Foundmine
Member
After thinking about this mod for months, and knowing that a fan is nearly necessary for long distance travel in Mexico and Central America, we added a fan without removing the headliner to our L400 LWB. It's an Exceed trim package, high roof but no crystal light windows. I wanted to post this as a reply to this thread: Cutting the roof, pitfalls and triumphs but I figured having this post in the L400 section was better for organization. Pictures below.
Step one: We stared at our van for a while to develop the courage needed to cut a hole in the roof. We also felt around on the exterior roof of the van for support ribs, and then used some painters tape to mark on the windows where we though those ribs were, so we could see that reference from inside. Then we felt around on the inside of the van for the same ribs, and added painters tape as reference. At this point, we felt pretty comfortable we had over 17" of clear space to place a 14" opening for the van.
Step two: We marked a rough center for the opening by pulling measurements off the grab handles and the interior lights. Then we traced a 3x3" square on the headliner and cut that away with a razor blade. This allowed us get a look at the roof and the insulation, feel around for obstructions or wiring harnesses, and pull measurements to the known ribs. Everything felt good.
Step three: We enlarged the hole in the headliner to 14x14". We used the trim face of the fan as a scribe for the opening and then double checked out measurements. Because working overhead was hard, we supported the trim face with some cam straps and cardboard so we could work hands free. After doing this, we realized the support ribs were larger than expected and we had maybe 15 1/4" inches of clear span to place the 14" hole. Still ok but tighter. We also found a support rib on the headliner itself, not the roof, that we would need to cut through. This was not ideal, but not as bad as cutting through a roof support.
Step four: After we were happy with the placement of the opening, we cut away the headliner and used drilled four small holes up through the metal roof. Then we climbed on top of the van and measured the proposed opening. It was within a 1/16" of an inch of the right size, so we add a painter's tape perimeter, double checked our measurements, and prepared to cut. Preparations for cutting included wetting down the insulation to prevent an errant spark from starting a fire.
Step five: We attached a plastic bag to the headliner to catch metal shavings and drilled to 13/32" holes inside the taped square as starting points for the jig saw. We cut the metal with a simple metal jig saw blade, no problem.
Step six: We ran some wiring through the headliner and attached the new fan. Success!
Step one: We stared at our van for a while to develop the courage needed to cut a hole in the roof. We also felt around on the exterior roof of the van for support ribs, and then used some painters tape to mark on the windows where we though those ribs were, so we could see that reference from inside. Then we felt around on the inside of the van for the same ribs, and added painters tape as reference. At this point, we felt pretty comfortable we had over 17" of clear space to place a 14" opening for the van.
Step two: We marked a rough center for the opening by pulling measurements off the grab handles and the interior lights. Then we traced a 3x3" square on the headliner and cut that away with a razor blade. This allowed us get a look at the roof and the insulation, feel around for obstructions or wiring harnesses, and pull measurements to the known ribs. Everything felt good.
Step three: We enlarged the hole in the headliner to 14x14". We used the trim face of the fan as a scribe for the opening and then double checked out measurements. Because working overhead was hard, we supported the trim face with some cam straps and cardboard so we could work hands free. After doing this, we realized the support ribs were larger than expected and we had maybe 15 1/4" inches of clear span to place the 14" hole. Still ok but tighter. We also found a support rib on the headliner itself, not the roof, that we would need to cut through. This was not ideal, but not as bad as cutting through a roof support.
Step four: After we were happy with the placement of the opening, we cut away the headliner and used drilled four small holes up through the metal roof. Then we climbed on top of the van and measured the proposed opening. It was within a 1/16" of an inch of the right size, so we add a painter's tape perimeter, double checked our measurements, and prepared to cut. Preparations for cutting included wetting down the insulation to prevent an errant spark from starting a fire.
Step five: We attached a plastic bag to the headliner to catch metal shavings and drilled to 13/32" holes inside the taped square as starting points for the jig saw. We cut the metal with a simple metal jig saw blade, no problem.
Step six: We ran some wiring through the headliner and attached the new fan. Success!
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