Installing Fan-Tastic Roof Vent On Cargo Vans
There's been a lot of conversation, and a bit of consternation, both here and on other forums about DIY installation of a roof vent in wide-ribbed roofs like on the GMC/Chevrolet and Ford cargo vans.
I've seen people go to great lengths to raise platforms or add metal panels or fiberglass etc to provide an even flat surface on which to install a roof vent so they don't have to deal with the high and low spots of a ribbed roof. None of that is really necessary if you follow the vent manufacturer's simple instructions and use some simple, common, sense.
I installed a
Fan-Tastic 6000RBTA recently in my GMC van and documented the process. All images below are clickable to view the larger size.
Special thanks to
Moot for reminding me of the
Adohen Supply Co. website, from which you can order a variety of Fan-Tastic roof vents in various configurations (flat or dome lid in various colors, high and low profile bases, vent lock, etc). You can also add your roof thickness measurements to help ensure a better fit and less hassle in installation of the interior garnish.
As of this writing (May 2013) Adohen no longer stocks the fans in-house but sends your order directly to Fan-Tastic (who evidently does not sell directly to the public) along with any special dimensions, requirements, and add-ons. Scott, at Adohen, is a good guy to deal with, with fast response to any email inquiries.
If ordering from most suppliers other than Adohen, you pretty much get what they have in stock and have
far less choice as to flat or dome, color of lid, depth of interior garnish, or lid lock, etc. You can find out more about all this on
Adohen's Pictures and Dimensions page. Scroll down for the additional info.
View attachment 6808
I chose the flat lid instead of the more typical dome, as well as the low-profile base and lid-lock, because I like the lower overall profile and will be able to still take my van through my favorite car wash, as well as get into more parking garages than I might otherwise. I'd advise, though, to know your exact overall height before entering a parking garage.
You can see the interior garnish still in the box in the image above. Having carefully measured my roof thickness--from interior ceiling through insulation to van roof--I was able to order the garnish pre-cut to desired depth at no extra charge. Some have said cutting the garnish to the right height yourself is as much trouble as installing the whole vent.
