In October I drove down to Frank’s Trailer Works and I “helped” Frank install the above-floor black tank, the in-frame gray tank and all the connections to the valves and drain hose connection. I’m very happy to have that done, thanks to Frank for his good work and for letting me play along! I wish I had taken more photos at FTW, but here is the weather from the campground I stayed at the night before outside of Baltimore, it was the loudest rain I’ve ever heard. The second night, I was honored to sleep in Anna Lumanum.
We also redid the hinge on the battery compartment, the redone rivets held up on the way home. Unfortunately, the connection on the other side of the hinge did not hold up. I’m not going to risk losing another battery, so that compartment now houses my very light 12V air compressor with a power line back into the converter, this will be very handy for topping off the bike tires at the campsite. The battery is now stored in what will once again be the bathroom closet (someday) and it will have a mate next summer.
Changing topics… So there is much debate on the best way to install the Fantastic vents. I replaced the rear fantastic vent only 6 months after it was installed due to cracks and leaking through the base last spring. Shortly after the first frost this fall, the front fantastic vent started leaking (A LOT) one year after it had been installed. First I will say that both the company and Vintage Trailer Supply were great about replacing these under warranty. It was a bit of an annoyance to have to send them back first, but I’m grateful for the replacements.
This paragraph falls under the adage, “you don’t know what you don’t know” and I still don’t know much. When I installed the new fantastic vents the first time, I had heard that I should not use the foam gasket that comes with the fans. I had not heard Colin say to use pan head screws with washers YET. So the first vents were installed with vulkem and flathead countersunk stainless steel screws. When I replaced the vent in the back, I used vulkem, pan head stainless steel screws and washers per what I heard on the VAP. Then on Steve’s advice, I installed the replacement vent in the front with the foam gasket, screws it came with, and silicone sealant (yuck) per the recommended method. The middle vent has vulkem and flathead screws, and after one year is ok (so far). So the experiment is on…. will the CH/VAP method or the company/VTS recommendation last longer? Both of the new vent replacements had fewer and different location screw holes. Maybe their new design will be better. I hope so! I do love these fans/vents other than the cracked and leaking plastic bases. P.S. This is my interpretation of the advice, I may have mis-spoke and I apologize if my info is inaccurate. Do not try this at home.