REMOVING THE SCREEN ON THE FANTASTIC FAN

 There are times that the screen on the Fantastic Fan on the ceiling of the Roadtrek needs to be removed.  The screen seems very fragile when  taking it off the fan base, but if you are careful and follow this simple process it is easy. 

Why would you need to do this?  When the fan lid is opened the support arm that opens the fan lid when you turn the knob pushes a switch that will let the fan turn on. If the lid is closed the fan will not turn on. The lid must be at least 1/3 open for the fan to turn on. What controls this is a small switch that when the support arm passes the switch turns that little switch on and the fan can then be turned on. There are times when that switch gets stuck and the fan will not go on. Rather than having to go up to the roof of the Roadtrek outside and work on the fan with the lid open - by taking the fan screen off - you have access to all that you need to get to when fixing this. 

 

 In the photo above you will see a bump out on the plastic frame of the fan screen. There is a small opening under the bump out that you can get a finger tip into. 

 1. Put a finger tip into the opening below the bump out and gently pull down. That part of the fan screen frame will come down a small amount.

2. Move your finger around between the screen and the fan case gently around the entire circle of the screen.  Don't pull it down - that can damage. Go all around the entire screen frame separating it from the fan base. The screen will then come off and into your hands. 

THE SCREEN IS NOW OFF!   😃

With it off you can work within the frame. Just push the blade around and out of your way to get to what you need to get to. 

Taking it off means you are going to have to put it back on!

 All you have to do is reverse what you did to take it off. 

1. Put the screen up into the hole  and at the bump out push that edge up into the opening so that the edge of the screen is on the base of the fan. 

2. Again gently - go around the edge of the screen frame and push it back on all around the edge. It will snap into place as you go. 

 THAT IS IT! 

 At one point the fan in our Roadtrek was not working. It would not turn on even when the lid was fully open. I figured that the fan would have to replaced or I would have to take it to an RV shop to get it fixed.  I read about the little switch and decided that I could see if I could fix it.  That was when I saw how to remove the screen without breaking it - and I was reading posts on forums about how easily they break.  Turns out the support arm was hard opening and was missing the little switch. I lubed the support arm joints with a silicone gel lubricant (Dielectric grease) from a tube -  put on a cotton swap to apply it and straightened the support arm to do its job with the switch. No need to go on the roof. No need to take it to be fixed or replaced - saving some money.   

 

 

  

THE HIDDEN FUSE BOX

 Most know that the Roadtrek fuse box containing the fuses and circuit breakers for the Roadtrek RV appliances and components is on the wall of the Roadtrek next to the passenger side door into the Roadtrek. This is where you will find the main 30 amp circuit breaker for the coach, the breakers for various other 110/120 volt electrical components like the air conditioner, the television, etc.. Also in this box on the wall are all of the fuses for the 12volt components  of the Roadtrek such as the hot water heater, the furnace, the water pump, the lights, etc..  In the photo below it is the large black panel below the generator switch, the hot water heater switch and the monitor panel with the battery disconnect switch, the test switch, and the water pump switch.  You open this panel by pulling up on indentation in the center, pulling toward you and out.  On the back of that panel is a diagram that shows what circuit breaker and which fuse goes to what. (Some Roadtreks do not have that diagram. It is in the manuals of some Roadtreks and apparently in most recent Chevy Roadtreks it was not put into the manuals (why is a good question).)

That box contains everything for the Roadtrek part of the van. Nothing in this box is connected to anything in the Chevy part of the van. 

There are two fuse boxes that have the fuses for the Chevy. One is in the engine compartment. The second fuse box is hidden. The hidden fuse box is under the driver's seat. If this were just a Chevy Express van it would not be hard to find and get to that fuse box, but when Roadtrek removed the stock Chevy seats, installed swivel mechanisms under them to allow them to swivel around to be lounge seats for the Roadtrek, and then put in Roadtrek's own front passenger and driver's seat, accessing the hidden fuse box becomes a mystery. Like some other parts of the Roadtrek it is a puzzle that is a challenge to solve. 

We have solved that puzzle for you and will give you the steps for you, too, to be able to get to and into that hidden fuse box.  Some Roadtrek manuals will tell you that to get to the fuse box all you have to do is turn the driver's seat counterclockwise. That sounds very simple, but it is not quite that simple. 

HOW TO GET TO THE HIDDEN FUSE BOX:

1) Put the back of the driver's seat straight up. Pull the large handle on the right side of the bottom of the seat. 

