Posts Tagged :

safety glasses

How to Stop Your MaxxFan From Beeping & Shutting Down When Using Solar Power

 150 150 gavin
By:
0

How to Stop Your MaxxFan From Beeping & Shutting Down When Using Solar Power

Our 2020 Scamp 13’ was delivered from the Scamp factory with a Maxxair MaxxFan, an incredible fan which can either blow or suck air into the trailer (depending on the setting).  Since we don’t have air conditioning in our camper and use it off grid quite a bit, we really depend on this fan to keep us cool during warm weather (as well as blowing out smoke when cooking and also clearing humidity from the trailer when showering and sleeping to prevent detector alarms).

We soon discovered that our MaxxFan doesn’t like voltage variations beyond 12 volts.  When boondocking (without shore power), we usually use our solar panel briefcase to provide power to our Scamp 13’.  Voltage in our trailer can vary quite a bit when on solar power and is usually higher than 12V, sometimes reaching just over 15 volts (based on our internal voltmeter).  It’s common for our MaxxFan to complain (beep and stop) when we are running solar.  It especially doesn’t like it when our Scamp 13’ is running on solar and simultaneously running another appliance (like a water pump to provide water pressure to our sink when boondocking).  It generally will beep and stop in this situation.  We’ve learned that we can often keep it running as long as we don’t exceed the 30% speed setting.  On one occasion, our fan stopped altogether and wouldn’t restart.  To get it to run again, we had to pull the fuse (fuse labeled “rear of trailer”) to reset the fan.  Ughh!

It was warm on our recent trip to Big Bear Lake and we really wanted to use our fan at a high speed setting, but it wouldn’t cooperate.  Our MaxxFan just kept turning off when turned up higher than 30%.  With our solar panels soaking up the bright mountain sunlight at Big Bear, the voltage coming into the trailer reached 15.6 volts.  At this point, we needed a better solution.  Upon doing considerable research, we found that, indeed, voltage intolerance is a known problem for MaxxFans.  When the voltage is too low or too high the fan will often beep and stop.  It seems this fan has “Goldilocks Syndrome” as the voltage has to be “just right”.  A call to MaxxAir, maker of the MaxxFan, confirmed that there have been considerable issues with voltage affecting fan operation which have prompted the company to update the motherboard to accept voltages up to 15 volts.  The MaxxFan tech I spoke to said the motherboard used to have a voltage range between 10.8 volts – 13.8 volts (our model), but once more people started using solar panels and lithium batteries (leading to higher voltages within their rvs) the company came out with a new motherboard (sometime after 2020) to accept a wider voltage range (10.3 volts – 15 volts).  The tech told me that even with the new motherboard, the fan will still have problems with voltages outside the new voltage range.  Although some people have gone as far as replacing their motherboards in the hope that the more recent circuit boards will fix this issue, others have taken matters into their own hands by implementing other solutions.  The simple and inexpensive solution we implemented was to install a voltage regulator between the trailer power leads and the fan (the MaxxFan tech agreed with us that this is a good solution).  The voltage regulator we chose accepts 9V – 36V input (a much higher range than the new MaxxFan mother board accepts) and puts out a consistent 12 volts, and is rated waterproof, dust-proof, moisture-proof and shock-proof (and currently sells new on Amazon for less than $15!).  It’s also really small and fits nicely in the MaxxFan housing.  So overall, the nice thing about this solution is that it’s inexpensive and addresses both very low and high voltages.

The installation of the voltage regulator inside the MaxxFan is fairly simple and just about anyone should be able to do it in less than an hour with the right supplies and tools.  A significant point to note is that it is very important to figure out the polarities of all the wires before connecting them because some trailers (and even the MaxxFan itself) have some strange things going on with polarity.  Specifically, for example, our Scamp trailer has a positive black wire and negative white wire providing power to the fan.  Additionally, MaxxFan also wires their fan this way with the black wire being positive.  This wiring convention is contrary to what most people learn, being that black is usually negative and red is positive.

A voltmeter is a good simple way to determine polarity (set your voltmeter on DC V and use the black probe on the black wire and the red probe on the other colored wire – if the voltage shows a positive number, then the black wire is negative polarity, if it shows a negative number, then black is positive polarity).  On our installation, we determined that our Scamp 13’ black wire is actually positive and the white wire is negative. These are the wires that provide power to the fan and attach to the input side of the voltage regulator.   On our voltage regulator, the input and output polarities are clearly labeled (with black being negative and red/yellow positive).  The MaxxFan wiring polarity matches our Scamp trailer with black being positive and white negative.

