Welcome back to the channel ya kookz!
Get a step-by-step instructional video guide on how to build your van here – https://www.vankookz.com/diy-ford-transit
Today is the day for the easiest/hardest process of the DIY van conversion. It’s time to cut the first holes in your van. This can be a scary task but fear not! The Vankookz are here to help. Installing your roof fan is actually one of the easier tasks in the entire van conversion process and you will feel so accomplished once you are done with this step.
You will need the following items to make this happen.
Maxx Air Fan – https://amzn.to/3Fjgk6T
Lap Sealant – https://amzn.to/3kCG7PM
Butyl Tape – https://amzn.to/3FhoQDG
Solar Entry Gland – https://amzn.to/3kAw4KW
This time went with a Maxx Air fan on this van conversion because well let’s face it…. It’s the best option although it is expensive the other models don’t compare. Trust us we have used all of them. The Fantastic Fan is trash don’t waste your time or money with that junk unit. It’s also very important to apply a lot of self-leveling lap sealant around the fan to make sure it’s watertight. It’s also very important to use butyl tape as well. We have done this process many times and this is the best way to do it.
If you follow along with this video you should have zero problems with this installation.
If you are looking for more van build tips check out www.vankookz.com for a complete guide to building your DIY van conversion.
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00:00 – Welcome Back to the Channel Ya Kookz!
00:25 – Everything you will need to install your roof fan
01:18 – Getting Prepped to Cut the Hole for Your Roof Fan
02:18 – Step 1 – Cutting Your Pilot Holes
03:31 – Step 2 – Cutting out The Hole For your Fan
04:50 – Step 3 – Rust Prevention
05:36 – Step 4 – Applying Butyl Tape
06:04 – Step 5 – Installing Your Fan
06:38 – Step 6 – Applying Self-Leveling Lap Sealant
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I am not mechanical at all, however I have to say once installed my first Max air fan it went pretty well with surprise me. So it made the second one go even faster. The only thing I had to do on my second one was to create an inner frame for it to anchor to because the bus ceiling did not have the proper support to anchor too.
As always nice work and explanations.
I put an oak frame under the fan so the screws would have more clamping force. I'm not a trusting person, and my van has a fiberglass roof.
There’s actually a better way to do it without needing any maintenance ever, butyl and lap sealant isn’t a long term solution and eventually people generally end up needing to maintain it or replace later.
Best way is to use something like SikaFlex 221 as the sealant (which is what automotive windscreen repairers and manufacturers use to seal windscreens or bonded windows to vehicles and of course that’s only done once, ever. You’d use it I conjunction with the Sika Primer and the Sika Aktivator.
So basically.
– cut hole out, remove shrapnel, paint bare surfaces to protect against rust. Allow to dry.
– clean around surface with methylated spirit, allow to evaporate.
– use sika primer, preps surface ready for sealant, drys fast.
– use sika aktivator paint it around the surface where the sealant will go (so replaces butyl in this video), allow to dry, drys really fast
– apply a triangle shaped bead of sikaflex 221, roughly one tube per maxxair fan, or two tubes for a large domestic skylight. You can make the triangle shaped bead with the nozzle that comes with the sika flex as it has notches in the correct shape.
Voila. It’s staying in forever with zero leaks ever.
A similar solution will be available if you don’t have that there, just look up what people use there for replacing vehicle windscreens, it’s normally some sort of iso alcohol to clean the surface, a primer, sometimes and activator (not always) and then a pro sealant specifically for window bonding that’s compatible with plastics. I see too many people using butyl and lap Zealand in the van and mostly motorbike flipping and bus converting community and it’s not the best solution.
Hope that helps. Plus it’s a far, far neater job.
I was thinking of putting one of these in my shipping container — great to see how y'all get things done