Changing out the bathroom vent

[SargeW]

So more mods on the TT. Changed out the cheapo manual hand crank vent with the 4" fan in the bath to a Maxxair vent with remote. The PIA was getting the old one off with the excessive Dicor that the factory used to glue the old one down ( along with 32 screws!)

The Dicor was so sticky that it deformed the paper thin EPDM roof around the vent while trying to get it to release. It's been a long time since I had a EPDM roof on a RV, but I sure don't remember them being that paper thin. So after I got the old one off and cleaned up as best as I could, the install of the new one was a breeze. In order to address the messed up roof material around the vent, I picked up some 4" Eternabond type tape. I put down a layer around the entire vent, 3/16" away from the fan. Then I finished it with a bead of Dicor around the vent and all of the screws. It should be there for a long time, and the DW loves being able to control the vent without having to stand on the toilet.

I also have a Maxxair vent cover coming to attach to the fan. Amazon loves me lately...

Next I start on the washer/dryer install.

[chuckster57]

Nice job!! Are you sure it’s EDPM and not TPO?

Dicor can be used on both but some prefer Alpha’s brand of lap sealant on TPO. You’re the first person I’ve heard complain about too much sealant.

[SargeW]

Yep, you are correct. It is TPO, I assumed because my first TT in 1997 was EPDM that this one was too. I know, usually excess Dicor is not a problem, until you need to take it off!

And then while trying to clean up the edges of the opening, I noted an unusual "bump" in the TPO. A little investigation found this:

Yep, gotta love "attention to detail!"

[JRTJH]

That little bumpout is where the router used to cut the vent hole didn't "complete the square"... Not surprising at any RV manufacturer's line...

Just wait until you need to pull one of the 1.5" vent stacks and find the "hammer hole with all the broken edge splinters" where rather than use a hole saw to cut a 1.5" hole, they just "slam a hammer through the OSB and wiggle it out until the pipe slips through".....

[SargeW]

Yeah, I guess they save a bunch of money on the "quality control" department....

Another "WTH?" I just found while starting prep for the washer. I pulled the bottom shelf out that the washer sits on. There is a "ledge" of 5/8" square dowel rod around the perimeter that the shelf sits on. Two sides of the square are screwed into the wall, the other 2 are "free floating". That would have been interesting to set a 148# washer on it and drive down the road.

[JRTJH]

Be leary of the supporting wall studs for those square dowel shelf supports as well....

They may be 2x2 wall studs, they may be 1x2 "scab studs" or they may be a scrap piece of luan glued or stapled behind the luan wall panel....

With that kind of weight riding on a "shelf in the back of a travel trailer" that you know is going to bounce all over the road, make sure the shelf is actually supported by "real wall studs that are sturdy enough to support a 150 pound bouncing load".... Otherwise, you just may open the trailer door and find that combo washer/dryer laying on its side in front of the refrigerator.....

[SargeW]

No worries, the washer is going to be put in the lower cabinet. I reinforced the side supports with 4" cripples made out of a stick of hard wood trim left over from my kitchen remodel. They are nailed into the rail piece and sitting on the floor of the rig. The bottom is nailed into the plate. It should serve the purpose nicely.