Project Supplies and Tools:

  1. MaxxFan
  2. 12V DC Voltage Regulator
  3. Voltmeter
  4. Wago wire connectors
  5. Scotch Fastener Tape
  6. Gorilla Tape
  7. Braided copper wire (AWG 14)
  8. Robertson Square #2 Screwdriver or
    1. Electric screw driver which accepts ¼” bits
    2. Robertson Square #2 bits 
  9. Wire cutters
  10. Wire stripper

Here are the Project Steps I took to install the 12V voltage regulator in the MaxxFan (also, reference video).

Project Steps:

  1. SAFETY: I made sure my Scamp 13’ was parked on a flat level surface (my garage), the tongue jack was stable, and I used heavy duty wheel chocks to prevent the trailer from rolling.  I also wore safety glasses to help prevent anything from getting into my eyes while working.  I made sure there was no power to the fan while working on it (by pulling fuse).
  2. Cut power to fan by removing fuse powering fan (fan won’t turn on after fuse is removed)
  3. Take off the fan screen by rotating the holders
  4. Remove the bezel/trim using the Robertson Square #2 Driver.
  5. Remove fan with Phillips head screwdriver (including screw on black manual fan knob).
  6. Unclip zip tie on the fan holding wires together
  7. Remove a bit more plastic sheath on each of the wires coming out each side of the voltage regulator to allow for more exposed copper to plug into the Wago connectors.
  8. Apply scotch Velcro tape (two sides) to the backside of the voltage regulator.
  9. Tape the voltage regulator into one corner of the inner casing of the fan.
  10. Cut trailer power wires attached to fan and test their polarity.
  11. Attach Wago connectors to the end of the trailer power wires as well as the voltage regulator wires and fan power wires.
  12. Create wire extensions and once polarities are identified, connect the trailer power wires to the voltage regulator and the voltage regulator wires to the fan (all using Wago connectors).
  13. Plug in fuse and test fan to ensure it works.
  14. Carefully insert wiring back into fan (using zip ties and Gorilla tape to secure loose wires)
  15. Screw fan back into place using a Phillips head screwdriver.
  16. Reattach bezel/trim using Robertson Square #2 Driver (and notch out bezel if necessary)
  17. Clean fan screen.
  18. Reinstall fan screen.

 

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly. 

Why and How I Repositioned Our 2020 Scamp’s Shower Pump

 150 150 gavin
By:
0

Why and How I Repositioned Our 2020 Scamp’s Shower Pump

In the past two years since taking delivery of our 2020 Scamp 13’, I haven’t spent much time looking underneath the camper.  I did add underglow lighting and had to replace a faulty Grey tank capacity sensor over the past couple of years, but other than these things most of my attention has been above the floor.  It was only this past month, when we ran into trouble south of the Trona Pinnacles, did I see how exposed and perilous a position where the factory installed shower pump sits.  On this misadventure, after a series of unfortunate events (lack of signs, wrong turns, continually narrowing roads), we found ourselves on a grueling ATV trail with no easy and safe way to turn around.  Here’s a short video from our off road drive!  When we finally arrived at the Pinnacles from the south, we noticed our shower water pump (which hangs down really low below the Scamp) was damaged.  One of the hose connectors on the pump was completely broken off and the vinyl tubing was dangling down to the ground.  Fortunately, an RV repair shop about an hour away was able to replace our pump immediately so we could continue on with our trip.  The mechanic and I spoke about repositioning the pump into a nice protected recessed area (under where the toilet sits) adjacent to the factory position, but due to concern about the tubing becoming pinched, and our time constraints, we opted to leave it in its original spot.

When we returned home, I resolved to reposition the shower pump into the protected recessed position (under where the toilet sits) to avoid a potential repeat of what happened south of the Trona Pinnacles.  The first thing I did was call Scamp and ask why the shower pump is factory mounted in the low center exposed position (under the shower pan).  I was told that it is placed in this position because the plumbing hoses will get pinched or crimped if it is put in the deeper recessed position.  This is exactly what the mechanic told me when trying to replace the new pump in this location.  There really isn’t much room for the vinyl tubing to attach to the hose adapters on the pump and make such a sharp turn in the small recessed area to avoid the trailer frame.  Ultimately, after some research, I decided to use 90 degree threaded elbow connectors to address this problem.  The hardest part of the project was figuring out all the supplies and tools I needed.  After that, the actual relocation of the Scamp shower pump was relatively easy and only took about an hour working slowly and cautiously.  Here are the Project Tools and Supplies I used to relocate the Scamp 13’ shower pump.

