195RBW - Adding a bathroom fan (mod thread)

[MrKABC]

My 2019 SLX7 195RBW didn't come with a bathroom fan. I can see that as a cost cutting measure, but I still think it's important to have a fan! Having a fan will exhaust moisture from showers, cooking, etc. (as well as other bathroom related issues... )

This thread is a "how to" install a Heng's Industries 90046-CR "Vortex II" fan.

TOOLS NEEDED:

• Phillips Screwdriver
• Slotted screwdriver
• Wire chase, small
• Wire taps
• 18" of 18 gauge double conductor wire
• Drill with 1/4" drill bit

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Remove vent opening twist knob with one Phillips screw.
2. Remove vent trim (4 Phillips screws). Screen and mounting trim can now be detached. Note how flimsy they are.
3. Use slotted screwdriver to detach cover of LED light fixture in bathroom. Remove 4 Phillips mounting screws and pull fixture down. This will expose the wiring.
4. Drill 1/4" hole in wood framing member 3.5" from passenger side frame. This is to run the power wire.
5. Use wire chase to fish two wires from vent opening to cavity above the light fixture. You should have plenty of room to fish wire through.
6. Using wire taps, attach white to white, and black to purple wire.
7. Replace your LED light fixture to ceiling, reversing step 3.
8. On your fan, use Phillips screwdriver to relocate gear box to the outer screw mounts (2 screws)
9. Support the fan near the vent opening. Using wire taps, connect white to white and black to black.
10. Use Phillips screwdriver to secure fan to metal crosspiece. The two screws are short coarse thread, and are included with the fan. I looked through the screen as I was mounting the fan to line up the screws with the crosspiece mounting holes.
11. Reattach your trim piece and secure with the four Phillips screws.
12. Attach the gray vent opening knob with the longer single Phillips screw included with the fan.

Your installation is complete! Connect your battery and test the fan. It's important to remember that FORWARD means EXHAUST FAN (drawing air out of the trailer to the outside) and REVERSE is drawing air into the trailer.

The fan works well - at it's high setting it's a bit noisy but it draws air strongly. Overall I am pleased with the fan and I think it makes a nice addition to my 195RBW. Looks factory, doesn't it?

[PoulsboJohnny]

Nice write up!
I'm looking to do something similar with our new 17SLX. I like the idea of a fan that is reversible. (technically any DC fan is reversible, but this one has a switch built in!).

Regarding your use of wire taps. Are you referring to the wire cutting types that they use in car stereo? They have these things all over the trailer and they are really poor connectors - but they are cheap an quick. When I wired in my USB charge ports I cut these things out and used butt connectors. Makes for easy disconnect when needed, and provides a strong mechanical connection when joining wires. Plus, it allowed me to clean up some of the wiring mess for the stereo.

[MrKABC]

Originally Posted by PoulsboJohnny

Nice write up!
I'm looking to do something similar with our new 17SLX. I like the idea of a fan that is reversible. (technically any DC fan is reversible, but this one has a switch built in!).

Regarding your use of wire taps. Are you referring to the wire cutting types that they use in car stereo? They have these things all over the trailer and they are really poor connectors - but they are cheap an quick. When I wired in my USB charge ports I cut these things out and used butt connectors. Makes for easy disconnect when needed, and provides a strong mechanical connection when joining wires. Plus, it allowed me to clean up some of the wiring mess for the stereo.

Hi PoulsboJohnny!

Thank you for the compliment! I use Lockitt POSI-TAPs like these:

https://www.amazon.com/Lockitt-Posi-...ZSH4J0HGYAYWP1

These are more robust than your typical "T" tap and a LOT better than those crummy "side by side" taps.

I'm also a fan of soldering and heat shrink tubing, which is what I did on the fan end (taps for the trailer wiring, and soldered the wires into the fan). I didn't include that in the write up I did because a lot of folks would not want to do that step.

The fan works great! Share up once you install. Cheers!

[bsauer]

Thank you MrKABC! I did this modification in my 195RB last weekend and it works like a charm.

[Jay2504]

MrKABC, this is the fan I am going to put in place of the 4 inch fan that came with the trailer. One question, I couldn’t tell from the pictures, does the fan come with its own screen? Thanks. Jay

[MrKABC]

Originally Posted by Jay2504

MrKABC, this is the fan I am going to put in place of the 4 inch fan that came with the trailer. One question, I couldn’t tell from the pictures, does the fan come with its own screen? Thanks. Jay

Hi Jay, it does.

[rccs]

I put the same fan in our camper in the vent above the bed. I really like this fan because it has 3 exhaust speeds and if I remember, 2 speeds to bring air in. Also the price is not bad. Our camper has the endless breeze fan in the bathroom already but the vent in the bedroom was just a vent opening. The wiring for a fan was already in the ceiling near the vent opening.

[WHA]

Thanks for the info. The only hiccup in the install was lining up the crank to open/close the vent opening. Just took a little time.

[MontanaRick]

MrKABC

Thanks so much for the write up. Mine arrived today and I installed it. Since it came with NO instructions, I printed out yours and used them with success.

My only issue was fishing the wire. I don't know about yours, but the area between the light and the vent box on mine was filled with insulation, and the depth of the wood around the vent box made it pretty impossible to angle anything between the two holes (at least for one with my skills). I put my hole in the vent box directly back from the hole for the light, and was able to successfully fish through that way.

The fan looks good and certainly does draw air in nicely, a worthwhile upgrade.

[Johnv]

Just ordered this fan, does it fit the hole without making it bigger?
The dimension on the fan says 16"x16".
The actual opening on our 195rb is 13x13, but it is 16x16 if I go to the edge of the trim.

Thanks

[bsauer]

The Hengs Industiries - 90046-CR Vortex II fan fits into the opening without any modifications necessary. Like a previous poster said, fishing the power cable is the biggest challenge.

[MrKABC]

Originally Posted by Johnv

Just ordered this fan, does it fit the hole without making it bigger?
The dimension on the fan says 16"x16".
The actual opening on our 195rb is 13x13, but it is 16x16 if I go to the edge of the trim.

Thanks

It's a perfect fit. Once you take the trim off the opening you'll see the framing is 16" x 16". You'll have no trouble.

Let us know how it goes!