As a 3D Printer myself, and as a recent Honda Element owner with big plans for travel next seasons, I can totally appreciate the amount of work that goes into making such things for my own vehicle. Thanks for sharing! I'll be sure to be doing something like this setup!
I made a similar setup for my sunroof but with only one giant 5V noctua fan plugged directly into a battery bank. For the rear windows, I used blackouts made of reflectix with black cloth and some gutter guards glued on the top. With window rainguards, it was pretty much invisible from the outside and kept us comfortable during warm nights. We also had fans inside the car to help with really warm nights.
Thanks for another awesome video Matt. As a homeless veteran living in my vehicle your designs have inspired me. I do know CFMs from working in HVAC so your airflow looks plentiful for the size of the cabin in your vehicle. 400CFM would be considered 1Ton of heating/cooling capacity. Imagine pushing 400 basketballs a minute of air through your car that mix to help bring the temperature average down.
My car has a similar system. It has a hidden blower fan installed in the dash. It pulls air from a weather protected vent, has vents throughout the vehicle that can be directed where needed, and is powered by a huge battery under the hood. My car actually came with it from the factory! I think yours might have this system too 😂 Just kidding, this is super awesome and I loved seeing your creative process. The reason I said that above was I stumbled on a video of a guy that was building out a van and didn’t want to cut a hole in his roof, and he utilized the factory blower fan. He tapped into the blower fan circuit and controlled and powered it with his battery bank, independently of the factory wiring. It still worked like normal, but when the car was off he could flip his switch in the back and it turned on his fan. Pretty smart, on a budget especially!
Haha. Yes turning on the AC is an option. I think I’ve seen the video you’re talking about. I’m still a little scared to make changes to the vehicle itself but I might look more into this.
Yeah I get it, especially on a new Honda which has a BCM (body control module), or more likely an entire module that just controls the HVAC. His van was an older econoline which has a very basic system
most cars have a build in vent in the rear! it lets pressure escape so that when you open a window on the highway it doesnt blow your sunroof to the moon, its quite possible by keeping a positive pressure in the cabin area these vents would react by letting out the extra pressure! great build! feel i learned plenty for my own challenges! thanks
Depending where those are located, they may be lower. So with hot air rising, it's helpful to try and exhaust the warmer air. But using those as an intake port could be good, if you can get to them. Often they are behind interior panels so it may require cutting.
That’s true, but it’s not resolve issue when you sleep in the car. Ventilation is must have otherwise you have low level of o2 and higher of co2 during the night
Also- you’d be amazed by the amount of moisture one person exhales. With my and my 2 kids the moisture is too darn much. I’ve spent several sleepless nights in the car either alone or with 1 or 2 of my kids.
Your exhaust fans can only expell as much air as your intake fans let into the vehicle - if they'd push out more air, they'd create a vaccuum. For maximum efficiency (noise as well as power consumption), intake and exhaust volumes should be evenly matched. To further reduce noise and increase power efficiency, consider how much airflow you really need. The vehicle's interior volume is not that big. Let's say the volume is 4 cubic meters (which is almost certainly an over-estimatation), to refresh all the air in the vehicle once every minute, you'd only need a capacity of 240 m3/h or about 140CFM.