Project Tools and Supplies:

a.  Tools

    1. Square #2 Screwdriver or
      1. Electric screw driver which accepts ¼” bits
      2. Square #2 bits
    2. Pex / Vinyl Tubing Cutter
    3. Metal Snips
    4. Wire cutters
    5. Crimper tool

 b.  Supplies

    1. ¾” ID, 1” OD vinyl tubing w/clamps (10 feet) 
    2. Two ½” PVC 90-Degree MPT x FPT Elbow Fitting (threaded inside and out)
    3. Wire similar in thickness to existing pump wire to extend wire for reposition, butt connectors

Here are the Project Steps I took to relocate the Scamp 13’ shower pump.

Project Steps:

  1. SAFETY: I made sure my Scamp 13’ was parked on a flat level surface (my garage), the tongue jack was stable, and I used heavy duty wheel chocks to prevent the trailer from rolling.  I also wore safety glasses to help prevent anything from falling into my eyes while working under the trailer.  I also made sure my mobile phone was within reach in case I needed to call for help when working.
  2. Using the Square #2 Driver, I removed the two square #2 screws which hold the metal strap around the shower pump
  3. I unscrewed the metal hose clamps on the pump’s inlet and outlet (and placed little plastic containers under the hoses to prevent grey water from dripping onto the garage floor) and pulled both hoses from the pump’s inlet and outlet.
  4. I removed the shower pump by unscrewing the four Phillips head screws holding the pump’s rubber feet to the Scamp’s under floor (I left the 4 screws in the rubber feet to use again when remounting) and set the pump on the garage floor
  5. I would have cut and extended the black and red wires at this time (using new wire, wire cutters, butt connectors, etc.) to allow repositioning to the farther recessed area, but the mechanic who installed the new pump already extended the wires for me (before deciding he couldn’t easily reposition the pump)
  6. I removed the black plastic hose adapters from the pump inlet / outlet by manually unscrewing them from the pump
  7. I set the white ½” plastic threaded elbow connectors and black hose adapters down next to the pump on the floor facing toward the rear of the Scamp 13’ to visualize the setup
  8. I screwed on the white PVC ½” elbow connectors directly onto the pump. I found that I could only screw them on about 4 full turns and didn’t force turning them any more to prevent possible cracking.  I made sure their final position was facing back toward the rear of the Scamp (the rear of the pump has the big square and the front is the cylinder with aerodynamic small bulb).  Then, I screwed on the black hose adapters onto the white elbow connectors so they faced straight back.
  9. I positioned the pump into the protected recessed area under the toilet (as far forward as possible without the elbows hitting the metal frame) and, using the existing screws, I mounted the pump (the screws self-tap into the floor) (I was told the Scamp floor is ¾” thick and verified the thickness by measuring the exposed floor thickness next to the shower drain under the trailer, but I used the existing screws since they were in good condition so didn’t need to be concerned with screw length).
  10. I remounted the metal strap using the existing square #2 screws around the pump to secure it (using my metal snips, I clipped off one small segment / one hole so the strap would fit into the small area).
  11. Lastly, I attached the hoses using the metal clamps (from filter outlet to pump inlet, from pump outlet to Grey tank). The Tube Cutter made the job very easy; cutting the thick vinyl is just a quick snip.
    1. I put the metal clamps on the vinyl tube ends first before pushing them over the inlets/outlets.
    2. Grey Tank hose to Pump outlet: I was really careful not to cut the Grey tank hose too short (since that hose goes all the way to the back of the trailer).  I positioned the Grey tank hose right up against the pump outlet and made sure that there was enough hose to go all the way to the back of the outlet and then I clipped the excess hose.
    3. Filter outlet hose to Pump inlet: I first attached the new hose to the pump inlet and then I pulled the hose up to the filter and, making sure the new hose went all the way to the back of the filter outlet, made a quick cut with the tube cutter.
    4. After pushing all tubing over the inlet/outlets all the way to the back of them, I screwed the metal clamps over the hose inlets/outlets so they are really tight.
  12. After completing the project, I tested the system to make sure the water flowed properly (e.g. shower water drains quickly) and there were no leaks. Click here to see a video of the new system working.

I also installed a new metal Chip Guard from Scamp ($23.63 from Scamp + $20 shipping at the time of the writing), which hangs down to deflect rocks, etc. from hitting the underside of the Scamp.  Our Scamp’s original chip guard was badly dented while off-roading south of the Trona Pinnacles.  I tried to bend it back, but it would have taken a lot of effort, so I decided just to replace it.  With the Scamp’s shower pump now relocated to a protected recessed position and new chip guard, I feel the main parts under the trailer are now very well guarded.   To happier and safer trails ahead!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly.