Got A Work Van On GovDeals Today!

[EastCoastCB]

The vent has a fuse in it already, is it safe to hook the positive lead to the positive wire going to my rear dome light? Then ground the negative for the fan to the body of the van?

[cadillackid]

a roof vent would definitely do a lot towards cooling... even in a cargo van with front A/C all that heat in the box is still wicked.. roll the front windows down and its worse for awhile.. add an aux battery and you could leve the vent on when the van is parked..
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

I called Fantastic, who are actually a division of Dometic. He said my plan for wiring it in my Dodge will work great. That wire gets 12.9v all the time even when the key is out of the ignition, so I'll be able to run the fan any time. I just have to remember not to drain the battery too much. I'll mostly use this as a static vent.
I have three models of Fantastic to choose from. A non-powered model, a powered fan model with 3 speeds, and a 3 speed model with reverse switch.
For the van I think the 3 speed without reverse switch will be best. I can always add a reverse switch later if I really want one.
Now I'm off to cut a hole in my roof! Wish me luck!

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I called Fantastic, who are actually a division of Dometic. He said my plan for wiring it in my Dodge will work great. That wire gets 12.9v all the time even when the key is out of the ignition, so I'll be able to run the fan any time. I just have to remember not to drain the battery too much. I'll mostly use this as a static vent.
I have three models of Fantastic to choose from. A non-powered model, a powered fan model with 3 speeds, and a 3 speed model with reverse switch.
For the van I think the 3 speed without reverse switch will be best. I can always add a reverse switch later if I really want one.
Now I'm off to cut a hole in my roof! Wish me luck!

Already fused; you should be good to go. With constant power, get yourself a clothes pin or do not disturb sign... something to hang on the switch as an easy identifier that you have the fan on so you don't forget it.

Ford Focus mid '90 something... the alternator is hanging on a pair of literally 6 inch threaded studs. Take the two nuts off and slide it off to replace it. Easy peasy. Well, ... almost. 1) There's plastic ducting that has to come off to get at the battery wire. Crawl under the car, use your 7 elbows in your arm and it's easy to reach. Now that you have that off, 2) how about that... the alt hits the heater hose and AC line which are tied to the firewall. Get those out of the way, try again. It still touches the firewall. BFH and it finally come off. A 15 minute job took hours over two days. Y'all can keep the Ford crap.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Already fused; you should be good to go. With constant power, get yourself a clothes pin or do not disturb sign... something to hang on the switch as an easy identifier that you have the fan on so you don't forget it.

Ford Focus mid '90 something... the alternator is hanging on a pair of literally 6 inch threaded studs. Take the two nuts off and slide it off to replace it. Easy peasy. Well, ... almost. 1) There's plastic ducting that has to come off to get at the battery wire. Crawl under the car, use your 7 elbows in your arm and it's easy to reach. Now that you have that off, 2) how about that... the alt hits the heater hose and AC line which are tied to the firewall. Get those out of the way, try again. It still touches the firewall. BFH and it finally come off. A 15 minute job took hours over two days. Y'all can keep the Ford crap.

I've done some pretty deep work on a couple first generation focus. They were good cars bus a total nightmare to work on for sure

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I've done some pretty deep work on a couple first generation focus. They were good cars bus a total nightmare to work on for sure

For an econo box, they probably aren't bad cars but they are still Fords. And Fords like special tools and stupid.

[cadillackid]

at least when ford released the **JUNK** FS-10 A/C compressor. (look up FS-10 black death...). they put it on top.. mustve known people were gonna change em every 2 years..
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

For an econo box, they probably aren't bad cars but they are still Fords. And Fords like special tools and stupid.

ONLY the first-gen Foci were good. They were actually built pretty well. HARD to work on some of the components but they're 250k-300k mile cars if cared for. I felt like when they came out they were definitely a "world car".
The new Focus is just a crap box like every other new car.

