With so many campervan fans on the market these days, it’s hard to know which one is best for you. You have to remember, the one with the best reviews or brand you recognize may not always be the perfect match for your van build.
When researching different campervan fans, we repeatedly saw the MaxxFan come up. And honestly, that brand name was super familiar. However, when we started looking into MaxxAir, we quickly realized they were more money than we wanted to spend on a van, and they were too big.
The size of a van fan and budget are two things you must consider when purchasing a camper van fan, however, there are more things to consider too. We’ll be sharing a handful of options for campervan fans, and then dive into things to consider when purchasing your campervan fan too.
This post is solely about choosing the best fan for you. To read and watch our step-by-step camper van fan installation post and video, head here.
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Campervan Fans | Different Styles + Price Points
Hike Crew 11 inch Van Fan | current prices here
This is the campervan fan we decided to go with. We like the smaller size of the van fan, coming in at 11 inches vs. 12-14 inches for other fans. And the price point of just over $100 was a nice perk too.
This campervan fan can blow air in the van and suck the air out. And, it’s not too noisy. We went with the simple version of this fan, though there’s one that has LED lights on it too. If you’re looking for a larger van fan/vent, they make a 14-inch fan as well. With the ease of installation and our experience of using it thus far, we can easily recommend this to anyone looking to do a van build out on a budget.
MaxxAir 14 inch Van Fan with Remote | check prices here
MaxxAir is a van fan and vent company that has really good ratings from a lot of reviews on Amazon. It seems to have overtaken the Fan Tastic Fan in popularity. With that said, these fans are also a bit more expensive than the Hike Crew fans. However, with that higher price point comes a van fan with a few more bells and whistles… a remote control, more fan speeds, and a rain sensor. In my opinion, those things are all just extra when installing a fan into a van where you’ll likely be able to reach it without more than five steps anyway!
They also have the MaxxAir MaxxFan Deluxe .. and shoot, how anyone can spend that kind of money on a fan is insane to me!
Larger RV or Van Fan | current prices here
MaxxAir makes another popular fan for larger vehicles. This fan is one you see on loads of vans and RVs driving down the road. But be warned here, that extra height is something to truly consider when choosing a campervan fan! The built-in rain cover on this van fan makes it a great choice if you’ll mainly be in areas with loads of rain.
12V Fan | grab one here
If you have a super small fan, have windows that can open, and will be doing your cooking outside. It’s possible that you don’t actually need to cut a hole in your roof to have some air circulation. This 12V fan is designed for cars. It plugs into a cigarette lighter and supposedly doesn’t consume much energy.
While we recommend building in a proper campervan vent and fan, this fan would be great for those on an extreme budget, those not wanting to put a hole in their roof, or those wanting to be super stealthy.
READ MORE | reasons you need a van vent that you may not think about
How to Choose the Best Van Fan For You | Things to Consider
How Much Flat Space Do You Have
Wherever you choose to install your campervan fan, it needs to be flat. If you’re converting a minivan as we did, you’ll likely not have very much flat space on the roof. Take a look at your roof and see if a 14-inch campervan fan is really going to work.
We didn’t have that much flat space to give, leading us to look into smaller camper van fans. This helped tremendously with the rest of the van build, as it allowed for more space on the roof for our solar panels and bike set up.
Size of the Hole in Roof
When installing a camper van roof fan, you must consider the size of the actual fan and the amount of roof space it will take up. Will you have a roof rack? A deck? How many solar panels will be on your roof? Thinking about the entire layout of your camper van roof will allow you to see how much space you have for a fan. The difference between an 11-inch fan vs. a 14-inch fan could be the ability to have an extra solar panel on your roof or not.
Height of Roof Vent and Fan
RV vent fans like this, add so much extra height to your camper van build. While this may not be a problem if you don’t ferry your van very much, when we were in Scotland, we quickly learned a larger fan meant a more expensive ferry ride… because the added height onto the roof bumped the van into the next height category.
Not planning to ferry your van around? You still need to consider the height of your van for things like drive-thrus and parking garages. You’ll also want to think about the extra van fan height adding wind resistance to the van, decreasing your fuel economy while increasing your gas bill.
Noise Produced
While reading reviews of countless campervan fan options, one thing that kept coming up was the noise each fan produced. Honestly, I hadn’t even thought of that as being an issue before looking into purchasing a camper van fan. However, it makes total sense. You don’t want a fan to be so noisy that you can’t sleep when using it, or so loud that it causes attention to your van.
