Vent caps?

[mj5150]

Our new Raptor 412TS has one fancy vent cap with a rain sensor, in the kitchen area.
During our walk through, the tech suggested I put vent caps on the other vents. I think there's three more.....bathroom, above the loft, and in the garage.
Do I need them? Our toy hauler will sit stationary 99% of the time.
Why do I need them?
If I put on vent caps, won't that block sun/natural light?

What brand do you recommend? I see there are a few out there to pick from.

Thanks everyone for your answers. I thought I had done all the research I needed to, but once we bought this thing, a million other questions came to mind.

-Mike

[notanlines]

They serve little or no purpose other than to keep rain out if you leave the vent open and of course it rains. If you leave the vent open and you're traveling down the road the rain will still blow in a little. Personally I might invest in a smart fan for the garage and let the others be.

[BuxCamper]

I had Maxx Air's on the previous camper in white and a set yet to be installed on the current camper in smoke. The white let plenty of light through and I'm sure the smoke will too. Being able to leave the vents open in the summer without the worry of rain getting in helps control camper temperature. I never saw any rain work it's way in when traveling or sitting stationary.

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[66joej]

We have the Maxx Air vent covers on the TT. Found that it helps to not worry about having to close the vents when going down the road. I have seen the factory vent covers by the side of the road from someone forgetting to close them. Also has a bit of an effect of pulling stale air out while moving. It is a personal choice.

[Javi]

Wouldn't be without them...

[bsmith0404]

Had Maxxair covers on one 5er, maxxair II's on another and Aero Flo on the current one. All work great and I've worked them in on every deal. I've not pulled the trailer home from the dealership without them installed. Like Javi, I won't be without them. I'm even thinking about adding them to my car trailer since I've replaced both vents on it after the sun beat them down and hail/wind destroyed them.

[NorskeBob]

Installed them on last 3 RVs - like to keep the vents open an not worry about the rain coming in.

I leave the vents open when the RV is not in use to let some heat out.

[mj5150]

Originally Posted by notanlines

They serve little or no purpose other than to keep rain out if you leave the vent open and of course it rains. If you leave the vent open and you're traveling down the road the rain will still blow in a little. Personally I might invest in a smart fan for the garage and let the others be.

What's a smart fan?
Do you have a link to one?

-Mike

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by mj5150

What's a smart fan?
Do you have a link to one?

-Mike

It's an upgraded vent fan (not the little 6" fans used as OEM equipment in most RV's) with a reversible fan motor and a rain sensor that closes the vent if it senses the water. Many also include an adjustible thermostat to turn the fan on/off to help control the temperature by venting when the temp rises and not wasting battery power when it's not "hot enough to need venting"....

There are several brands and the argument of which is best is much like the Chev/Ford/GMC/RAM argument.

[rcmike]

Ive recently put on caps and or changed the whole assemble on my raptor. For the loft I installed a Maxxfan deluxe, for the kitchen I just installed a Fanmate cover which was a snap to install. The mounting tabs are already molded into the upper fan housing from the factory on top of the roof. Two removable pins on the side and it lifts open for future cleaning and such. For the time being I installed a Original Maxxair cover in the bathroom vent. I would like to put another Maxxfan deluxe in this spot . I choose white for all the covers. I just stayed with the same company that made all the fans in TH from the factory. Ive always had covers on the vents. Its just a extra way to block the sun from getting heat into your rig. None of them go any higher when open than your A/c units on the roof for the same clearance. Its personal preference , have Fun with your TH.

[papi]

We were in the black hills South Dakota a few years ago. We went to Mt Rushmore for the day. When we came back a hailstorm had just passed. We went In and it looked like it snowed inside.. the hail destroyed the regular vent covers. Ever since we had covers in all of our vents. They are worth it.

[440justin]

Originally Posted by papi

We were in the black hills South Dakota a few years ago. We went to Mt Rushmore for the day. When we came back a hailstorm had just passed. We went In and it looked like it snowed inside.. the hail destroyed the regular vent covers. Ever since we had covers in all of our vents. They are worth it.

Agreed! We were in the Black Hills last summer and experience hail every day. The vet covers saved our vents for sure as a few others in the campground were not as lucky. I had damage to the fridge roof vent through the course of the hail.

Are the vet covers a must have... No, but they sure add a layer of protection to the vet lids.

Also think about your storage situation. The camper next to mine has been moved in the 4 years I have been parking next to it. I noticed this spring it has lost the vet lids! I can only imagine what the inside is becoming! Point being if you live some place that gets storms and can't check you camper all the time the vet covers could save to water damage if one of the lids were to break when you were not around.

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[BuxCamper]

After 6 years both vent lids in my previous camper cracked. All but a couple of months of their lives they were covered by the cap. I wasn't particularly worried when they cracked as I knew the cap would keep things dry.

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