@@nickhernandez4264 Ok. There's 2 parts to this: 1.) Fan capacity - You have a certain amount of air in the car, and you want to refresh this air. The intake fans pump fresh air into the car. The exhaust fans pump stale air out of the car. These have to be balanced. You can not pump in more than you take out. And you can not take out more than you let in. Making the exhaust fans much bigger than the intake fans , just means they are inefficient. They try to work really hard, but they can not pump so much. This will use more electrical power and create more noise. 2.) Airflow - to keep the inside air nice and healthy, you want to refresh it periodically. That means letting stale air out, and letting fresh air in. If you refresh it too slow, the air will go stale, and you will get problems with humidity inside the car. If you cycle the air too quickly, you're wasting electrical power on your fans by making them work more than they need to. If it is cold outside, you will also have a harder time keeping the air inside nice and warm if you constantly bring in cold outside air. In short: you will need to find a balance, where you refresh only as much air as is needed, using as little electrical power for the fans as possible. Hope this helps :)
@@akumabito2008 very helpful, greatly appreciated ( you're to kind most people wouldn't have tooken the time to write out and explain ). Learn something new every day gotta love it 👍
Most of your airflow is actually getting blocked by your window coverings. Your window fan units are rated at 35 CFM each and not sure if they are even delivering that much due to the gap size. So in essence you have 70 cfm entering and 300 cfm trying to suck but you're not getting that 300, at most you're getting around 70 cfm +/-. Also you can't add the intake and exhaust together for an entire system and rate it at 370 cfm since it can't deliver that. If you remove air faster than replacing then you will have a negative pressure in the cabin and if you're putting more air in than removing then you will end up with positive pressure in the space. Typically when cooling, you will have a better experience with a negative pressure system think about attic fans in a house. If you adjust your window coverings to have a gap for fresh air and remove the fan altogether it will keep your car cooler than with the system you have now due to restrictions of those window fans and the size of gap you currently have. Finally to get the air to be replaced and not take a short cut from the window to the sunroof, you can always use a drop cloth or something similar between against the roof and drop down behind the front seats until about 6 inches from the floor. This would require the air to circulate down first then around the curtain and back up. Then you could use your window fans now to cycle air from front to back behind the front seats.
12 volts is everywhere in a car. Use a socket adapter and direct power from your big boy battery. Also as others have said, way too many CFM. But I love the idea and am working to adapt it to my more cold-weather needs.
Only upgrade I'd recommend, ability to make either side window fan exhaust. Easiest (but more costly, probably) add a second fan to the window units blowing out. In my brain this should still give you air circulation in less than great weather. As long as the intake and exhaust are spaced apart, you shouldn't get any short cycling. Keep a more powerful fan for exhaust to force the air out further. For my application (but I'll probably never build) I don't have a sunroof. I do have two rear windows that pop out with a manual clip. Definitely got my creative juices flowing. Love your videos.
This guy made one for his minivan's pop-out windows, attaching it to a window cover made with chloroplast. Allows for good air flow/circulation. Not as 'stealthy' as Matt's, but still a good option. ua-cam.com/video/iooH2nQpKR0/v-deo.html
If you car camp in a Prius 2014 and before that time, with the nickel battery, just hit ac button and set temperature, and you have a really comfortable night. I did it for 3 months in really cold and then hot temps. After 2014 they installed lithium batteries which have trouble starting in the cold temps. Just an idea. Although with your idea, you could do that in any car!
Not sure if you’ve already figured this out by now but the newer Anker batteries will turn off if the load doesn’t draw enough current. Evidently the fans use very little power compared to recharging a phone. You can override this cutoff by double pressing the button. My model changes one of the LED colours when you do this.
uh, might want to swap your window fans with your vent fans. You want to be pulling positive pressure inside your car, not negative pressure. helps to keep dust and stuff out
In such a small space as a vehicle I would either push or pull the air but not both, which ever way I would think a hood system to block rain with insect screen would be less complicated and less expensive. One important thing to know about airflow is you can't exhaust more than you can pull in and vice versa
I really like your ideas. They actually inspired me to try the moon roof one on my camping Range Rover. I actually used a small usb outlet solar panel and leave the roof cracked so it kept the vehicle well vented in the hot days when parked. And reconnect the fan to a power bank in the nights when camping. Great job and glad you are keeping it evolving :)
This is good, now can you find a way to filter the incoming air? This is a must for urban camping in places that might be polluted, or places where once is temporarily forced to camp.
So that anker battery pack turns off because of the low power going through it. It turns off to save it's battery. I think if you long hold the button it turns that feature off. Either that or like double tap it. Once of the little LEDs should change color.
Hey Matt, HVAC engineer, love the video. You can utilize the Sensible Heat equation to help dial in your CFM needs. CFM = Q/[1.08 * dt] Q = heat, use BTU with CFM and Watts with Meters cubed. Average sized man at rest = 200btu dt = The change in air temperature (F) you want to see between the flow in vs flow out of your car. Like if it's 68 degrees outside and you want the temp in the car to stay below 72 your dt will be 4. Also a cautionary statement for you to think about, the actual CFM delivery is probably not what it says on the box. Many consumer/prosumer grade CPU Fans will either be labeled at max flow & no resistance, or at some pre-designated resistance they don't tell you on the box so unless you dig it out of their website or ask for it you won't even be able to guess the performance of the fans prior to install.