[EastCoastCB]

Pics coming....
We've had a GREAT day today, beautiful weather, and the roof vent is 90% done. Butyl tape, a tube of Docor self leveling RV roof sealant (good stuff!) and some wiring connectors were all that was needed.
Looks AMAZING! SO GLAD we bought these when they popped up NIB for $50!!!!
And bless Dodge for making that little 14" spot specifically for roof vents. So classic!

[EastCoastCB]

Didn't have my favorite ladder, so I made do with my big one. Most of the work was done from the bumper.


The stuff to cut the 14" rough opening.


Almost got it cut out-


View from inside-








Ahhhhhh! I looove this feeling!


Apparently I can fit in a 14" square

[oricha1984]

looking like a cool project. dont forget to share pics of the final product

[EastCoastCB]

Grinding the rough edges smooth.




Roxy helped out!


A quick check and we were delighted to find it fit perfectly!


Cleaned both surfaces with alcohol, then applied the butyl tape-


Stuck it on, pressed it down a bit, then drilled tiny pilot holes for the self tapping screws just to make it a bit easier.

[EastCoastCB]

More drilling


Mostly screwed down at this point.


First round of sealant-








Gotta put a good dab on each screw for good measure-

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

First round of sealant-

Gotta put a good dab on each screw for good measure-

Let's talk about sealant... I think I want 3 different kinds of "sealants". In quotes because I think one of them isn't technically a sealant.

1) Something rain proof but not necessarily water proof. Something easily removable. I want to start grinding external rivets but want to keep water out short term.

2) Long term sealant for all the seams inside.

3) Something for bonding the new sheet metal to the old and for overlapping sheet metal. This one should probably be more than plain Jane RTV.

[cadillackid]

i wonder if short term the foil HVAC tape would work.. it seems to stick to metal pretty well and stands up to moisture.. (the A/C units in my house are so cold that in summer all my ductwork thats not insulated gets wet and the tape doesnt come off)
-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

i wonder if short term the foil HVAC tape would work.. it seems to stick to metal pretty well and stands up to moisture.. (the A/C units in my house are so cold that in summer all my ductwork thats not insulated gets wet and the tape doesnt come off)
-Christopher

Hmm, how well does it come off? Masking tape would work but that stuff doesn't come off easy after a month. Regular ole duct tape would leave a gooey mess.

[cadillackid]

ive actually never tried to take it off.. so good point it might be a pain.. doesnt seem like its Gooey though so i dont think it would make a gooey mess as its metal backed.,. but im guessing youd have to wheel it off as ipposed to just peel.
-Christopher

[Tango]

Please pardon my OT query, but having just seen the FS10 **JUNK** reference, I need to hear more.

Hey Christopher...guess what compressor I have? '02 Ford Expedition FS10. Was bought about two years ago as part of a package. Just looked up "Black Death" and now have big concerns. Have to wonder if Furd made any fixes during the years between. If you know more, please post over on my Shorty thread so as not to distract from this interesting build. Thanks.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

ive actually never tried to take it off.. so good point it might be a pain.. doesnt seem like its Gooey though so i dont think it would make a gooey mess as its metal backed.,. but im guessing youd have to wheel it off as ipposed to just peel.
-Christopher

Want to avoid that. If I gotta do that, I'd rather just use masking tape. The roof will need to be prepped for paint anyway but gooey messes and gumming wire wheels isn't on the agenda. I'm thinking more along the lines of cheap generic chalk that comes off like rubber cement. Just pull the long string off the roof and done. Save the good stuff for inside. And the metal bonding to help "weld" the layers together on the overlaps.

[EastCoastCB]

More pics coming. Got it all sealed up.
Fan does a GREAT job of getting all the hot van air out, and when driving I've been leaving the hatch wide open per the instructions. Keeps the van COOL inside! The roof is clean and rust free, so this weekend we're going to put some flat white paint on it to further help lower the temps.
Already had the vent, already have the paint. Life's good when you've been hoarding all the supplies for a couple years!!