Fantastic Fan or Maxxfan?

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · August 29, 2023, 07:58:53 PM

Which do you prefer for a Roof Exhaust Fan in your bus?

1. Fantastic Fan
2. Maxxfan
3. Other Brand

I have been using Fantastic Fans for years and love them. Last year when one of my Fantastic Fans started acting up, I replaced it with a Maxxfan as several people were bragging about them.

I soon discovered that when I went to install the Maxxfan in the same 14" square hole I removed the Fantastic Fan from, the roof footprint was larger. The Maxxfan needs more real estate on the roof behind the fan, about 4" more, for the cover to fold down. That required me having to move a solar panel, which I had not planned on when I bought the fan, requiring new holes in my roof.

The Maxxfan seems to be able to remember the last speed setting so that is a plus as with the Fantastic fan, I had to adjust the fan speed each time I turned it on. I usually run my vent fans at about 30% speed as they run a bit quieter that way, so that was always an extra step.

The Maxxfans may be a tad quieter, but it is pretty hard for me to tell, as I seldom run them at full speed.

One annoying thing about the Maxxfan, is that it takes a bit of foreplay every time you turn it on. You have to hit the Power button twice. I guess once to wake it up, and a second time to tell it what to do. That seems a bit annoying and unecessary to me.

I have always had two exhaust fans in my buses, one in the kitchen to exhaust kitchen fumes, and a fart van in the bathroom to exhaust other fumes, and to draw out moisture after showering.

Because I have two fans, I will sometimes reverse one of the fans to circulate the air in the bus, especially when I do not want to open the windows.

The Maxxfan comes with a built in rain cover that allows the fan to operate in the rain, which the Fantastic fan will not do as it has a rain sensor that closes the cover at the first hint of moisture. However, I have always used an axiliary cover over my Fantastic fans anyway, as I like the option to operate the fan in the rain, and also not have to worry about leaving them open if I leave the bus on a day where it may start raining later.

Also if you leave these covers open whilst traveling down the road, over time, the wind tends to break them off due to the sun exposure and fatigue. The extra cover, prevents this from happening and will make your fan unit last longer

The Maxxfan will also operate with the cover fully closed to circulate the air, but that never made sense to me, so I never use that feature.

BTW, I was looking at these fans online recently and they have skyrocketed in price. Either of these fans now cost close over $350 for the deluxe model, which I usually buy, but when you look up these units on Amazon now, a couple of other other brands pop up such as Starvent and RVlovent which look almost exactly the same for about half the price of the namebrand units.

So the question is, if you were to convert anothter bus from scratch, would you buy Fantastic Fans or the Maxxfan or one of the other brands now popping up on the internet?

Let us know your thoughts

Glennman · August 30, 2023, 12:28:18 PM

I opted for the Maxxair for my main fan (kitchen/dining area). With the configuration of my solar panels the extra real estate wasn't a problem. However, the bath fan that I have yet to install (some say 2 fans isn't necessary, but I want one dedicated for the restroom) will be either a Fantastic fan or the Maxxair fan that doesn't need the extra real estate. I believe Maxxair has a 2012 model (?) that is around $229 and doesn't have the bells and whistles that my other one has. You are correct about the need to push the button twice to turn it on. That is strange to me. Also, I made the mistake of installing the remote control holder about 3 feet away. It will not operate automatically from there, so I need to remove it from the holder and point it directly toward the fan. I'll have to relocate it and figure something else out to cover the holes

chessie4905 · August 30, 2023, 02:04:11 PM

Fantastic fan. Used for years and use a standard footprint and hole pattern. I prefer to use the over cover. That way it'll work in pouring rain ar travelling down the road. Always have bathroom vent open at least an inch year around. I prefer 3 speed. Don't need reverse or sensors. Just more to things to go bad.

muldoonman · August 31, 2023, 05:07:10 AM

Also the Maxi has 2 lift arms instead of one. Or at least the old Fantastic fans did. Had one snap the arm down on the coast with a gust of wind. Went with the Maxi's

luvrbus · August 31, 2023, 05:16:42 AM

I use Fantastic fan,thing have changed now since the kids sold off Fantastic to Dometic when their dad passed away, they don't give you nothing now,the covers have always been free not now they want 50 bucks for the cover.I never liked the looks of Max fan inside or outside,never had a arm break on a Fantastic cover before

dtcerrato · August 31, 2023, 06:18:10 AM

Neither, we have three vintage Hehr motorized vents that suck lots of air out. Love the dome going up all the way, not hinged. Good old vents that continue to serve us well.