Thanks for the information! Even if the CFM numbers were right they’d be meaningless to me. Haha. All I know is it feels better now than it did before.
Would probably be easier to utilize the car's factory HVAC fans and just wire them to run off a 2nd power source and the window vent can be the exhaust.
Cars have a simple interface for Webasto-style heaters we use here in colder climates. It’s an external petrol/diesel heater that heats the engine cooling water. When the water is hot, the system supplies 12 volts to a certain pin on your car hvac-system, and it will turn on the cars own fan. You could just find where that pin is and connect a switch for it. The fan itself doesn’t need much power, but I would carry on of those small lipo jump packs with me if I did this.
Matt, I love your videos! I, too, love to over-engineer every aspect of my build, but you're next-level. Please keep them coming. Would love to see more of what you've done!
Probably wont help at night but you could put foil on the outside part of the cover. Will reflect more of the sunlight, or maybe tint the windows with mirror tint, that would be better for stealth anyway.
I really appreciate that you read the user feedback and then took the time to update and remake this tutorial. The mark of a true designer! (And also you give your plans out for free?? Thank you so much!!) I'm converting my Cube into a little camper van for scuba trips around the southeast and I was worried about the moisture problem inside the car. (Moist environment + Moist diving gear = A very bad and moist time.) My university has 3D printers for student use, so I'm going to try this out and see how it goes! Thanks again!
I don't have a sun roof, so I think I'm going to try having an intake fan on one side of my car, and an exhaust fan on the opposite side for air flow. (I guess just flip the fan facing the other way so it blows out??? I'll figure it out!) I'm brand new to this so if anyone has any input, feedback, or suggestions, I'd love to hear it. Right now I'm a little worried about moisture accumulating on the window of the exhaust side and I'm not sure what the solution for that is.
10:00 3x window fans don't run long enough on 1 battery... I'm just going to speculate that when you step up the voltage from 5v to 12v, you are then pulling too many amps for your battery system! So, either get a different batt (12V DC) or locate fans which run off 9V DC or 5V DC. If you run a 9V fan off 5 V source, it will simply spin slower
It’s been 2 years since I decided to do this (your v1). I ordered one sheet of plastic months ago (faaaaang- that stuff is pricey). I started making a cardboard template tonight but dorked it up. I definitely won’t be done by the time I “need it” Sunday night. One day I’ll finish this project 😂 I’m starting with the sunroof version alone. Hopefully it helps.
You should add a couple mini cameras in those side window units, that have a wide view and night capability. Have it Bluetooth to your phones. I feel like I’d personally feel way more secure to be able to easily see ‘what that noise is’ without having to much much and give away that I’m inside you know?! Love hour designs!!!
with my set up of an bug out vehicle, due to hurricanes and the like, i find this an excellent idea. i would love to see a video of it working real time out in the field. because we all know it is how it really functions.
@@MattTheDesigner overnight solo camp, with temp gauge on start and how they function during the night. if there is a noticeable drop in temp or how the air is moving thru the space
i don't drive a van or an SUV. i don't have a sunroof on my car. but someday i might have a van with sunroof just for camping, and in the meantime i am compelled to watch this repeatedly. this solution is both beautiful and elegant.
I'm soooooooo happy I came across your channel!!! You're informative AND so much fun to watch! Your humor and knowledge make watching your videos so much fun! I've subscribed!!
Thanks for all of these genius window treatments. I'm converting a 2003 Honda Odyssey and ventilation is a serious problem. It only has the driver/passenger windows and two small vents in the rear windows. And that's it. I'm seriously considering cutting a hole in the roof to put an RV fan in. The part that scares me is trying to remove the headliner. Fortunately I plan to drive it till it dies or sell it as a camper so I'm not concerned about punching a few holes in it. Subscribed!
Awesome video! I recently made the V1 collapsible platform for my CRV and love it. Thanks so much for the plans. I do have a question for you. Will the battery pack you use for your window (26800 PD) run your sunroof? I know you said your sunroof battery will not run your window. I already own the 26800 PD and I’m hoping to use it for the sunroof, if it works. Thanks!
I'm a bit late to the party a year later. I don't have a sunroof but I have a truck with one of those rear sliding windows. Your design has me thinking about creating a similar idea for that rear window.
