Replacing a Roof Vent

It was time to replace our original MaxxFan, and the new brushless AirPlus fan looked like a good replacement. One of its selling points is that uses the exact same housing & footprint as the original MaxxFan, so it's just a simple drop-in. I found that to almost be the case. Here's what I did.

I removed the four screws in the bezel of the MaxxFan.

I pulled the excess wire out of the ceiling and checked the polarity. Note that the ceiling material is comprised of fiberglass, and the fibers are very loose and will drive your skin crazy for a few days - - use gloves when dealing with the ceiling panel back here.

On the roof, I removed four screws on the side of the fan that attach the fan assembly to the body of the van.

At this point I was able to lift the fan out of its housing. This white housing is identical between the MaxxFan and the AirPlus, allowing the new fan to be a drop-in. I just reused the housing, so no adhesive or cutting was required.

The lid of the AirPlus extends about .5" further forward than the MaxxFan, so for vans with tight tolerances, this can be a problem. In my case, it was impeded by a slat on my roof rack, so I had to cut the slat out of the way. Bummer.

I replaced the 4 screws in identical locations, attaching the AirPlus to the van again.

I used butt connectors for the power leads. In my 2018 Revel, yellow is positive, and I attached it to the fan's red wire.

I connected the three other harnesses from the interior touch panel to the fan itself. They are all different sizes, so it's not possible to do this wrong.

The last step is to attach the internal touch panel to the ceiling of the van with four screws. Fortunately, Winnebago had a solid wood frame in place for the MaxxFan, so I just reused that. I found that overtightening the screws caused the fan to have difficulties lifting the lid, so I backed the torque off, and it worked fine.

This fan has LEDs that are not overly bright.

It also has a built-in shade, which is nice, but note that you can no longer remove the screen (and blade) for cleaning. This is definitely suboptimal, in my opinion.

Eight years with the old fan has caused indentations and screw holes from the MaxxFan, and they are now exposed with the AirPlus. It would be nice if there were a trim plate or flange available for this.

All in all, it has some nice features and feels like a step forward from a design that is probably 30-40 years old (MaxxFan). However, it won't be easy to clean, and seems to be even more reliant on the remote control than the MaxxFan was.

April 25, 2026

Ceiling Fan Repair

One of our MaxxAir 8501K ceiling fans recently started making a banging noise and was unable to fully raise the lid. After looking into it a bit, it became clear that the operating mechanism (part number 10A20281K-1AF) had broken, which is apparently a fairly common problem. I was able to get replacements for both fans (one kept in reserve) through Panther RV Products. (Pro tip: find the model and serial number for your fan under the screen cover - - remove the screen and you'll see a paper label affixed to your fan on the inside.)

The replacement took about 30 minutes, following their short instruction manual, and is somewhat greasy due to the operating mechanism itself.

8-Feb-2022

Replacing Noisy Heater Fans

Early Revels (2018 and 2019) had noisy heater fans, very whiny and piercing, waking you up at night and making it sound like you're in a machine room. After reading in the Facebook group that Ralph Hill had replaced his fans with some higher quality & inexpensive aftermarket fans, I bought a box of the fans for about $18. They do not move quite as much air as the originals (about 15% less, I think), but they are nearly silent, and still push plenty of air.

At the recent California Revel Rally, Ralph Hill generously offered to replace the fans while Jim Lincoln and I watched & learned. These photos are incomplete and omit a few things, but they illustrate the major steps involved. Note: this is a kneepad job, so wear some!

Part 1: Dinette Fans

With the dinette seat and cover removed, you see the items in the following picture. You'll need to remove the 4 items shown with red X, including the central wooden brace that adds rigidity to the box.

The most dangerous part of the job is removing the orange power cable from the back of the inverter. It's got a lot of current going through it, so take care not to have any metal around, and insulate it with tape as soon as it's disconnected.

Remove the wooden brace to access the black box below it.

Opening the black box is a little tricky. First, remove the grills over the fan intake. The grills are held in place with plastic 'screws', and you pull them out using a prybar, like the teflon tools from a car trim removal kit. You can replace them with the metal screws that accompany the new fans, or you can re-insert the plastic screws that you removed.

The black box is a clamshell with a top and bottom half. To open it, you should use a flathead screwdriver to push in plastic tabs on the ends. When the tabs are pressed in, they release the top half of the plastic clamshell.

With the clamshell now opened, you can slide out the old fans and replace them with the new ones. Be sure to find the arrows on the fan showing airflow direction, and insert them with the correct orientation. Then you need to rewire the fans so that they have power going to them (sorry, no photos for this). 

Finally, you need to reverse your steps and put everything back together. Be sure to test your system before you reassemble, though!

Part 2: Garage Fans

The rear garage fans are easier to replace. To do this, you need to pull out the refrigerator by taking off its door, then removing 4 screws around the edge of the refrigerator, shown below with red circles. Slide the refrigerator to the Revel's garage and out of your way for a few minutes. 

This will expose an identical black box 'clamshell' that we saw under the dinette seat. Once again, remove the fan grills, press the tabs on the box to open it, and replace & rewire the fans as before.  Test it before you declare victory, then reverse your steps and reassemble the pieces.

Enjoy your new, quiet fans - - so much better than before, well worth $18! 

Many thanks to Ralph Hill and Jim Lincoln for sharing their time and expertise.

Rear Fan, No A/C

If you do not order an air conditioning unit, you get a 2nd fan in the back (both of our fans are non-reversible 8501K's). One upside to this is that you have a small skylight over the bed, which we've enjoyed.

Tip: Fan Vent

Pro tip: pressing these two buttons simultaneously will open (and close) the vent without starting the fan. It's a shortcut for opening the vent without reaching for the remote or starting the fan, then shutting it off.