Fantastic Fan Replacement

[jage]

Well I finally got a minute and put the van up (after 7 hours of moving toys) and tore into the fantastic fan. It's been leaking since forever and I basically found exactly what I expected.

Here is what NOT to do:
1. drill your corners vertexes when cutting a hole in the roof leaving jagged half holes at every corner. don't flatten out the metal either, just leave it tormented at your cuts.
2. when you paint the edges use bedliner so nothing else sticks and seals to it. as a bonus DON'T actually paint the edges you cut, just you know, on top of them.
3. mix foam, tape, regular glue (gorilla glue) randomly before putting on your roofing tar to ensure there are lots of gaps and cracks and it will never actually seal
4. shove random chunks of whatever is handy scrap in around the cut- wood, old foam, bits of reflectix. be sure to just leave it loose and not actually support the roof.
5. crack the frame because tighter screws are better screws
6. ignore the problem for years even though it was obvious the PO was a hack (d'oh)

So now I have this beautiful ragged hole to fill. It's 14.5" front to back, 14" across and 3" depth (roof to ceiling). Going with an identical fan-tastic FV803350 with the manual controls.

In any case that's where I am- clean but not sanded. I need to put something back on the metal that will stop rust but still allow adhesion, POR15 maybe?

[arctictraveller]

Wow!

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[Teutonics]

If using POR15, make sure to lightly topcoat/dust it with primer before it dries, otherwise paint won't stick.

[Viva]

You seem to have missed the step of "glob piles of silicone on so that any future work requires using a blowtorch to get the residue off and make it so anything will ever adhere again."

[jage]

Originally Posted by Teutonics

If using POR15, make sure to lightly topcoat/dust it with primer before it dries, otherwise paint won't stick.

Should I just use a rustoleum primer instead?

[Abitibi]

Primer is a must, por15 or other paint is a big plus...

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[Teutonics]

Originally Posted by jage

Should I just use a rustoleum primer instead?

Depends on how long you plan to keep the vehicle. POR15 is good stuff for the long term, you just have to use and apply it properly. It's not hard, and they provide instructions on how and when to apply the primer "layer". Rustoleum is a shorter term solution IMHO.

[jage]

Progress continues. Sanded, primed and painted. Close enough for the roof, although it looked better in my tests. Possibly should have just gone with black but I am more concerned with seal at this point (I can always shoot it with a little semi-gloss black).

[jage]

Next step is to template and build a sub-structure for the gap, I've just started toying around with oak bits to see what might fit and how it can be installed without taking out the roof.

I still need to figure out exactly how to fill the top ridges at the back but the new fan is here so hopefully it's just a matter of moving forward. The sub-structure I think is going to be the biggest improvement, as before everything (including header shelf) was just screwed into the thin wood with sharp screw backs just jutting out and no actual support between the roof and ceiling (the fan-tastic is two pieces that don't support one another).

[86Scotty]

Looking good Jage, or um, better? Paypal is on the way to you and PM sent.

I just talked to Fantastic Vent (owned by Dometic now like everything else) and got to a real person at tech support. They are super helpful and told me what I needed to know. I'm going to use the internals from yours to upgrade my basic one direction basic model, so the leaks and housing don't matter to me.