For the power bank that seems to stop powering your window fans after 30 seconds, you may want to check the manual of the power bank to see if you can turn on low current mode. The fan may be pulling too little power for the power bank to treat it as an actual appliance under normal mode.
Glue magnets inside of a sunroof wind deflector to make the sunroof more rain-proof. You can lay bug screen down and the magnetized sunroof deflector will hold down half while magnets can hold the rest.
If you use a usbc pd Bank, you can get 12v out. You can over volt fans slightly. 12v is optional on the pd specification, and I've noticed anker isn't the biggest fan of 12v on a lot of their products
That is great idea. I have power bank with USBC-PD ability. No need to buy another 5V fan (not powerful enough, so you need three fans, of course also need to consider the Fan noise). I have plenty of computer fan that I gathered from years of used old computers. All I need is to add a speed adjuster. 😀😀😀😀
Solid as the day I put it on, I havent even painted it yet and only have surface rust on the cut ends after being in the weather for months. Your design is a lot smoother for air flow and I want to build it one day, but until then I found one of those work fans people use on construction sites that use power tool batteries it has a hook that folds out on the bottom, and the crossbar hangs over the sunroof and I just hang it from the crossbeam, one charge runs all night into the morning.@@MattTheDesigner
I'm going to recommend using PETG for your 3D printer. Cost is only a few bucks more than PLA but it'll handle the heat way better than PLA! (I also make parts for cars....Honda Elements specifically actually).
Thanks so much for your videos! I've learned so much and you make it seem so easy! I just went through 2 cancer treatments in 6 months and I'm ready to start planning (and building) for a life filled with adventure!
The side window units are the neatest to see built, but they're a bit redundant now that there's a beefy sunroof unit. If it weren't for such a nice 'snorked' breeze position, I'd think they'd mostly just get in the way vs removing them.
I made the sunroof ventilation and I might do the window later on, I really like your design but it was a bit too expensive for me. Just in case someone else wants to cut on cost I ended up buying a pack of 3 fans on amazing for about $12 (Thermalright TL-C12C X3) they can be daisy chain (1500rpm) and then I used Coroplast Corrugated at Home Depot for about $25. Much thanks for this idea I tested it with just the rear windows cracked open and it was pulling / moving air extremely well, it’s like day and night, I’m sure this will help sleeping when I’m out on the road.
CFM: Cubic Feet per Min. Volume of air in feet, could be and liner measurement eg CC, Yards, cubits as long as you get it cubed. I would put some Gaffer tape on the tiny bolts against the window so it doesn't scratch it or rip-up the tint. Excellent as usual, I love your sarcastic? humor, it's motivating. I look forward to each one, well the ones I like, Lol. Safe Travels buddy!
The problem with your batteries is likely because the fans are not drawing enough current and it is auto shutting down. Also you need flux to help with your soldering skills. Do not using plumbing flux on electronics. I recommend Kester 2331-ZX but this requires washing after because its conductive and slightly corrosive...but Kester 182 is another good rosin based option.
Do you really need to add fans to the side windows if you already have the 300cfm fans in the sunroof? You’d probably just need vents? Assuming a closed cabin, the air being pushed out of the sunroof would cause a decrease in air pressure which would then suck in air from the side windows so the side window fans may not be needed if you want to simplify things in the future.
To minimize noise on the top fans you shiuld add a small spacer between the fan filter and the fans themselves. Noctua makes one specifically for their fans and are known to be the best PC fans out there if you don't care about RGB
I have that same battery and for USB devices that don't draw enough power for it to stay on, you just have to hold the button for a few seconds until one of the 4 LEDs turns green. It will stay on untill it dies or you click the button again.
Ingenious design! I wonder if a couple of strips of double sided Velcro would work better to hold the battery in place? Then they could be adjusted if you change the size or shape of the battery.
Air exchange, great! Now if air could be taken from under the car to the inside, it would be much cooler. The other is to design a swamp cooler for cars, this design is almost there, just need a damp cloth to draw air through, and a drip system to keep the cloth damp.
Re: the spicy youtube comments at the beginning. They're mistaking their own experience for yours. Personally, I love what you're doing, and at least 3.1k others agree
you could probably do with just leaving the side wiindows open a bit and having the exhaust fans.... the exhaust fans removing air from the car will automatically draw air from outside via the windows...(or if you fit a vent lower down, from there.... some of the campervans have vents lower down, so it draws in the cooler air..)
