Two Maxxair Fans on 144

Spass

New member
Does anyone have two Maxxair fans on their 144 in. wheel base sprinter van, or does anyone with one wish they had two? What are the pros and cons of two? I’m starting a DIY conversion of my new 2019 cargo van and would appreciate any feedback regarding the best ventilation system. Thanks
 

sparkplug

Well-known member
I don't have two maxxair's - but I do have two fans on my T1N.

The main advantage is that you get excellent airflow across the whole length of the van - especially if you set one to suck air in and the other to blow it out.

The downsides are really only doubling the cost and losing real estate on your roof for things like solar panels or roof racks.
 

borabora

Well-known member
Do you have other windows in the van? In my 144 I find running the ceiling fan in exhaust mode very effective when my two sliders in the back are open. I can feel the cooler air being drawn in right by my platform bed. I don't need to crank the fan speed to anything close to maximum to have this airflow.
The only time I max out the fan is if the van has been allowed to heat up after sitting locked up and fan off. At that point I think two fans would be nice to cool it down faster. Otherwise the combination of one fan and windows seems pretty effective.
 

Spass

New member
I do have CR Laurence T vent windows behind the driver seat and in the slider door. One van is mounted towards the front of the van, but I thought another one over the bed would be nice. Especially with one blowing in and one out as sparkplug mentioned. I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe two is overkill with the other vented windows, but it solves another problem with the conversion. I’d explain but it would be TMI. Thanks again for the replies. I’m ne to all this stuff...
 

VanGoSki

Well-known member
I researched this some months before a received my new van (144 Cargo), and I decided to go with two fans. Of course I've got no windows at all in back yet, so one fan would do nothing. I may add some windows in the future but I doubt I'll regret having two fans even then. The push/pull mode of operation is very compelling. Eventually I'd like to have a collapsible indoor shower and good airflow is important to evacuate moisture. Also, two fans running at low speed will be quieter than a single fan running at a higher speed. So lots of advantages for me. You can use narrow solar panels on either side of the vents and a regular panel between and get over 500 watts. User Hein has parts for this that I intend to use. https://diyvan.com/
 

PlainJane

Member
2 cents for one vents...We have a 144 with just one vent up in front. A crack in the sliding door T window or cab windows provides nice flow with the vent on exhaust. The primary reason we chose only a vent foreword is for deck space up top. We love hanging on the roof, and we do so often for Happy hours, surf checks, wildlife viewing, and a few outdoor concerts. Two chairs fit nicely aft of a foreword vent.

(As you can tell from Hodakaguy’s pic, there’s little room for storage much less for sitting with a secondary vent)
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
2 cents for one vents...We have a 144 with just one vent up in front. A crack in the sliding door T window or cab windows provides nice flow with the vent on exhaust. The primary reason we chose only a vent foreword is for deck space up top. We love hanging on the roof, and we do so often for Happy hours, surf checks, wildlife viewing, and a few outdoor concerts. Two chairs fit nicely aft of a foreword vent.

(As you can tell from Hodakaguy’s pic, there’s little room for storage much less for sitting with a secondary vent)
We almost went with one for the same reason but ultimately wanted the extra venting for hot summer nights.

We can still fit two people with chairs comfortably between the vents :thumbup:, and even have room for our son up there as well. Like you we plan on using the deck a lot!

Hodakaguy
 

sparkplug

Well-known member
I should probably add that I do have a MaxxAir in my NCV3 - but only one.

This was mainly because I wanted two solar panels and that didn't leave me any space for a second fan.

However, airflow is adequate even with the doors closed. The advantage of the solar is that I can leave the fan on when the van is locked up during the day as the sun which is heating the van up is also providing the power to make the fan cool it down.

I plan to add a small sliding window in the rear and to fabricate some louvred vents which I can insert into the top of the driver/passenger window (so they can remain secure while still allowing airflow)

I also have a Caframo Scirocco II fan at the rear of the van which is on a gimble and can be rotated 360º so you can have it pointing at the bed area to provide a cooling breeze or towards the front of the van to move hot air towards the MaxxAir which then sucks it out or it can point towards my cooker which is by the sliding door so it can help blow odours / steam outside

I think I've probably spent too much time / money on figuring out how to control airflow, but it does make a huge difference especially to combat things like condensation.
 

radair603

Member
Same as sparkplug here, one forward Maxx fan with a Sirocco fan mounted on the wall between bed and sink area. No regrets and my van is black and soaks up solar heat. 300W panel on the roof takes up the rest of the real estate.
 
Does anyone have two Maxxair fans on their 144 in. wheel base sprinter van, or does anyone with one wish they had two? What are the pros and cons of two? I’m starting a DIY conversion of my new 2019 cargo van and would appreciate any feedback regarding the best ventilation system. Thanks
Have two, one with a fan. It's really nice having both open and one pulling hot air, on a warm night. Being able to open the one over the bed, while in bed, etc.

