Vent caps

[wingnut60]

I have been having problems with keeping the small vent caps on the roof intact--have hit some small branches to knock them loose, but the screw in them kept them on. Got all that solved. But, found that one of the vents only goes into the attic area--about 5" of plastic pipe that can be pulled out, and then only insulation to be seen. Is that vent supposed to be connected to anything? It is in the general area of the ceiling vent fan for the bathroom.
Thanks,
Joe

[kfrimr]

The sewer vent comes out just above the coat closet. Actually it goes up in the space between the closed and the bath steps. Other vents are just to ventilate the attic space. The Pot room vent-fan just goes into the attic and is free vent from there through one of the several vent caps on the roof. Hope that is helpful.
Kent

[wingnut60]

Kind of what I figured--tho I don't know how air moves thru the insulation to vent the bathroom. Surely, DRV could do this so the vent is a real outside vent.
Joe

[Gemstone]

"Surely, DRV could do this so the vent is a real outside vent"....That would eat into their profit margin....besides, they figured no one would ever know...

Regards
Gemstone

[jimandsue60]

I do not know if DRV was doing this in 2005, our 2011 had 3 vent caps on top. One for the holding tanks and 2 dummy vents, one dummy vent for solar pre wire and the second for satellite pre wire. The wires were actually buried in the insulation, it made for easy installs for me.

Jim

[wingnut60]

Jim,
That is interesting and I can see how that might be the reason for a 'dummy' vent. And in 2005, who knows what its real purpost is. However, when I took the plastic pipe out, the hole is only about 1.5" in diameter and I don't see how one could locate any wires in the attic area using just that hole--guess one could fish around with a hook-type device and see what happens...
Thanks,
Joe

[jimandsue60]

My dummy holes were only 1.5 inches also. I had to fish around with a very long pair of needle nose pliers.

If I were you I would call the factory and ask what the purpose is. If it isn't for venting I would permanently seal the hole. Less chance of a possible water leak in the future.

Jim

[rotaxman]

Joe,

Have to agree totally with Gemstone. This was discussed once before on this forum.

The vent in the bathroom just vents into the attic with all of the insulation. It is a poor design. It could be modified so that it would vent to the outside but it would take some figuring.

I think that either motor31 or Bstark modified theirs to vent to the outside. It not really to hard as I recall you might pm both of them. They are both pretty good guys and know a lot about these trailers and are always willing to share.

As always good camping
Joyce and Jerry

[wingnut60]

Thanks to all...currently on 2 month trip, not the time to work up there and cause me more problem than there is ability to deal with. When home, will think/do some more on what to do with it.
Joe

[bstark]

Jerry and Joyce; thanks for the kudos.

I just watched our trailer leave for the last time late last week being towed away by it's new owners. We've got many wonderful memories of our time with it and also some stuff like this one that won't be hard to forget at all.

This vent thing into the attic from the biffy room has been a silly issue since well before 05. Along with the over-torqued and broken off heads of trim screws and the sliding privacy door that fell into the basement the first week, they were perhaps my favourites to continue chuckling over for years hence.

Why they would still fan force inside air directly into the insulation pack with moisture laden air going into that material, to perhaps foment molds and mildew, is beyond me.

In early 06, I think, I fabbed up a director shield using a rectangular plastic bottle with the same base profile as the exit grill of that fan, cut the bottom out of it to fit over that grill and connected the exhaust end directly to the bottom of that short length of pipe using a piece of "defroster hose" and clamp. No more issues with it since that time.

Anything you can do to prevent inside air from coming into direct contact with the insulation is just good preventative maintenance.

[Huck]

I did about the same thing as bstark a few years back.

If I remember correctly I just cut or spread out the insulation and fastened the fan exhaust to the vent pipe.

[terry and jo]

I find this thread interesting and informative. In our 2010 38TKSB3, there is a "vent" or something that turns on when one flips a switch. It does not put off heat, so I'm presuming that it is a vent for the bathroom, presumedly to remove the odor. I didn't look on the roof to see if there is a corresponding vent to the outside.

What really makes it interesting is that there is a regular fan vent, similar to the ones in the bedroom and kitchen area. Only this fan requires manual opening of the top cover by twisting a knob and thern turning a switch to start the fan.

We use that fan each time that we take a shower so it will (hopefully) blow out the "humidity" from the bathroom. Our hopes are that this will help prevent damage to the bathroom interior from excess moisture.

[bstark]

Terry and Jo; you are doing the right thing using your create-a-breeze fan in the bedroom/bath area to vent steam while showering.

The fan being discussed is the one in the "biffy" room that is indeed controlled by a small wall switch and is intended to vent odors from that little space. The problem is, it's not directly vented to the outside and has the roof insulation pack laying on top of it between it's exit end and the open bottom of short vent stack in the roof about 8" away from it.

Raising the insulation and fabbing up some ductwork/tubing to connect the outlet of the fan body to the bottom of that vent pipe not only prevents moisture laden air from saturating the insulation but ALSO vents the nasty odors (inherent with the functions the room is intended for) directly to the outside instead of merely into the attic cavity.

[wingnut60]

Again, thanks for the replies. When back home, will pull the vent in the 'biffy' room and see how to get a line over to the actual vent...maybe I'll discover some long-lost cables up there.
Joe