Glad to have randomly stumbled across this video as I've been trying to figure out ways to keep cool while camping. I'm now gonna look into rigging up something similar. Thanks for the design/ideas and the inspiration!
the battery that doesn't stay on after 30 seconds; did you try to hit the button twice? usually changes color to indicate that it won't turn it self off for small drawing things.
I love this video! Thanks for the great design ideas. Just one thing that I would like to comment on. Your current design appears to produce negative air pressure. That is, the air pressure inside the vehicle might be lower than the outside air pressure. The potential problem with that is dust and pollen could end up gathering inside eventually, especially during pollen season. I don't know if you consider this an issue or not, but positive air pressure would be ideal.
Very cool build! Regarding the batteries, I have also noticed many portable batteries have a minimum draw requirement or they turn off. Some kind of power saving feature I assume. Extremely annoying since things like LED lights or small fans can be under that minimum draw.
i'm sure someone in the comments has mentioned this but PETG is a good option here. i print mainly PETG on my super cheap ender 3 with only a few super cheap upgrades (pei magnetic plate, metal hotend, glue stick..total about 25 bucks) prints at 200+ so shouldn't be an issue in the summer. prints easy and the filament is super affordable.
Really enjoy your videos. While this setup is overkill for my needs, i can easily downsize the fans, etc. like you mentioned. Thank you for sharing. The peeping window is a good idea. Cheers.
I'd add some small insulation. Also, i don't think you really need to pull air from outside in with a window fan. You probably could just use enough cfm to pull heat from the car. This is commonly done in houses.
Wow Matt, imagine if you could focus all the time and energy you spent making this ventilation system into being productive and useful... Just kidding, that was an awesome video!! My set up and needs for my van are different, but great system you made!!
Please consider making a fan that pulls AC from a pick up cab to the truck bed that has a cap on it. 🙏 I’m trying to design one now cause we take road trips with 3 large dogs and I need to keep them safe and healthy. Thanks for considering. I cannot believe a product for this doesn’t exist yet!
I’m back and forth between getting a van or a truck. Depending on where I land I might make something like that in the next year or so. No plans for it yet.
I actually bought a roll of it but saw you need some kind of housing and need to dial in settings. I decided to get this project out the door before I started fiddling with that. But now that it is…
I just really like the sunroof design and function to having to get those huge rooftop fan systems…. Thou I’d probably leave my sunroof open during the night and storms roll in, what if the sunroof fans was intake comepared to exhaust?
All though the system was very well made, I can tell your not a big car guy. Most vehicles built since 2000 had an abs vent built in the rear of the vehicle, for cars and SUVs it’s usually placed in the side of the cabin area with the vent hidden behind the rear bumper valance. For trucks it’s usual on the rear wall of the cab below the trucks bed line. These vents are large enough to pull and push air with your large fans. There is normally a vent on both side of the vehicle so it’s just a matter of run one pulling and one pushing to circulate the air. The idea is to prevent the cabin area from becoming a giant air brake if your driving down the road at like 65mph with a window down.
If your car leaves the AC outside vent open when turned off you should be able to get all the air in you want. However it might be warm from the engine... just a thought. Easy test anyway.
Simply get an EV, some offer camp mode. AC/heater runs for days, plus radio/streaming/TV on the cars display. Sleep in the car in summer/winter without any issues
As a 3D Printer myself, and as a recent Honda Element owner with big plans for travel next seasons, I can totally appreciate the amount of work that goes into making such things for my own vehicle. Thanks for sharing! I'll be sure to be doing something like this setup!
Would love to see it when it's done!
fellow element owner here! i have an almost pristine 08'. a little highway noise notwithstanding, it's best roadtrip vehicle ever!
I made a similar setup for my sunroof but with only one giant 5V noctua fan plugged directly into a battery bank. For the rear windows, I used blackouts made of reflectix with black cloth and some gutter guards glued on the top. With window rainguards, it was pretty much invisible from the outside and kept us comfortable during warm nights. We also had fans inside the car to help with really warm nights.
Thanks for another awesome video Matt. As a homeless veteran living in my vehicle your designs have inspired me.
I do know CFMs from working in HVAC so your airflow looks plentiful for the size of the cabin in your vehicle. 400CFM would be considered 1Ton of heating/cooling capacity. Imagine pushing 400 basketballs a minute of air through your car that mix to help bring the temperature average down.
