I’ve been following Tioga George‘s roof makeover adventure and one thing has left me dumbfounded: he only has one roof vent/hatch left.
My roof hatches are one of Miranda’s best features! I have one in the study, one in the dressing room with a fan (plus a skylight over the shower), a giant escape-sized one in the kitchen, and a little one above the bed in the loft. I do block the latter one with a block of styrofoam for darkness, but I’d be lost without the other three.
The study and dressing room hatches have a cover over them, so I can have the hatches wide open when it rains and have fresh air when it’s impossible to keep the windows open. The roof hatches also let less noise in than do open windows, so I can shut myself in to do transcription but still breathe fresh air. If I’m going away for the day, I can securely let some air into the rig without worrying about granting miscreants easier access. The hatch in the kitchen can’t be left open in the rain or if I’m leaving the rig, but it adds tons of light in the front part of the room:
Even closed and with covers over them, the two rear hatches let in a lot more light than would a closed ceiling.
What are my readers’ thoughts on RV roof vents/hatches?
I have 5 in my 32 foot Coachmen and totally agree with you. In fact, if I were shopping for an rv and found one with only 1 roof vent, it would be a deal breaker.
That was my immediate thought as well when I read George’s Post. We have three roof vents, loft, kitchen (both Fantastic Fans) and another in the bathroom. Our old rig had one in the bedroom and I really miss it. The air circulation they offer is something I could not do without.
Roof vents are a must. Our rig has 3 (bedroom, shop and main bath) and a ceiling fan. We added a skylight in the kitchen, and also changed the bedroom one from passive airflow to a fantastic fan 2 way flow.
In many ways, they are better than the AC option. Just crack a window, and the airflow is amazing!!
We have 3 in our Triple E Commander – one in the bathroom, one in the bedroom and the other in the kitchen/dining room. Plus the skylight with screen in the living room – agreed with all of you, that these are a “must have” in any RV…..
Thanks to everyone for chiming in. Looks like I’m not the only one who loves her roof vents!
My new van will have one roof vent fan. I need the rest of my roof for A/C and solar panels. But I will have nearly continuous windows about 2/3rds of the way around the front of my van including my living/kitchen areas and several of those windows will be ones where the bottoms swing up and out so they can be open in most rain. One of those will be by my bed so I can open it and turn on the fan at the back to have good air flow over my bed. Another one will be over my desk for good daytime air flow. I will also have non-operable windows in my back door to bring light into the back of the van. Or I can open the back and sliding doors and put up big screens when I need to really connect with the outdoors without joining the bugs out there. For me, one fan should be enough.
That was my first thought when I read that too. Is he nuts? Especially in a big class C like his Tioga, the air flow is crucial. AC doesn’t really take the place of good ventilation but then he’s a Californian who probably thinks it does. I guess he’s thinking that staying put and paying for the neighbor’s electricity means he will use the AC primarily. Tioga George is not one that I would always consider makes good decisions. He’s rather impulsive and we might be hearing a few months down the road that he’s back at the shop getting a new fan put in.
I have a 22′ van with one ceiling fan and 3 awning windows front and back and it isn’t quite sufficient. I add a plug in fan in the summer to blow air on me to keep cool enuf. But I can open 5 doors to fully air it out if I want. Not so in a Class C.