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Old 05-16-2018, 07:52 PM   #1
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Roof Hatch Opening Fill Options

I yanked out the emergency roof hatches during the demo phase. I put some plexi panels up temporarily to fill the hole and provide some light. I intended to put the air conditioner or fan into these holes.

I just ordered 2 Maxxfan fans and am about to order a Dometic ceiling unit but they both look like there only about 14" square. The roof hatch is closer to a 24" square.

I could of sworn I read that people used these larger holes for AV units. Am I making this up?!? Any input would be appreciated.

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Old 05-16-2018, 08:05 PM   #2
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I yanked out the emergency roof hatches during the demo phase. I put some plexi panels up temporarily to fill the hole and provide some light. I intended to put the air conditioner or fan into these holes.

I just ordered 2 Maxxfan fans and am about to order a Dometic ceiling unit but they both look like there only about 14" square. The roof hatch is closer to a 24" square.

I could of sworn I read that people used these larger holes for AV units. Am I making this up?!? Any input would be appreciated.
Bus emergency hatches are around 24" sq to allow people to get out.

Industry standard cut-outs for fans and AC are 14" sq.

Use some sheet steel to seal the large holes, and cut a 14" sq hole in the middle.
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Old 05-24-2018, 02:33 PM   #3
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I'm welding in custom hatches with clear plexiglass hatch doors.

I ran into the same issue more or less- the popular fans all have relatively small entrances, and probably for good reason. Smaller intrusion = less problems with differences in roof curvature.
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Old 05-24-2018, 02:40 PM   #4
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what gauge steel are you putting in? 16 gauge cold rolled?
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Old 05-24-2018, 03:04 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brightond View Post
I yanked out the emergency roof hatches during the demo phase. I put some plexi panels up temporarily to fill the hole and provide some light. I intended to put the air conditioner or fan into these holes.

I just ordered 2 Maxxfan fans and am about to order a Dometic ceiling unit but they both look like there only about 14" square. The roof hatch is closer to a 24" square.

I could of sworn I read that people used these larger holes for AV units. Am I making this up?!? Any input would be appreciated.
Get some 18ga steel and cut it to size. cover the emergency hatch hole and cut a 14" hole in the new panel.

I mounted a roof vent in my cargo van and LOVE it. Fantastic and Maxxair both make excellent vents.



I put a 30x30 over the opening on my last shorty-






While you're up there get rid of the factory passive vent and strobe to avoid future or current leaks.







While youre up there run a nice new bead of 3m seam sealer on all the seams and once you've got the hatches deleted you can mount those fans and rooftop ac in any 14" hole. I'd stick some square tubing between the ribs that the ac will sit on, so that way its not just supported by the sheet steel.

Cold rolled steel is overkill. Hot rolled will do the job just as well and costs a lot less.
just my 2 cents.
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Old 05-24-2018, 03:11 PM   #6
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How about this idea. I see some have removed the escape hatches and replaced with Lexan Skylight to fill the hole. How about Lexan to fill the big hole and then mounting the fan vent in the middle of that. This would give you some ambient light into the bus.
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Old 05-24-2018, 03:41 PM   #7
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ECCB,

What is that passive vent for? Guess I'll delete it when i delete the hatches...
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Old 05-24-2018, 03:46 PM   #8
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ECCB,

What is that passive vent for? Guess I'll delete it when i delete the hatches...
Seems to be worthless to me. Just another leak source, imo. I'm all about sealing up the roof solidly!
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Old 05-24-2018, 03:59 PM   #9
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Seems to be worthless to me. Just another leak source, imo. I'm all about sealing up the roof solidly!
I'm on the same page, but I want roof access through the hatch, and I'm deleting all the windows, so...
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Old 05-24-2018, 04:01 PM   #10
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I like my whale's blow hole. And I want to keep my strobe to allow the aliens easier landing.
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:04 PM   #11
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I'm on the same page, but I want roof access through the hatch, and I'm deleting all the windows, so...
So add one of these, it'll actually seal.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bomar-Nibo-...-/173136887425

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Old 05-24-2018, 05:07 PM   #12
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That's only 20.5" square.
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:09 PM   #13
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That's only 20.5" square.
They make them in various sizes. I've seen a 26" too.
I can fit through a 20" opening. Especially if its an emergency or occasional access.
But yeah you can get lots of different "rv roof exit hatches" in various sizes. All are better than the plastic toy stuck on by the factory. Mine have all been "Trans-Spec" and they're chintzy at best.
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:11 PM   #14
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I don't think I have to worry about crawling out of my roof e-hatches any time soon. Brunhilde is stationary.
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Old 05-24-2018, 05:59 PM   #15
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I like my whale's blow hole. And I want to keep my strobe to allow the aliens easier landing.
I'm keeping the strobe too, but it will be re-sealed. It doesn't leak at the moment.

Neither does my passive vent, and I'm on the fence about that. The way it is fitted it doesn't seem like it could leak even if it wanted to.
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Old 05-24-2018, 06:17 PM   #16
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I'm keeping the strobe too, but it will be re-sealed. It doesn't leak at the moment.

Neither does my passive vent, and I'm on the fence about that. The way it is fitted it doesn't seem like it could leak even if it wanted to.
Its not good for insulating. It leaks air. IMO its definitely not something I'd build around. Easy to delete and forget about it.
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Old 05-24-2018, 06:24 PM   #17
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Its not good for insulating. It leaks air. IMO its definitely not something I'd build around. Easy to delete and forget about it.
That is also true.

I'll look again when I'm prepping the roof, which should be soon now.

Planning on Henrys Dura-Brite for the roof.
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Old 05-24-2018, 07:21 PM   #18
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I'm keeping the strobe too, but it will be re-sealed. It doesn't leak at the moment.

Neither does my passive vent, and I'm on the fence about that. The way it is fitted it doesn't seem like it could leak even if it wanted to.
my buses blow hole is leaking but not important till i seal it up prior to conversion
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Old 08-04-2018, 01:59 PM   #19
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I'm a bit late on this post (BUT IT'S AWESOME), can you tell me about the straps you're using to hold the patch down before it's screwed down?
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Old 08-04-2018, 02:02 PM   #20
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I'm a bit late on this post (BUT IT'S AWESOME), can you tell me about the straps you're using to hold the patch down before it's screwed down?
1" ratchet stars would work. Hook in a window on each side and crank it down.
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