Glad I could help Kev! Thanks for the info.
@@portcityengineering that too!
My car has a similar system. It has a hidden blower fan installed in the dash. It pulls air from a weather protected vent, has vents throughout the vehicle that can be directed where needed, and is powered by a huge battery under the hood. My car actually came with it from the factory! I think yours might have this system too 😂
Just kidding, this is super awesome and I loved seeing your creative process. The reason I said that above was I stumbled on a video of a guy that was building out a van and didn’t want to cut a hole in his roof, and he utilized the factory blower fan. He tapped into the blower fan circuit and controlled and powered it with his battery bank, independently of the factory wiring. It still worked like normal, but when the car was off he could flip his switch in the back and it turned on his fan. Pretty smart, on a budget especially!
Haha. Yes turning on the AC is an option.
I think I’ve seen the video you’re talking about. I’m still a little scared to make changes to the vehicle itself but I might look more into this.
Yeah I get it, especially on a new Honda which has a BCM (body control module), or more likely an entire module that just controls the HVAC. His van was an older econoline which has a very basic system
most cars have a build in vent in the rear! it lets pressure escape so that when you open a window on the highway it doesnt blow your sunroof to the moon, its quite possible by keeping a positive pressure in the cabin area these vents would react by letting out the extra pressure! great build! feel i learned plenty for my own challenges! thanks
Depending where those are located, they may be lower. So with hot air rising, it's helpful to try and exhaust the warmer air. But using those as an intake port could be good, if you can get to them. Often they are behind interior panels so it may require cutting.
Paint the car white, It drastically reduces internal temperature of car
That’s true, but it’s not resolve issue when you sleep in the car. Ventilation is must have otherwise you have low level of o2 and higher of co2 during the night
Also- you’d be amazed by the amount of moisture one person exhales. With my and my 2 kids the moisture is too darn much. I’ve spent several sleepless nights in the car either alone or with 1 or 2 of my kids.
Your exhaust fans can only expell as much air as your intake fans let into the vehicle - if they'd push out more air, they'd create a vaccuum. For maximum efficiency (noise as well as power consumption), intake and exhaust volumes should be evenly matched. To further reduce noise and increase power efficiency, consider how much airflow you really need. The vehicle's interior volume is not that big. Let's say the volume is 4 cubic meters (which is almost certainly an over-estimatation), to refresh all the air in the vehicle once every minute, you'd only need a capacity of 240 m3/h or about 140CFM.
From not enough to too much. Haha. Please hold for another year while I perfect. Thanks for the info!
I am confusion from this comment
@@nickhernandez4264 Ok. There's 2 parts to this:
1.) Fan capacity - You have a certain amount of air in the car, and you want to refresh this air. The intake fans pump fresh air into the car. The exhaust fans pump stale air out of the car. These have to be balanced. You can not pump in more than you take out. And you can not take out more than you let in. Making the exhaust fans much bigger than the intake fans , just means they are inefficient. They try to work really hard, but they can not pump so much. This will use more electrical power and create more noise.
2.) Airflow - to keep the inside air nice and healthy, you want to refresh it periodically. That means letting stale air out, and letting fresh air in. If you refresh it too slow, the air will go stale, and you will get problems with humidity inside the car. If you cycle the air too quickly, you're wasting electrical power on your fans by making them work more than they need to. If it is cold outside, you will also have a harder time keeping the air inside nice and warm if you constantly bring in cold outside air. In short: you will need to find a balance, where you refresh only as much air as is needed, using as little electrical power for the fans as possible.
Hope this helps :)
@@akumabito2008 very helpful, greatly appreciated ( you're to kind most people wouldn't have tooken the time to write out and explain ). Learn something new every day gotta love it 👍
@@nickhernandez4264 you're welcome, my dude. Have an awesome day!
Most of your airflow is actually getting blocked by your window coverings. Your window fan units are rated at 35 CFM each and not sure if they are even delivering that much due to the gap size. So in essence you have 70 cfm entering and 300 cfm trying to suck but you're not getting that 300, at most you're getting around 70 cfm +/-. Also you can't add the intake and exhaust together for an entire system and rate it at 370 cfm since it can't deliver that.
