Roof air vent

[farok]

I have a small air vent in the front on the roof. It is weather-tight and sealed pretty well. Inside there's no signs of leaks anywhere near it. Are these typically pretty reliable? I'm thinking I may just leave well enough alone and leave it in, but on the inside, just insulate under it like it's not there. Thoughts? Should I remove it and put steel over that as well? I'd rather not mess with it if they typically don't leak.

Any reason to leave it as a working vent? Do they actually work OK to pull air out of the ceiling while driving? I'm thinking it's probably better to have a more insulated roof and install a MaxxAir or something like that if I really want a vent.

What have others done with their air vent?

Thanks as always!
Chris

 

[plfking]

I took mine off and patched the hole. It wasn't leaking, but it wasn't moving any air, either. So I decided not to allow it the opportunity to develop a leak later on.

 

[Native-SKO]

Same here.

 

[turf]

its awfully handy as a pass thru for wires on the roof. right now i have 3 wires passing thru the vent, my tv antenna, rooftop celluar antenna and a network cable that runs a rooftop access point.

im probably going to ditch the tv antenna. its nice to be able to make those changes with out drilling a hole or leaving a hole.

 

[farok]

Thanks for the thoughts all. As I don't plan for solar in the near-term (or possibly even long-term), I think it's probably best to remove for now. I can save it in case I decide I do want to use it for cables, or get one of the smaller ones designed specifically for cables.

Chris

 

[Rovobay]

I took mine off and skinned it over with steel. never leaked. Not entirely sure what it was intended for. I also deleted my 2 roof emergency exits. added a roof top a/c unit and a maxxair fan.

 

[Disastrogirl]

Seems like you could replace it with an rv style vent and or fan. There are definitely days when you will be grateful for the ventilation. Heat rises and it can get out through the top.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Seems like you could replace it with an rv style vent and or fan. There are definitely days when you will be grateful for the ventilation. Heat rises and it can get out through the top.

YEah, RV vents are GREAT!
I've got a 5 window and I'll be putting in two of them. One where the passive vent was, and one where the bed is toward the rear.