Ceiling Fans - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Phyl · RV-Dreams Community Member

Ceiling Fans

Dave Buck · RV-Dreams Family Member

Mine runs on AC and appears to just be a regular fan. We leave ours on all the time blowing up. Doesn't move much air but I think it keeps the temp. more even.

Howard · Host

They typically run on AC and they are basically the same as fans for a house.

The big caution for ceiling fans and any attached lights is "Are they out of the way when you bring in the slideouts?" This is especially true when you are installing a new ceiling fan as the slides will be out during the installation and if you haven't measured .... well, you can imagine what might happen.

We've seen some where the paddles have to be turned in just the right direction before the slides are brought in. We've also had a paddle get bent down slightly and then broken by the slideout. And you have to periodically check screws on the paddles and the light fixtures as they will vibrate loose over time.

Linda has even developed mesh bags with draw strings that go over the light fixtures and attach to the fan itself. That way, if the glass comes loose and falls during a move, it is caught in the bag. :)

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard wrote:
...
We've seen some where the paddles have to be turned in just the right direction before the slides are brought in. ...

We had a local dealer show us a 5er last year and he opened the slides so we could get in, he demonstrated the ceiling fan and then shut it off, continued the tour and then as we waited out side and watched the slides go back in, suddenly there was a loud "Crack" followed by something hitting the wall. The dealer cursed some unprintable words but we didn't know what had happened until he told us that he forgot to turn the fan just so, to prevent the slides from pinching the blades on the fan. We added a new item to the close-up check list. smile

Brian

-- Edited by biggaRView on Saturday 12th of September 2015 09:59:17 AM

Phyl · RV-Dreams Community Member

Wow! The things you would never think of... This is such a great forum. I've learned a ton in the past couple of weeks. As we are shopping for "the" rv I haven't seen a fan I liked. Was wondering about being able to replace with one I like. Now I know I will need to be careful with my selection in terms of size, # of blades, etc. so it can be turned "just so."

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

You've received the correct information on both AC/DC and other considerations like the clearance from the slides. We finally got tired of the noise of the original fan in our Mobile Suites, so we went out and bought a "ceiling-hugger" Hunter fan to replace it. Both the old and the new fans were/are 42" fans, however with the Hunter, we went with a 5 bladed fan instead of a 4 blade one. Like Dave Buck says, we run ours in reverse (air pushing upwards), however with the five blades, it seems that we can better feel some air movement from the fan, whereas the old 4-blade fan we could never really feel.

Here is a link to a blog entry that I wrote after we replaced with the Hunter. Replacement of Ceiling Fan with a Hunter Fan

The Hunter did come with 3 lights, and we've found that it works great when Jo wants to work in the back of the coach at her sewing center.

Off-topic, but you can see Jo working(?) at her sewing center in this photo. She had two embroidery machines working, and since they are digital and do the work by themselves, she's also reading her E-reader. Man, it must be hard to do all that.

We also check the position of our fan blades when we plan on "closing-up" for travel, although we've yet to do much traveling with the Mobile Suites.

Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Monday 14th of September 2015 09:57:22 AM

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our ceiling fan stays on 24/7 when we are parked and the slides are out. Fan only no lights.

It helps distribute the cool air from the air conditioner throughout the living area.

The only thing we have to be careful with... there are no items on a built-in shelf at the top of the slide out when we slide it in. Otherwise it clears the slideout.

We can run ours when using the inverter if we are boondocking.

I'd like one in the bedroom but the ceiling is too low. So we use a fantastic vent fan instead.

-- Edited by The Bear II on Monday 14th of September 2015 11:22:33 AM

Not A Clue · RV-Dreams Community Member

We had a 36" 12volt fan added to our bedroom. It was installed to clear when the slide is in. We love it.

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

Wow Terry..................Looks like a dang Factory goin' on there. Hahaha