the original arm which attaches to a plastic sleeve on the lid.  That worked.  Thank you.  

Another issue, which I am clueless on how to fix, is that when the Tab main battery switch is turned from "disconnect" to "on", the fan automatically starts up.  It does so on the highest speed without the lid opening.  Once  the fan is turned off with the remote, it will work perfectly until the main battery switch is turned off and on again. (Any ideas?)

Again, there are many plusses to this upgrade and I am happy to have installed it.  Support from Dometic and etrailer (uncharacteristic) were both disappointing with etrailer tech support telling me to look harder as there must be a track on the lid for the new arm.  

There appears to be a number of variations on the 1450 fan but no attempt has been made to research and communicate those differences - resulting is many wasted hours for the customer.

DenisP

My upgraded Fantastic Fan will turn on full speed when switching the battery switch on if the fan is opened more than about an inch. Have gotten used to the glitch which has been minor inconvenience. 

Denny16

Mine did the same, if the lid is closed tight, so the cutoff switch is engaged, the fan will not turn on.  On manual startup, the vent will open, and fan come on a full speed.  In Auto mode, as long as the battery switch is not turned off, it will remember previous temp/speed setting.  I had the remote seem to not work at first, couldn’t get the fan on, I needed to press the Auto button at the top of the remote and everything worked correctly.  

Once you get passed the learning curve and follow the somewhat vague instructions, everything is working well.
 Cheers 
 

Gherzig

Thank you.  For better or worse, I now know that the fan startup glitch is not due to installer (my) error. It also appears that the Domestic 1450 fans built in 2020/2021 do not have a safety shutoff when the lid is closed.  There is no sign of one and even before updating, the fan could run with the lid closed manually.  So, anyone contemplating this upgrade with a late model Tab should be aware that the lid is not fully compatible.  Not only is there a different attachment for the arm and no lid shutoff switch (seems odd to eliminate this), you cannot replace the lid with an older compatible one as it also has a different type of a hinge.  

Denny16

 Ice job, thanks for providing the updated info on the fan upgrades.
 Cheers