2) Remove or move anything you might have behind the seat. In the "Popular" models of the Chevy Roadtrek  there is a wardrobe cabinet right behind the driver's seat that is fairly close to the back of the driver's seat. We keep a small folding table behind the seat and I removed that before I did the following steps. The "Versatile" models of the Chevy Roadtrek have a seat behind the driver's seat. If there is nothing on the floor between that seat and the driver's seat, then you should not have anything to remove or move.

3) Using the bar below the front of the seat cushion, move the seat about half way back on the slide so that it is in the position the seat is in the photo below. You can be sitting in the driver's seat of you can be standing outside the open driver's door, just pull up on that bar and slide the seat to where it needs to be. 

4)  Look again at the photo above.  Leave the armrest down. The black handle in the center below the side of the seat facing you looking from the open door inside is the handle that swivels the seat. This handle is on a spring and also is connected to a latch that locks the seat in place so that it will not swivel while you are driving. With one hand or two, pull that handle UP. You will hear the latch unlatch and you will be able to now swivel the seat COUNTERCLOCKWISE -  do that the front of the seat comes toward you.  If it gets stuck on the curtains that hang down from behind the door post, just move the curtains.  Below you see the front of  seat facing you! 

5) In the photo above you can see the slide handle for the seat right below the seat cushion. With one hand pull that handle up and with the other hand push the seat back as far as it goes on its slide. Let go of the handle and the seat locks into that position.  If you look to the left on the floor at the black box on the floor - YOU HAVE REVEALED THE HIDDEN FUSE BOX!

6) The box cover has two clips that keep it closed. They are on the sides at the top - on facing the driver's door and the other facing the passenger side.  Reach in under the seat and  feel for them. It is a simple move and release clip. They are hard to see and it was not possible to photograph them in place. Release each clip and the cover will come right off. Putting it back on is just as easy. line up the edge of the cover with the front of the box and put it on top and it just gently pushes down and clips into place.

 

7) The photo above is the extent of what you can see in the hidden fuse box. You pretty much have to reach in from the open driver's door getting your head and eyes around to see the inside of the fuse box from the floor below the steering wheel.  It is far from convenient and very awkward.  There is some reaching and eye straining to see and get the the fuses further back in the box. The Chevy Express owners manual will identify what each of the fuses in the box are. There is NO chart on the cover of the box.  There are also no labels other than the amps on each fuse. These are "MINI FUSES". There are also what the manual calls "J CASE FUSES". These are You should be able to find them in any auto parts store. These are smaller than the fuses that are in the "Roadtrek side" fuse box. There are also 6 relays and 2 circuit breakers. One of the circuit breakers is for the power seats and the other circuit breaker is for the power windows. Some fuse spaces are left empty.  

8) To put it all back together again just reverse the steps.  Use the slide handle to pull the seat back to where you started in Step 3. When the set is swiveled it will continue to swivel until it is facing front to the steering wheel again. To do that all you have to do is swivel the seat back to the front without pulling up on the swivel handle again. The seat will lock in facing the steering wheel. Move the seat forward or back to where you like it when you drive. That is it!

If you do not have a Chevy Express Manual for your year Chevy Express van - and remember that the Chevy Express is not always the same year as your Roadtrek is, so you go by the Chevy year and not the Roadtrek year as far as the Chevy Express manual is - there are a several websites that have manuals for all cars and vans of various years and they will let you download the manual for free. It is a good idea if you only have a downloaded manual to put the PDF file for the manual in your smart phone or other device you have with you on trips. 

So now you too can find the hidden fuse box and get to it whenever you need it. Let's hope you never have to get to it. 😃

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT US TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT ANYTHING YOU READ IN THIS ARTICLE PLEASE EMAIL US USING THE LINK IN THE RIGHT COLUMN OF THIS PAGE.

ON FACEBOOK - CHEVY Roadtrek 190, 170, 210 Support, Help, and Sharing

 Facebook has been a great resource for Roadtrek owners. I have been a member of a group on Facebook that focuses on the Chevy Roadtreks since it started. The group has gone by a couple of different but related names.  The group owner of this group recently announced that since he had sold his Roadtrek he wanted to stop being the administrator of the group and asked for someone to take over the group.  I have been the administrator of other Facebook groups for a long time and thought that taking on an additional group would not be a problem for me - so I volunteered. With a lot of thought, I renamed the group - "Roadtrek 190, 170, 210 Support, Help and Sharing" - as this really what the heart of the group is all about. The group welcomes all Chevy Roadtrek owners. The group also welcomes Chevy Roadtrek 200 model owners - a very brief Roadtrek model as well as Roadtrek Chevy Simplicity and Ranger owners (both versions of the Roadtrek 190. We also have members of the group who are looking to buy a Chevy Roadtrek or are just interested in learning more about them. 