Price Point
Every little dollar counts in the total price of a van conversion. We weren’t willing to spend upwards of $200 on a van fan. Especially since we honestly didn’t know how much we would truly use it with cooking out the back of the van. Spoiler alert… we use it much more than expected. With that said, we still purchased a cheaper campervan fan, and are happy with the result.
Warranty and Parts
Does the fan come with a warranty? Does that warranty cover the entire installation and parts? Can you get a new fan cover under warranty, or will that be an extra expense if the plastic over breaks? In fact, can you even get parts to the fan, or would you have to replace the entire thing?
Ease of Installation
Cutting a hole in your campervan roof and installing a van fan seems way scarier than it actually is. Yes, you’ll be worried about having a complete seal to ensure no water damage. And shoot, what if you mess up the cut and can’t go back? Does the fan come with everything you need, or will you have to purchase extra parts for installing the fan?
A major perk to installing a small camper van fan is if you do mess up with your roof cuts, (highly unlikely, but possible) you can always get a larger one and make a bigger cut in the roof.
READ MORE | Our Step by Step Guide to Installing Your Campervan Fan
Fan Settings
You’ll want a campervan fan that can blow fresh air in the van and suck the stale air out. This way, when you need a fresh breeze, you can create your own by sitting under the fan blowing on you.
The other setting factor of a van fan is the power of airflow. Does the van fan offer different settings to choose from when only wanting a little airflow or wanting a lot? The fan we went with offers three different settings for sucking the air out, and two different settings for blowing air in.
Automatic Rain Detection
This is different than having a rain shield. You definitely want a rain shield on your van roof vent, however, a rain sensor, not so much.
Some of the fancier fans have an automatic rain sensor. This sensor causes the fan to close when it detects rain. While this sounds like a great idea, we’ve heard many people actually complain about this feature. An automatic sensor means that when you’re in the van and want the fan open in the rain, you won’t be able to override the fan’s sensor, meaning you don’t have control over it being open or not.
Items and Tools Required for Installing Any Campervan Fans
Angle Grinder | check price here
An angle grinder is a perfect tool for cutting metal. But they’re super pricey! If you can borrow one, and it’s not fire season, this is your best bet for cutting your campervan fan hole. Use caution with this tool though, as they are super dangerous, and the sparks will literally be flying!
Jigsaw | check prices here
We borrowed an angle grinder to cut the hole for our van fan into our roof, however, we ended up using this jigsaw instead. The angle grinder would have been a faster and cleaner cut, however, it produces a lot of sparks. And with it being summertime in Oregon when we cut this hole, the sparks were a no-go for fire season, so we stuck with this jigsaw instead. If you choose to cut your fan hole with a jigsaw, don’t forget to grab jigsaw blades too.
Drill | current prices here
A drill is needed when cutting a hole in your campervan roof, so the saw can “make the corners” of the cut. Drilling the inside corners of the outline for your fan allows you room to put the jigsaw blade into the roof and start your cutting.
I’m linking the set here, as this is the set we used for the entire van build.. and it’s a better bang for your buck to get the drill, driver and battery combo!
Metal Drill Bits | current prices here
To drill into the metal of your campervan roof, you’ll need metal drill bits. Don’t worry though, these drill bits are for metal, wood, and plastic. And again, you’ll be using them in other parts of your van build-out, so it’s a good, small investment!
Butyl Tape | check prices here
We got our Butyl tape at a local RV store for about half the price they sell it for on Amazon. However, we wanted to link it here to show you what the tape looks like. It’s really not tape at all, but more like putty for RVs. It’s the perfect way to make a complete seal under any screws you put into your campervan roof.
Waterproof Caulking | check prices here
You’ll certainly want to caulk all the way around the perimeter of your campervan fan, as well as over the tops of each screw you put in, just to be sure there’s no water leakage!
Before Purchasing Your Campervan Fan | think about these things
Location of Install
We touched on the location of your camper van fan above when thinking about your van fan from the roof. However, you must also consider the inside of your van build too.
- Do you want the fan right above your campervan stove?
- Are you wanting it above your bed to allow ventilation when sleeping?
- Where are you planning on putting lights? You don’t want the fan cut out right where you need a ceiling light.
- How much extra wiring will you need if you put it far away from your fuse box?
- Should you put it above your toilet, or close to your shower?
Do you really need one?
In the simplest form, the answer to this question is yes. We really do think that if you can afford the $100 for a van fan, you should install it. Check out this post for more reasons you need a camper van fan.
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