Is the roof fan lid stuck?

[Mags52]

I guess everyone who gets another van runs into loads of minor issues ... sorry for asking loads of questions but when we turn the knob for lifting the lid on the kitchen fan it only moves about an inch. I thought the lid should lift right up. Am I wrong or is it stuck? If it is what should I do about it? Thanks folks, Mags

 

[Baycott]

Hi Mags,
Ours was stuck when we bought our first van. Yes it should open fully. I just took it apart, lubricated, and reassembled. Not as scary as it looks once you start.
Good luck

 

[Mags52]

Thanks John. Will try that after I've plucked up some courage.

 

[busby]

Used to happen on my old van. I used to keep winding knob backwards and forwards and it would free its self,,,suppose i should have lubricated it when open. BUSBY.

 

[andyman]

I had the same problem on my old Autotrail. It was due to the mechanism sticking. A quick spray with WD40. It is easier if yiu get on the roof but can be done from below if you use the long tube inserted in the nozzle. If you look you will see like a rod inside a tube for want of a better description, it was that what was causing the problem

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[DavidG58]

we had one on our caravan, I used the Busby approach to fixing, forced it

got away with it in my ownership period at least

I seem to remember ours stuck closed, I wasn't even sure which way to turn the knob, until it pinged up

 

[namwaldog]

This may sound completely crackers but we had a problem similar to this in that our roof fan lid worked properly one day and the next time we tried it would only open about an inch. Totally baffled I climbed up the ladder to the roof and found that in using the directional TV aerial to search for stations, I had turned it through 90 deg and when it was lowered down again it was almost resting on the roof fan lid.
Perhaps worth a look?

 

[Mags52]

Just to give you a laugh. Read Barry's post and ran to the bedroom window to look at the MH roof. Only when I got there did I remember that my son has the motorhome for the weekend. Had a moment of panic when it wasn't on the drive.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

We had the main roof light stick. It would only open very slightly and needed a good push to open without straining the winder mechanism. The cause? The rubber seal that the roof light rests on was sticking to it. Problem resolved by a small dose of seal lubricant. This on a one year old van......

 

[funflair]

Our caravan one used to jam sometimes, it only lifted at one side and would twist and jam sometimes I used to help by poking it with something suitable from the kitchen drawer, just poke the opposite side, failing that fix it properly.

Martin

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[pappajohn]

If its an omnivent then no need to go on the roof.

Simply remove the four screws holding the fly screen in place then drop the screen.
That gives access to the lid from indoors.
Use something to carefully push up the lid while turning the knob.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

I always lift the lid as I turn the knob as that makes up for the terrible mechanical advantage it has at the start of the opening, cannot hardly lift the lid using the mechanism alone.

 

[MitchandJenny]

The raising / lowering mechanism only works one side of the vent, which is a bit of a design flaw I think, but as said, a bit of WD40 applied via the tube that comes with the can, will do the trick. We don't twist the knob to lock it shut, as I think this may "wring" the mechanism, so we just close it until we hear it hit the roof and leave it.
Good luck.
Mitch.