Looking for a compact fan to mount in a door

[BigT]

I’m looking for a compact, low Amp, 12V fan to mount in a door. 

A while back, probably more than a year ago, I saw a Ford Transit Connect on this site with a small vent fan mounted in one of the rear doors.

If memory serves, on the outside of the door it had louvers like you to see on the outside of an RV, to protect the fan from rain, I suppose.  This would, ideally, be a fan that draws air from inside it blows it outward.

I need this fan for my 2010 Ford TC.  

Last night I found a pool of water forming on my bed, and discovered a couple of drips at the low points of my headliner. Being new to long-term van dwelling, condensation was not the first thing I thought of. I figured I had a leak somewhere. However, after reading several articles on the subject, I now believe that spending five nights a week in my van, with the windows closed, is resulting in condensation buildup on the ceiling underneath the headliner.

Not wanting to deal with the hassles of sealing a roof vent to my corrugated roof top, I thought mounting a small fan in one of my swing-out doors would be a better option, but now I can’t find the article that was posted on CRVL. 

Is anyone familiar with this sort of set up? I’ll be spending Monday through Friday in my van for a new job, and I have to come up with a solution before I destroy everything in my van.

I do have one of those low-draw, 12 V “endless breeze” fans, that I’ve considered mounting in one of my sliding side windows, but I’d much rather hardwire something permanently to a door that I can run all night.

Just in case I’m asked, I have a puny, 75 AmpHr. AGM battery under the hood that’s connected to the alternator, and a 200 W solar panel. So far this works just fine for running a CPAP and a few lights, so I’m confident a low-draw fan won’t be a problem.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks

 

[highdesertranger]

if I made any open on the rear of a vehicle I would make sure I could seal it air tight while driving. in my book louvers ain't going to cut it. highdesertranger

 

[MeiraNomadRN]

HDR, is the concern about exhaust coming in through the louvers while driving?

 

[bullfrog]

If you do any dirt roads dust is a major problem, even duct taping vents sometimes it still gets in from the air flow created in the back! Nothing like getting everything covered in a 1/4" layer of silt.

 

[user 423]

Does anyone have any recommendations?

How about a pair of those visor vents that fit over the front windows? You can leave the windows cracked a little bit so air will circulate without letting rain in.

In my van I have a variable-speed Silverstone FM121 case fan that is mounted on the ceiling (close to the windshield). It can be rotated in any direction and air movement towards one of the windows seems to minimize condensation.

 

[BigT]

I All good ideas and reminders. Thanks. I was wondering about those little visors you get for the doors, but wasn’t sure where you get them, or if they have to be made for your particular car/truck.

Right now I’m in the brainstorming phase, trying to come up with the best/easiest way to get my “endless breeze“ fan somewhere near a window where it can do some good. I’m not thrilled about the idea of drilling holes in my sliding doors and mounting aluminum L brackets to hold the fan up.

Right now I’ve got my heater cranked all the way up and the AC on, trying to dehumidify the van a little.

 

[maki2]

if you want a permanent vent that is not on the roof you can put one in the sidewall. The opening faces to the rear to keep the wind from blowing into it while driving. But it does mean cutting a hole. As to a fan you don't need your big endless breeze, you can use a small 12v computer fan and wire it to a switch. Mount it into a piece of plywood with the center cut out for air movement.
https://nhtrailers.com/product/aluminum-sidewall-vents/

 

[bullfrog]

I would consider drying crystals although I have never used them and closable floor vents as well. There are some new vented propane made in the USA smaller heaters that are fairly inexpensive built for ice houses. It uses a pipe inside a pipe so a single hole to exhaust and intake air from outside. It is basically a barbeque burner inside a steel box with a double pipe. This would solve most of your condensation problems. Using a 120 volt AC 750/1500 watt ceramic heater will dry out your van pretty quickly. They are cheap and maybe finding someplace to plug in for a day or getting a small Ryobi propane generator and running the heater on low might be a good idea. Microfiber towels absorb a lot of water and are good to get up puddles as well as dry quickly. Condensation and mold that come with unvented propane heat are harder to deal with than the cold and most should have started out with a vented system if they wanted heat in a closed camper in my opinion. If you don't want to cut any holes in the body replace a rear window glass with a piece of plywood or metal and install a roof vent fan assembly in it.

 

[maki2]

I have no idea what kind of headliner is used in Transit Connects. If it is the fabric type that is layered on top of thin foam then that foam's job is so soak up moisture. So obviously that is fine for occasional use but having a built in sponge that is soaking up and holding onto moisture is not a good plan for someone living in a van. For a ceiling insulation in a van that is being dwelled in you would want a closed cell foam which means it does not absorb water. Something such as Landau foam which is made from EVA foam which is closed cell. Of course no matter what you do you still need a way to reduce the interior humidity.

 

[VanFan]

you can use a small 12v computer fan and wire it to a switch.

I had a pair of these eons ago.  They were very quiet and moved a surprising amount of air through the slider windows!  (Thanks, mai2; I had forgotten about those little gems.)