I emphasize on the group that there is no relevant question that cannot be asked and that all of the members who can help with that question do so, and not say to just do a search to get help. On the group you will read about the good things and the not so good things that happen with members' Roadtreks. We share problems and ask how to resolve them. We talk about modifications we have made and how to do the things one needs to do when out traveling with the Roadtrek, maintaining the Roadtrek, and fixing the Roadtrek when it needs to be fixed. 

We have member/Roadtrek owners who are very knowledgeable about Chevy Roadtreks. We have members who are new owners and are just starting out who ask for guidance from the group. We also have members on the group who are looking to buy a Chevy Roadtrek and present to the group what they have seen, the condition one is in, and ask for opinions on whether it is a good buy or one to avoid. 

I am on the group just about every day and am happy to answer questions along with the other members. When I thought about taking on this group one of the thoughts that went through my mind was that the group would be a good resource for the readers of Meryl and Me Hit the Road and they will be able to come on the group and interact with me directly.  This rounds out how I can help our readers as an added benefit to direct emails from readers - which we love and answer diligently, and questions posted to article comment sections here on Meryl and Me. 

The group is now well established.  Most know but maybe not all do - Facebook is free to join.  The group is set to "Private" meaning no one who is not a member of the group can see anything on the group. This keeps away any trouble makers. Only members can see the group posts - even when asking to join the group, you will only see an introduction to the group. And once on the group you have access to all of the knowledge on the group including a FILES section of manuals, documents, and other related information files about Chevy Roadtreks. When I come across something useful, I put a copy into the Files section of the group - as do other members. When you apply  to join you MUST answer all of the membership questions in detail! 

SO - YOU ARE INVITED!

COME JOIN US!

The name of the Facebook group is - 

ROADTREK 190, 170, 210 SUPPORT, HELP, AND SHARING

 

THE GROUP ADDRESS IS - 

 

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/492433434877265

 

 

EASY TO MAKE PROPANE TANK OPENING COVER

One day you walk past the back of your Roadtrek and you look down at the center of the bumper and you discover that the cover that goes over the opening to the propane tank fill and off/on knob is GONE!  Forget about trying to find a new one. If you could it will cost you more than you should spend. There is an easy way to replace that cover with a simple DIY project that only requires a trip to a home store like Home Depot and a decent pair of scissors. 

 This is what you have lost -  

 

CLOSE UP - 

A very similar cover to the original can be easily made with some bathroom rubber wall cove base. This is sold on a roll at Home Depot or Lowes. It comes on a roll or you should find it to cut to length by the foot at the store. You don't need a lot - two feet is enough to make two - spares are good to have. Black blends with the bumper but it comes in other colors as well.  You don't want it thick so look for one that is thin.

 This is what rubber wall cove base looks like: 

It can be cut with a good pair of scissors. Use the measurements of the opening combined with the turn latches at the center of each side that hold the cover in place. The height of the cove base should be fine as it comes. All you have to measure is the width you need it to be for the cover. Not much has to be done to the cove base other than cut it to size and cut notches for the turn latches to fit into so that they turn to hold the new cover in place. This comes with a lip at the bottom - just like the original cover has. It sits on the bumper the same as the original and is just about the same height as the original. The cove base comes two ways - with adhesive on the back and without - you want it WITHOUT ADHESIVE. Once you make it, it is going to attach exactly the same way the original did. It will fit in the space between the two turn latches. Set it in place with the slots over the open latches on each side. Turn the latch into the cover. If the latch does not fit, trim the slots for the latches so that they turn easily over the rubber. It may be tighter than the original but that is OK as it will be harder to open on its own and get lost.

For anyone who has not lost their cover - use the original to make a template which will make creating a new one even easier. Don't put it off - as it is even easier if you have the original to use a template - before you lose the original.

AND when you have the new cover on you should make a leash for it so that it will not get lost again. All you need to do is put a small hole in the corner and take a length of strong nylon fishing line through the hole and tie the ends around one of the brackets along the bumper just inside. Make the fishing line long enough to be able to take the cover off and sit it out of the way on the bumper or hang off the bumper when filling the propane tank.

For a few dollars and very little time you have a new cover!