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Old 09-22-2014, 02:08 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2013 31L
State: Florida
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THOR #908
power wiring for vent fans

I have a '13 Chateau 31L
Thinking of installing a fan in one or both of the roof vents.
Was on the phone with customer support folks about something else this AM, and asked them if they could tell me if it's pre-wired.
He said that his drawings show that they are.

I sure do wish I could get those drawings!

Anyway, as I explained to him, when I checked the rear vent, the opening is framed on all for sides with aluminum structure. no wiring visible, no openings to fish though....
I was hoping he could tell me which corner or side the wiring would be, or where to drill. He could not.
and I'm not so sure I want to drill through structure.

I guess I'll need to check the front vent to see if it's the same

But wondering if any of you have successfully found where Thor puts there wiring in the roof for the vents?

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Old 09-22-2014, 06:02 PM   #2
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THOR #531
You might also check behind the power distribution panel and see if there are any coiled up wires not connected to anything. That could be the "other end". At least it's easy to check behind the panel without seriously ripping anything out.

On the other hand, they could have simply laid wires into the roof from vent-to-vent, and left both ends inside the roof.

I too wish they would have some semblance of a wiring diagram.
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Old 09-22-2014, 06:13 PM   #3
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THOR #908
Looking for their phone number this am, I stumbled across this video.....
Top Motorhome Manufacturer Plant Tour | Thor Motor Coach #1 Brand of Motorhomes | Diesel Pushers,Class A,Class B,& Class C RV s

check out starting at 3:35
Interesting that they show the jigs used for the harnesses.

Anyway....So while I'm on the phone with the guy, he mumbles something about pulling up the drrawings, asking me to hold for a sec....
Now I'm talking to him and he is looking at the drawings.... that are no doubt the basis for these jigs..... and he confirms that they are pre-wired....
But for some reason he can't offer any help to me as to where the wiring might be in the ceiling..... I'm wanting to know front, back, left.... something....
Now I'll bet armed with whatever schematic he's looking at he should be able to tell me something like this....

Oh, the bedroom vent feeds power from the roof light near by...... or, it pulls power directly from the fuse box.... Something like that would give me a pretty good idea as to where the wire might be...... at least a compass direction to start my hunt....
Nope, nothing.
unbelievable.
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Old 09-22-2014, 07:47 PM   #4
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Perhaps they are being a bit secretive to protect their dealer network, with their service, and add-on installation of features operations.
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Old 09-22-2014, 08:02 PM   #5
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THOR #908
that's what I would have thought.... but a recent discussion with a CW service manager I'm not so sure.

I think it's that they just don't have it in a format suitable for distribution..... and even more likely that they are fearful of opening up either a can of worms or some unknown and likely irrational fear of liability.

Regardless, having just spent more than I did for my first two houses on this thing, I am a little ticked about how poor the available information is.
I know that they could tell me about the wires I want to know about, down to the gauge, color and length of it..... granted they may not be able to guarantee that the tech used the right color of wire, or that the installer actually put it where it's supposed to be, but that's another issue.
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Old 09-22-2014, 08:10 PM   #6
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THOR #531
I actually did get somewhat of a lame drawing from Thor for the wiring in my 28Z.

Now there is no guarantee that my drawing is anywhere near applicable for your coach, but I see that the front vent is on the same circuit as the front incandescent lightfixture in the ceiling, and the rear vent is next to the rear fixture.

Perhaps you can unscrew the light fixtures and see any wires coiled up that might be the ones you would need.

If you PM me, I can send you my drawing, which might be close enough if you are lucky.
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Old 09-22-2014, 08:23 PM   #7
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THOR #908
good idea to check the light fixture! Thanks, I figured I'd have to tap into that but I didn't think of them stowing the harness there.
Oh and thanks, I just PM'd you....
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Old 10-22-2014, 02:29 AM   #8
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THOR #1229
My RV was not prewired for a fan in the back bedroom. At least I could not find any wires when I removed the old roof vent prior to installing a power vent.

I wired into the closest light fixture. The new fan didn't draw that much power and I had replaced all my lights with LEDs anyway so load was not a concern.
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Old 10-22-2014, 06:27 AM   #9
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THOR #531
According to the feeble electrical data I have for the 28Z, the wiring should be 14AWG for that light, so there should not be a problem, especially if you went to LEDs.
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Old 10-22-2014, 12:39 PM   #10
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THOR #908
Hey, thanks for resurrecting this old thread....
I still haven't gotten around to moving on this project.

I did confirm though that there is no wiring to the bedroom vent, despite the factory telling me there should be. It may be buried in the ceiling but it would be behind aluminum framework.

The front vent in the overcab bunk does have wiring, but it's not pre configured with any sort of plug. The power feeding the nearby light passes through the opening behind the vent cover flange. Easy enough to splice into this wiring.

I have installed a fantastic fan cover over the bedroom vent
I have almost settled on the idea of replacing the bathroom fan with a Maxx Fan that would set up a draft through the bedroom &/or the living room vents
But that would mean that i would want to put a cover over the front vent, but I'm shying away from that since it is so far forward and I don't like the idea of that big ugly and aerodynamically dirty box sitting up there..... so I'm still on the fence
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Old 10-22-2014, 01:28 PM   #11
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THOR #531
I am sure it's just my imagination, but it seems I lost 1/2mpg when I put vent covers on my coach.

After the bed got wet the second time from raining in an open vent, I put covers on.

I am sure I closed them both times, but either the forces of nature forced them open whilst we drove down the road, or Mr. Murphy and his Gremlins have moved into my RV.

We also found that just running the AC on fan makes for an excellent ceiling fan - so much so that we no longer take fans with us.
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