 

[BigT]

So is it true that all you need is an open window or two, and a fan blowing fresh, freezing, wet air through the van to keep things dry?

That's what I've read, but it's hard to imagine that blowing wet air through the car is going to keep the moisture out.
It also sounds like I'm going to be miserable, huddling under the covers to stay warm when it's just as cold inside and it is outside. Colder actually with the windchill factor.

So much for my van being a warm little shelter on a cold, damp night.

 

[highdesertranger]

"So is it true that all you need is an open window or two, and a fan blowing fresh, freezing, wet air through the van to keep things dry?"

depends on the relative humidity outside the van. in the south west this is true most of the time. you really don't even need a fan. what part of the country are you in?

highdesertranger

 

[BigT]

I'm in the SF Bay Area. Lately in the East Bay in Newark, Ca., but it's been strangely humid lately, and we just got a huge storm with more rain coming this weekend.

The van has sliding glass windows with screens, mounted in the sliding side doors, that I plan to put my 12V fan in, and I'm going to shop for a new and warmer sleeping bag this weekend (no way am I braving Walmart on Black Friday). Maybe I'll just get a down comforter from BB&B.
I'm not sure which is warmer.

 

[bullfrog]

A good sleeping bag will work as long as you keep it dry. It should be rated low enough that you could be comfortable in outside temperatures. The van is basically a wind break but still needs to get rid of the condensation your body heat creates, so yes open some windows slightly, preferably ones with water deflectors. One of the by products of propane when it is burning is water so you are actually adding to the condensation problem with an unvented heater. Vented heaters give you the heat to dry out the condensation without adding more water to the heated compartment to condensate. Electric heat does not produce water and wood heat uses a chimney (but also requires a source of fresh air) so both are considered "dry" heat. When you get into extremely humid climates insulation and vapor barriers come into play as well. Some houses use up to 6" of insulation, vapor barriers, vents and dehumidifiers/humidifiers in an attempt to keep them comfortable. A good sleeping bag, a vented or "dry" heat source with a couple water deflectors on a couple slightly open windows will probably solve your problems keeping the van warm and dry. Most vehicles were not designed to be lived in and have to be modified to do so.

 

[user 423]

.... I'm going to shop for a new and warmer sleeping bag this weekend.

Just buy a cheap second bag. Two bags will keep you toasty.

 

[B and C]

Two damp bags still won't keep you warm. You need a source of dry heat to dry out. Find a place to plug in and run an electric heater.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

Your first option should always be to simply crack a window open. If you are concerned about bugs coming in then just cover that window with screen. Bob has videos about using magnets to just hold screens up on the outside. I found an old tent and cut out the tent screening, then I used gorilla tape to tape it up on the inside of my front passenger side window. Now I can roll the window down without any bugs coming in. In hindsight I now wish I had used black screen instead of grey because it would obscure my view less. But it's still tolerable. You can also put screen up over one of your pop out windows. Just leave the screen loose and floppy so you can grab the handle right through the screen to open and close the window.

Now, I originally used gorilla tape. But I have found that only lasts about two and a half years. So you might want some longer-lasting tape like Dura-Bond or something like that. I have found the clear double-sided gorilla brand mounting tape to last a lot longer than regular black gorilla tape. So, maybe you could use that stuff to mount the screen and then take some bias tape from the fabric store and press it into the adhesive through the screen just to keep bugs from sticking to that adhesive like a fly strip.

 

[BigT]

I managed to mount my Endless Breeze fan in one of the sliding windows on the side door of the TC, but I definitely wouldn't call the opening small. 
The sliding windows have screens, so bugs won't be an issue, but I'm having trouble finding universal rain deflectors to put above them. 

I can get deflectors for the front windows, but that won't help with rain coming in through the sliders where the fan is mounted.

I'll take a look at some of my local auto parts store this weekend and see what I can find.

 

[maki2]

You need to think outside the box for preventing water from coming in. If the only place you look for solutions is from the RV industry you won't find much because they are all using roof vent solutions. But the world of marine parts often goes through the side of the cabins for venting various equipment.

You can create an exterior cover plate with a couple of these louvered vents mounted to it.
https://sea-dog.com/groups/2618-louvered-vent

Or you could do something similar to the fresh air intake I made for vertical sliding window on the rear door on my travel trailer with another style  of the Sea Dog louvered vents.  I have a small computer fan I can set in front of it if I want to. I found a variable speed control with an on-off and have my computer fan wired to that for a switch and speed control.

I have the opening for this vent screened on the inside surface. I created this solution with the louvered vent specifically so I had a fresh air exchange when it was raining and also for bringing in fresh air when heating in the winter time. The side wall of my trailer slope so there is no way to keep rain out of the horizontal sliding windows unless I make exterior louvered vent covers for them which would have been a lot more work than doing one for this rear door.

 

[jacqueg]

I All good ideas and reminders. Thanks. I was wondering about those little visors you get for the doors, but wasn’t sure where you get them, or if they have to be made for your particular car/truck.

Rain shields - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=car+window+rain+shields&ref=nb_sb_noss_1