A campervan fan on someone’s roof is one of those signals that they are living vanlife. You’ll usually see either a Fan-Tastic fan or a MaxxAir fan on the roof. The questions are: Do you even need a fan for your van, and what’s the best fan for traveling?
Do You Need A Campervan Fan?
Yes! If you do not have any way to get some ventilation in your camper van, it can become stuffy and hot in your van. Having a campervan fan is one of the most considerable qualities of life, especially when it’s getting harder to be in cool areas of the country during the summer with climate change.
If you travel with pets, it is essential to have good ventilation and insulation in your campervan. Without proper ventilation, your van will act like an oven and heat up during the summer months and can quickly become dangerous for your pets. When traveling with pets, we recommend that your van have at least one roof fan. In 85-degree weather, with two roof fans in our van, we can keep the van cool and comfortable for our cat and dog. It would not be possible to leave them safely in our van otherwise during the summer.
How Do You Ventilate A Camper Van?
There are many different ways you can ventilate your camper van. We have two fans; one is always going out. The other fan is off and open, dumping the cool area below it. We’ll turn on the fan blowing into the van if it’s warmer outside. Where the fan is pulling air in is where it’ll be the coolest, this took us a long time to figure this out.
Another way that we keep our van cool using our campervan fans is to have both fans going out. Then have the windows in the back open and our vents in the front drivers and passenger windows. Having the windows open or the vents in keeps the whole van cool.
We don’t use this option very often for a few reasons. One is it usually isn’t hot enough to use this method; the other process is excellent at keeping the van cool most of the time. Second, our van’s windows only open slightly and don’t have a screen to keep out bugs. It’s not very often we are in places that aren’t full of mosquitoes. This method might be better for you if you have windows with a screen or only have one fan.
What Is A Dome/Mushroom Vent, And Do I Need One?
A dome/mushroom vent is a more passive vent that you can use in your van. It is significantly smaller than other campervan fans averaging six inches in diameter. There is usually a handle where you can push it open or pull it close. Some of them may even have a small vent like the MaxxAir ones. Most of the time, you will see mushroom vents installed in RV bathrooms for mild ventilation. Many stealth builds will use these on their roof because you can barely see them. We have also seen people place these on the floor for ventilation.
You probably do not need one if you have at least one campervan fan and an opening window or two van roof vent fans. There wouldn’t be much need because you would get all the airflow needed.
Top 2 Campervan Roof Fans
MaxxAir and Fan-Tastic are the top RV and van roof vent fans. These being the top campervan fans is for a big reason; they are some of the best-made fans you can get on the market. We’ve had a Fan-Tastic roof vent in our Skoolie and now a MaxxAir roof vent fan in our van.
MaxxAir Roof Vent Fan
MaxxAir has two different types of fans; one has a remote that can control the speed, the opening of the van roof fan, and a rain sensor. In the other type, everything is done manually. When looking at MaxxAir fans, look at the description to know if it has a remote or a manual opening. All of the maxxAir fans have ten speeds, they run on 12v, they can blow in or out, and they have a temperature gauge.
One of the nice things MaxxAir has is a built-in rain cover. You won’t have to worry when it’s raining. One thing to note is that the number difference doesn’t mean one is better than the other; it just correlates to the color of the rain cover. They have smoke colored or white colored.
The MaxxAir campervan fan with a remote can average $335 for either the white cover or the smokey color rain cover. In comparison, the MaxxAir roof fan without a remote can average $250 to $275, depending on the color of the rain cover.
Fan-Tastic Roof Vent Fan
Fan-Tastic roof fans have three slightly different fans they are selling now. The campervan van with the most features is 7350. It has 14 different speeds, runs on 12v, can blow in or out, has a temperature gauge, and has an automatic lift with the remote. The 3350 van life fan does not have a remote and only has three speeds. The model 2250 is the same as the 3350 fans feature-wise; it is the older model year.
When getting a Fan-Tastic fan, you will need to get a vent cover. If it rains, you cannot turn on your fan without the vent cover. Speaking from experience, you need a fan even when it’s raining. It’ll get stuffy, and condensation can form in your campervan. That can lead to mold, which no one wants.
The Fan-Tastic fan 7350 or 807351 (the same as 7350) is the most expensive, averaging around $380 on Amazon; on Dometic’s website, they are usually $450. While the 3350 averages around $380 on Amazon, on Dometic’s website, they are usually $400. If you can find the 2250, they are significantly cheaper at around $260 on Amazon Dometic isn’t selling them on their website anymore.
Our Opinion The Best Roof Fan For Campervans
After having both a MaxxAir fan and a Fan-Tastic fan, the best campervan fan is MaxxAir. For many different reasons, the first being the rain cover is included. When we first got our Fan-Tastic fans, we did not get a vent cover and realized quickly that we needed one because we couldn’t have them on while it was raining. Once we got a cover, we realized that you couldn’t open the fan all the way, and I missed looking at the moon and stars at night through the fan. When we got our van, we installed MaxxAir fans, and they have a built-in cover where we can still look at the moon and be protected from the rain.
The MaxxAir fan has ten speeds, and the Fan-Tastic we had only had three speeds which was either too much air or too little air movement. If you want the Fan-Tastic campervan fan with similar stats to the MaxxAir fan, you would have to pay $100 more.
Before we got our van, we toured a skoolie with a MaxxAir fan; we noticed how much quieter it was than our Fan-Tastic fan. Even at the highest speed the MaxxAir can go, it is significantly quieter than the Fan-Tastic fan.
Things To Note About The MaxxAir Fan
We bought the MaxxAir fan without the remote to save some money during the build. We have regretted that decision since moving into the van. Mainly because then we could sync the back fan and the front fan. We had to figure out the best way they work over months of trial and error. If you have the remote, the fans can, so try and keep the temperature you set.
When considering where to place your campervan fan, remember how close things are behind your fan. We installed our front fan close to our solar panels, so if it is raining hard and the van roof vent is opened, the rain will hit the solar panels and be redirected into the fan. If we had the other vanlife fan, it would close itself. It hasn’t damaged the fans; it’s something we must keep in mind when it’s raining.
TL;DR
We believe that everyone should at least have one fan if not two depending on the size of your van. Especially if you have pets, it’s crucial to have roof fans. The best campervan fan is always the one you can afford and purchase. However, after having both brands of fans, the best van roof vent is MaxxAir.
