Electrical Carafan Installation

[EddieABP]

Afternoon all, i am or are hoping to attack the installation of a Carafan next week and was wondering if anyone had any tips, ideas or “how too” knowledge i could bounce Off.

We have a 2020 Jayco panda and was planning to put it in between the front ceiling opening And the front of the van. That would require me moving the fire alarm and 1x speaker.

 

[Drover]

Pop top or hard top ?????
Pop Top and even hard top yoiu have to make sure your not going to cut through a roof frame, it doesn't take much for the pop tops to bow and running cable inside them is near impossible, braces and styro insulation........... a fibreglass roof is really a sandwich, styro stuck between 2 sheet of ply..... so make certain of everything before you cut a hole.....
The thing with these pressure fan things is you have to go around the whole van and seal all the gaps, you will find dust will enter around the fridge, in through cable runs , door vents and water line entries.... On my old 14.44 I had to seal where cables, plumbing entered, ran foam door seal around the fridge, even filled huge opening where cables ran into a cupboard, still got small amount of dust and found it was entering where the tail light cbales came into the van buried in a cupboard and wall............. no dust, Big Mal required less work but fridge edge needed doing and once I fitted a flap a drop over the door vent, no dust............

In all cases you must have your drains closed, blocked with plug or whatever, this is often forgotten, drain on side of van will create a low pressure in van from sucking the air from an open sink.....

Never block the fridge vents, ever, the back of the fridge should be isolated from the inside of van anyway...driving a long distance with them closed you may as well turn your fridge off................. a bit of dust in there does less harm than blocking it off for hours... fridge be working its guts out and still turn into a food warmer.

 

[Crusty181]

Afternoon all, i am or are hoping to attack the installation of a Carafan next week and was wondering if anyone had any tips, ideas or “how too” knowledge i could bounce Off.

We have a 2020 Jayco panda and was planning to put it in between the front ceiling opening And the front of the van. That would require me moving the fire alarm and 1x speaker.

Welcome to the forum @EddieABP. The dealer will be able to provide you with some design drawings showing where all the invisible structure is located .... whether your dealer will help you out can be a mix bag. When I bought my van the sale came with the condition that they supply plans and wall schematics

 

[EddieABP]

Afternoon all! so i thought i would share how it all went with everybody. Installing the carafan that is.

Thankyou to everybody replies.

Firstly - Never talk to Jayco about a roof plan! - i dont need to go into detail about this. just dont!

Secondly - i had no where to install the carafan other than the existing toilet fan as i would have structurally affected my roof.

Thirdly - the hardest part was removing the well stuck down existing fan. takes time and cant rush it. Once removed and cleaned - the hole size, support structure and electrical wiring was all in place.

Fourthly - it is now at the back of my van, not ideal - but still effective. Will require too clean more frequently, but one up side is that it is more accessible from the side rather than the centre of the van.

Fifth and final - I got the auto electrician to make the fan spin inwards for pressure and outwards for using the bathroom - this cost $200, but that also included a full look over the vans battery and electrical system.

Couldn't be happier.

Time wise - i had to do it my self or wait till next year for someone to do it. I did how ever go too three caravan repair places and spoke to the professionals before i attempted to do it my self. Well worth the research and effort into this before you commence anything on the roof of your van.

 

[Drover]

Firstly - Never talk to Jayco about a roof plan! - i dont need to go into detail about this. just dont!

No need to explain to us, most have been there, done that, time wasted that you will never get back............

DiY is always of great benefit and can help on your travels when things stuff up, you get to know your van....
First dirt road will show you if the jobs finished, I would still go round and check all cable and pipe runs into the van, the less holes the better for your system to work, especially if an entry point is in a cupboard or hidden spot, it may not be affected by the fan pressure so you could still get a cupboard full of dust..... Checking will also allow you to check pipe entries thru the floor/cupboard walls, if your pipes aren't insulated from the timber or chassis points not only can chaffing cause problems later with leaks but insulated pipes will cut back the sound of the water pump instead of it resonating thru the floor.....