Dave5Cs · August 31, 2023, 11:19:03 AM

https://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/blog/how-to-maintain-and-repair-a-hehr-vent-from-1950s-and-1960s-travel-trailers/

Dave5Cs · August 31, 2023, 11:22:22 AM

Fantastic three forward and three reverse speeds. When it has gotten cooler at night we just turn it's on reverse and it brings in the cool night air. If hot in the daytime it on all day on forward 3 and it pulls out the heat or a lot of it. If I eat Mexican food well you know,

windtrader · August 31, 2023, 02:38:12 PM

Timely topic. Yesterday and today I replaced the broken fan cover on an older Fantastic fan. I love the fan, quiet and move plenty of air. Awhile back, the extra cover over the pop up got whacked off. In time the pop up got nailed.
Rather than just buy a OEM replacement, later finding out they are $75 via Amazon, I found a pair of generic that were the same dimensions on FB marketplace for ten bucks.
It took several tries as the original was gone for reference. Some fabrication and mods, mainly that bracket had to be worked quite a bit to fit. But it got mounted and all good now.
One thing about the generic one is it is less durable and flexible. It will seal fine, just not sure what size limb will take it out. lol In fact, I am going to fab a cover for protection and keeping open in rainy times.

luvrbus · August 31, 2023, 03:24:32 PM

Quote from: windtrader on August 31, 2023, 02:38:12 PM
Timely topic. Yesterday and today I replaced the broken fan cover on an older Fantastic fan. I love the fan, quiet and move plenty of air. Awhile back, the extra cover over the pop up got whacked off. In time the pop up got nailed.
Rather than just buy a OEM replacement, later finding out they are $75 via Amazon, I found a pair of generic that were the same dimensions on FB marketplace for ten bucks.
It took several tries as the original was gone for reference. Some fabrication and mods, mainly that bracket had to be worked quite a bit to fit. But it got mounted and all good now.
One thing about the generic one is it is less durable and flexible. It will seal fine, just not sure what size limb will take it out. lol In fact, I am gonig to fab a cover for protection and keeping open in rainy times.

Yep Dometic prices really suck,at FMCA rallies the owner of Fanatic fans would send his crew out to replace the cover even if you told him your was getting cloudy looking they would check everything switches,seals, screens, motors and replace if needed for free,the guy serviced his product and honored jis life time warranty and a nice guy on top of that

epretot · September 07, 2023, 06:56:28 PM

I have 4 maxx fans. 3 domes and one full size.

I'm impressed with the domes. I have one in the toilet room one in the shower room and one over the stove.

The one in the shower is directly over the shower head. I keep a humidistat in there and it usually only rises 3 points.

The one over the stove evacuates smoke no problem. Steam not so much.

My uncle found a new fantastic fan at Goodwill for 8 bucks. I'll keep that as a backup.

RJ · September 13, 2023, 03:52:31 AM

Gary -

I'm a Maxxfan fan.

When the Fantastic fan in my coach started screeching because the motor was going out, I found a Maxxfan Deluxe 7500K at a vendor booth in Quartzsite steeply discounted because it was packaged in an OEM installation box ("plain brown wrapper!"), rather than the fancy graphics found with the typical RV store packaging.

Installation was a breeze (pun intended), fit right into the existing cutout for the previous fan, hooked up the wiring per the instructions, put batteries in the remote and haven't looked back.

I like the fact it operates with the cover closed, a nice feature once you figure out how to set it up to work that way. I will leave it closed on low speed (10%) when it's raining outside to help keep condensation at bay - you can't even hear it running at that setting.

Open a window on the shady side of the coach, crank the speed up to 50% - 60% and I haven't had to turn on the A/C until 3:30 - 4:00 in the afternoon when it's 80º outside. Nice. (But I do have to dust more often!)

One other tip: I found a thick square pillow that fits the fan opening. That, and a bungee cord to keep it in place, helps keep out the cold during winter months.

FWIW & HTH. . .

RJ

Van · September 16, 2023, 11:42:27 AM

Not really a fan (no pun intended) of either. Both suck and are exspensive and cheaply made. I installed many of each and installed the un-Fantastic fan on ours because it sucks the most

https://youtu.be/aCKB-Lo9rQg?si=mE55n637Qtme8tmu
Stay cheesy my friends

chessie4905 · September 16, 2023, 11:50:21 AM

Lets hope yours lasts more than 5 minutes before company goes out of business and parts are unobtanium. Check your installation procedure, as both brands are pretty durable as far as fan ,motor, and shell. Our experience is they have worked for years with no issues, except maybe covers vs tree branches.

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · March 25, 2024, 04:16:01 AM

Quote from: muldoonman on August 31, 2023, 05:07:10 AM
Also the Maxi has 2 lift arms instead of one. Or at least the old Fantastic fans did. Had one snap the arm down on the coast with a gust of wind. Went with the Maxi's

This is why I have always had a hood over mine in all of my buses. Leaving them open whilst traveling beats the crap out of the covers. Also, after exposure to the sun over time, the plastic tends to deteriorate. I have seen many RVs with covers missing thereby exposing the inside of the RV to the weather.