FANTASTIC VENT COVER INSTALLATION ON AN AIRSTREAM INTERSTATE

I mentioned in the post tag-lined "the hike that didn't happen" that our area has been receiving abnormally heavy rain.

Several hundred percent of normal on the upper Texas coast, in fact. 

When we bought our 2007 Airstream Interstate, it did not come with an external rain shield for the Fantastic vent fan.  Therefore we had to add one.  Given the recent rain intensity and my propensity toward boondocking (which means I can't run the A/C and need the Fantastic to ventilate the Interstate for long periods as a result, particularly in conditions of high humidity), it became an urgent necessity, which resulted in us doing a quickie installation instead of our typical thorough work (read: no scope creep on this job even though it probably needed it).

We could tell that all was not perfect when we pulled out four of the screws from the existing sealed vent perimeter, because they were heavily rusted below the heads, which they should not have been.  But more on that in a minute. 

There are several vent cover brands on the market, but we selected the Fantastic Ultra Breeze vent cover for three reasons.

1. It was advertised as being compatible with the Fantastic vent fan in our Interstate, to the extent that we would not have to drill any new holes in our roof to add it.  
2. It gets excellent reviews on the internet.  Five out of five stars on Camping World - that's rare. 
3. It was promoted as not restricting air flow or stressing the existing fan motor, as this video shows.

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1fhkbl_1yQ

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The following short series of pics shows the installation, which is quite a simple process.

Whence that screwy screw came:  You simply remove four existing screws from the sides of the vent, screws that correspond to the brackets for the cover.  

Put a dab of RV elastomeric sealant over each hole.  One day I will re-do the existing re-seal that was done here.  It's pretty sloppy.  

Add the brackets to each hole.  Fortunately, the cover came with replacement screws, because we needed them. 

And then the cover attaches with cotter pins. 

I have no complaints about this cover.  It does not make noise during high speed driving (we were worried about that because it is not sealed to the roof and there is a gap at the bottom - we were afraid it would whistle but it does not).  I have driven with the Fantastic open and left the fan open in torrential rain without incident.  One day I will get around to climbing up there and re-doing all that sloppy sealant, but until that time, this arrangement appears as if it will work just fine.

Well, in the subtropics, RV season never really stops.  Much like the rain this year.