Traveling with the roof vent open

[Jimbee]

Hey All,

Occasionally when on the road I see folks traveling with the roof vents open on their trailers. Made me think now that summer's here, does it really help keep the coach cooler when on the road?

Just curious how many of ya'll travel with the vents open and if it helps?

Thanks!

[JIMNLIN]

Years ago all vent covers were made from aluminum as my old '84 Aljo 5th wheel trailer was. They really radiated heat from the sun.
The covers stayed attached but leaving them up for a few trips stripped the drive mechanism.

[Cummins12V98]

toedtoes wrote:
Per the photo you posted, those are vent covers not vent lids.

vent cover

vent with lid

Correct.

[toedtoes]

old guy wrote:
I see vent covers on
the side of the freeway all the time

Better vent covers than vent lids.

[rhagfo]

laknox wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I tow with mine open all the time.

Even if you don't have the covers it's not going to hurt a darn thing.

I'll dispute that! 2nd or 3rd trip out with my old Komfort, I forgot to close the bath and living room vents. Both were destroyed. Couldn't find the correct lids so ended up having to replace both the lid =and= the crank on both. Ever since, I have all vents buttoned up.

Lyle

Uncovered vent lids will get brittle with age and exposure to the sun. Once brittle it doesn't take much for them to be destroyed.

[old_guy]

I see vent covers on
the side of the freeway all the time

[toedtoes]

Per the photo you posted, those are vent covers not vent lids.

vent cover

vent with lid

[Cummins12V98]

I think there are different grades of lids.

[opnspaces]

I have a vent cover and mine only get closed a few times a year. If it's super cold (for a southern Californian that is)I'll close the vent at night to help keep heat in. Otherwise the vent is always open including towing down the highway.

[WTP-GC]

I've traveled with them open before (with vent covers). By themselves, just leaving them open doesn't do much good when traveling in the FL heat. But turn on the MaxxAir fan and open them...makes a noticeable difference.

[laknox]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

laknox wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I tow with mine open all the time.

Even if you don't have the covers it's not going to hurt a darn thing.

I'll dispute that! 2nd or 3rd trip out with my old Komfort, I forgot to close the bath and living room vents. Both were destroyed. Couldn't find the correct lids so ended up having to replace both the lid =and= the crank on both. Ever since, I have all vents buttoned up.

Lyle

To be more specific they should be open all the way. Turning g knob Th snug it up.

I do prefer covers

They were. Both basically folded in half around the lift arm before they cracked the lift track out of them. About $100 to fix, IIRC. Pissed me off to no end as the salesman, who was also a friend, specifically warned me about not traveling with them open.

Lyle

[Cummins12V98]

laknox wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I tow with mine open all the time.

Even if you don't have the covers it's not going to hurt a darn thing.

I'll dispute that! 2nd or 3rd trip out with my old Komfort, I forgot to close the bath and living room vents. Both were destroyed. Couldn't find the correct lids so ended up having to replace both the lid =and= the crank on both. Ever since, I have all vents buttoned up.

Lyle

To be more specific they should be open all the way. Turning g knob Th snug it up.

I do prefer covers

[discovery4us]

I have vent covers and mine are open to some degree 24/7. I wouldn't even consider traveling with them open without vent covers. In the MH we travel with the back vent open and I don't think it makes any difference in temperature but it seems to keep the MH from smelling like the two dogs and myself that are traveling in it.

On my cargo trailer both vents were rotted out from sun exposure. I placed tinted vent covers over the openings and never replaced the vent lid. Has worked great.

[Lwiddis]

I travel buttoned up.

[toedtoes]

Leaving them open without vent covers can result in their being torn off, stripping the crank post, cracking them, etc.

My front vent cover no longer stays closed. The crank post is stripped, so just driving down the road will cause it to open up. Too big for a vent cover since it's an escape hatch. Have to replace it before the rains.

A vent cover provides the ability to leave a vent open without damaging it.