how to reduce wind/road noise poptop fan

Davidboco · 11-17-2023, 08:08 PM

anyone have a clever way to reduce the wind noise on a sportsmobile sprinter poptop fan?

the seal seems good but still I have a lot of noise
thanks

86Scotty · 11-17-2023, 08:11 PM

Do you have a roof rack?

If so, that's your problem and the only way to get rid of it is to get rid of the roof rack.

If you don't have a roof rack you need to buy an older Ford van and drive it on the highway for about 5 minutes. Then get back in your quiet Sprinter and enjoy the rest of your quiet life.

Davidboco · 11-17-2023, 08:17 PM

good one!
no roof rack - I guess it's all relative - just putting it out there to hear if anyone has a solution

86Scotty · 11-17-2023, 08:44 PM

I have actually heard it's bad on some Sprinters. Do you have a Maxxair vent in the ceiling towards the front? I've heard these really disrupt the air flow on some of the Euro style vans though I never had a problem with it with my Transit.

Glen · 11-17-2023, 11:11 PM

I have a 2011 Econoline with a Colorado Campervan high top. The Maxxair fan/vent is mounted towards the front & it rattles pretty bad. I keep hearing about a "Quiet Kit" for the Maxxair, but haven't been able to figure out who makes them or where to get one.

With the help of 1der, I was able to determine that the rattling is coming from the passenger side of the unit & involves the rail that the right lid arm slides up & down in. Now, Iv'e got to take it apart and see if I can figure out how to fix it.

Scalf77 · 11-18-2023, 06:04 AM

Glen, I believe this is a free kit if you contact MaxxAir. (That on its own, may speak how well it works). You can also open the top, as this can reduce noise.

REF · 11-18-2023, 07:06 AM

There are vent fan covers made for this exact purpose, well that and so you can have the vent remain open in rain, especially useful with the rain sensor units that automatically close.
I installed one on the van for my fantastic fan, works great. You’ll see them used quite often on RV roofs. My install was a bit tricky, since I have a roof rack built around the fan, I couldn’t attach it to the fan shroud, but I just used zip ties to secure the vent cover to the rack over the fan, which gave the fans cover a bit more room to open anyway.
Beware, there are options to get cover units that come with this clever EZ clip for mounting, however the metal attachment clips tend to rattle, I used one on the TT we had and was annoying when camped in high winds, would be worse if we had to listen to that overhead while driving. Otherwise the standard mounting system is bolted on. You can also use lap sealant or VHB tape to secure the cover to your roof, just make sure the surfaces are cleaned before using tape, but that stuff works!
Try searching on Amazon for RV vent fan covers

AndrewInSeattle · 11-18-2023, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scalf77

Glen, I believe this is a free kit if you contact MaxxAir. (That on its own, may speak how well it works).

I heard this rumor too, but I didn't get any reply when I reached out to MaxxAir a couple years (?) ago.

Our current strategy for dealing with fan rattle is to hand-tighten the manual open/close knob whenever it starts acting up again.

Glen · 11-18-2023, 12:21 PM

I'll get into it this week, once the threat of rain is gone. 1der was able to push a screwdriver against the right side of the rail while I was driving & it stopped the noise, so I've at least pinpointed the problem area.

86Scotty · 11-19-2023, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REF

There are vent fan covers made for this exact purpose, well that and so you can have the vent remain open in rain, especially useful with the rain sensor units that automatically close.
I installed one on the van for my fantastic fan, works great. You’ll see them used quite often on RV roofs. My install was a bit tricky, since I have a roof rack built around the fan, I couldn’t attach it to the fan shroud, but I just used zip ties to secure the vent cover to the rack over the fan, which gave the fans cover a bit more room to open anyway.
Beware, there are options to get cover units that come with this clever EZ clip for mounting, however the metal attachment clips tend to rattle, I used one on the TT we had and was annoying when camped in high winds, would be worse if we had to listen to that overhead while driving. Otherwise the standard mounting system is bolted on. You can also use lap sealant or VHB tape to secure the cover to your roof, just make sure the surfaces are cleaned before using tape, but that stuff works!
Try searching on Amazon for RV vent fan covers

I like the pillows more than the covers, but you may've meant either. Most van tops have a relatively shallow well for the roof vent but they make several styles of these, or you could easily make your own with the proper thickness foam and some Reflectix. These are primarily made for campers/motorhomes with a roof that's a couple inches thick because of AC ducting, etc.

They block out all noise and light, of course.

https://www.amazon.com/SIKADEER-Insu...9e4039b26&th=1