Here's a pic:


Morgan
 

Vannie

New member
I researched this some months before a received my new van (144 Cargo), and I decided to go with two fans. Of course I've got no windows at all in back yet, so one fan would do nothing. I may add some windows in the future but I doubt I'll regret having two fans even then. The push/pull mode of operation is very compelling. Eventually I'd like to have a collapsible indoor shower and good airflow is important to evacuate moisture. Also, two fans running at low speed will be quieter than a single fan running at a higher speed. So lots of advantages for me. You can use narrow solar panels on either side of the vents and a regular panel between and get over 500 watts. User Hein has parts for this that I intend to use. https://diyvan.com/
This is really helpful! Another newbie here and trying to research how I can get 2 Maxxair fans and enough solar up there. This set up sounds perfect. Do you happen to have anything written up on where you placed everything and able to share what exact panels you ended up getting for the 500+watts? Thank you! :)
 

VanGoSki

Well-known member
This is really helpful! Another newbie here and trying to research how I can get 2 Maxxair fans and enough solar up there. This set up sounds perfect. Do you happen to have anything written up on where you placed everything and able to share what exact panels you ended up getting for the 500+watts? Thank you! :)
Hey Vannie, I wrote that post over six months ago and since then I've decided to omit solar on my build. Instead I have an auxiliary alternator that can charge my 200AH battery in 2 hours. So I really don't have any use for solar.

Talk to Hein though. He's got drawings that show various layouts you can do and can supply all the mounting parts and tell you what panels to buy. https://diyvan.com/
 

sparkplug

Well-known member
This is really helpful! Another newbie here and trying to research how I can get 2 Maxxair fans and enough solar up there. This set up sounds perfect. Do you happen to have anything written up on where you placed everything and able to share what exact panels you ended up getting for the 500+watts? Thank you! :)
There was a forum member on here who had a really nice solar solution with panels which slide out when you're parked. A great way of getting more solar real estate than your roof appears to allow.

I think it was @OrioN from memory.

*edit* Yes, it was. Link to the panels

What length is your van and are you just putting one front and one rear for airflow or do you need one in a specific spot for a bathroom/shower?
 

Vannie

New member
Hey Vannie, I wrote that post over six months ago and since then I've decided to omit solar on my build. Instead I have an auxiliary alternator that can charge my 200AH battery in 2 hours. So I really don't have any use for solar.

Talk to Hein though. He's got drawings that show various layouts you can do and can supply all the mounting parts and tell you what panels to buy. https://diyvan.com/
Thank you!
 

Vannie

New member
There was a forum member on here who had a really nice solar solution with panels which slide out when you're parked. A great way of getting more solar real estate than your roof appears to allow.

I think it was @OrioN from memory.

*edit* Yes, it was. Link to the panels

What length is your van and are you just putting one front and one rear for airflow or do you need one in a specific spot for a bathroom/shower?
Just a 144 and yes, one in the back and one in the front for cooking. I have a dog and want to make sure I have the absolute max air flow for those really hot days. Thanks for the info! I will have a look. :)
 

sparkplug

Well-known member
There was another thread recently which showed some vents from a horse box which were installed into the rear doors.

The airflow from my side opening window in combination with the Maxxair is plenty even on a hot day but I wouldn't leave the van unattended with the window open for obvious security reasons.

However, the horse box vents would probably be OK.

Couldn't find the thread - but found the YouTube video which shows them.


Skip to 21:20 for the vents.

The other thing to consider are those louvred vents which you can insert at the top of the driver/passenger windows up front. Ventilation without actually having an open window. I plan to make some one day as they do seem fairly pricey for what they are but I've still got lots of other things to finish building first.
 
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Vannie

New member
There was another thread recently which showed some vents from a horse box which were installed into the rear doors.

The airflow from my side opening window in combination with the Maxxair is plenty even on a hot day but I wouldn't leave the van unattended with the window open for obvious security reasons.

However, the horse box vents would probably be OK.

Couldn't find the thread - but found the YouTube video which shows them.


Skip to 21:20 for the vents.

The other thing to consider are those louvred vents which you can insert at the top of the driver/passenger windows up front. Ventilation without actually having an open window. I plan to make some one day as they do seem fairly pricey for what they are but I've still got lots of other things to finish building first.
Sweet build! :)
 

hilld

Well-known member
There was another thread recently which showed some vents from a horse box which were installed into the rear doors.

The airflow from my side opening window in combination with the Maxxair is plenty even on a hot day but I wouldn't leave the van unattended with the window open for obvious security reasons.

However, the horse box vents would probably be OK.

Couldn't find the thread - but found the YouTube video which shows them.


Skip to 21:20 for the vents.

The other thing to consider are those louvred vents which you can insert at the top of the driver/passenger windows up front. Ventilation without actually having an open window. I plan to make some one day as they do seem fairly pricey for what they are but I've still got lots of other things to finish building first.
Wonder if these are it?

 

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