If you remove air faster than replacing then you will have a negative pressure in the cabin and if you're putting more air in than removing then you will end up with positive pressure in the space. Typically when cooling, you will have a better experience with a negative pressure system think about attic fans in a house. If you adjust your window coverings to have a gap for fresh air and remove the fan altogether it will keep your car cooler than with the system you have now due to restrictions of those window fans and the size of gap you currently have.
Finally to get the air to be replaced and not take a short cut from the window to the sunroof, you can always use a drop cloth or something similar between against the roof and drop down behind the front seats until about 6 inches from the floor. This would require the air to circulate down first then around the curtain and back up. Then you could use your window fans now to cycle air from front to back behind the front seats.
This is just way too cool! Now I just need to grab my Sawzall and cut a sunroof in the roof of my 4runner! Greg
Haha. It might be worth it!
Matt, yeah could be. I bought the low end model..... lol Greg
Use one back window for intake and one for exhaust. Duh
12 volts is everywhere in a car. Use a socket adapter and direct power from your big boy battery.
Also as others have said, way too many CFM. But I love the idea and am working to adapt it to my more cold-weather needs.
Only upgrade I'd recommend, ability to make either side window fan exhaust. Easiest (but more costly, probably) add a second fan to the window units blowing out. In my brain this should still give you air circulation in less than great weather. As long as the intake and exhaust are spaced apart, you shouldn't get any short cycling. Keep a more powerful fan for exhaust to force the air out further. For my application (but I'll probably never build) I don't have a sunroof. I do have two rear windows that pop out with a manual clip. Definitely got my creative juices flowing. Love your videos.
These ABS sheets and little fans could be configured in all kinds of ways. You should build one!
This guy made one for his minivan's pop-out windows, attaching it to a window cover made with chloroplast. Allows for good air flow/circulation. Not as 'stealthy' as Matt's, but still a good option.
ua-cam.com/video/iooH2nQpKR0/v-deo.html
If you car camp in a Prius 2014 and before that time, with the nickel battery, just hit ac button and set temperature, and you have a really comfortable night. I did it for 3 months in really cold and then hot temps. After 2014 they installed lithium batteries which have trouble starting in the cold temps. Just an idea. Although with your idea, you could do that in any car!
I’d like to figure out how to do real AC all night. Maybe my next next video.
Try it out with just the exhaust fans. Buy the rain guards for all the windows and just leave them open an inch or two.
Yeah, if you have forced exhaust then you're going to get fresh air coming in regardless. Really cool work with all the 3D printing though!
You are a freaking genius Matt. Most under-rated channel on UA-cam.
🙏🏽
I totally agree ! Both the product and the video are crazy quality
Not sure if you’ve already figured this out by now but the newer Anker batteries will turn off if the load doesn’t draw enough current. Evidently the fans use very little power compared to recharging a phone. You can override this cutoff by double pressing the button. My model changes one of the LED colours when you do this.
Yea someone else let me know. Silly that I didn’t know that but it’s what I get for never reading an instruction manual in my entire life.
uh, might want to swap your window fans with your vent fans. You want to be pulling positive pressure inside your car, not negative pressure. helps to keep dust and stuff out
In such a small space as a vehicle I would either push or pull the air but not both, which ever way I would think a hood system to block rain with insect screen would be less complicated and less expensive. One important thing to know about airflow is you can't exhaust more than you can pull in and vice versa
I really like your ideas. They actually inspired me to try the moon roof one on my camping Range Rover. I actually used a small usb outlet solar panel and leave the roof cracked so it kept the vehicle well vented in the hot days when parked. And reconnect the fan to a power bank in the nights when camping. Great job and glad you are keeping it evolving :)
This is good, now can you find a way to filter the incoming air? This is a must for urban camping in places that might be polluted, or places where once is temporarily forced to camp.
I made a setup for my camper shell that pulls in air from the front pass through window and vents it out the side windows. Absolute game changer!
@@markwilding5108 that sounds like a great idea 💡 👌
You should be #1 UA-camr for van/car living. Your stuff just keeps getting better! ❤
I like to think of a CFM as a beach ball of air. It's one Cubic Feet of air per Minute.
So that anker battery pack turns off because of the low power going through it. It turns off to save it's battery. I think if you long hold the button it turns that feature off. Either that or like double tap it. Once of the little LEDs should change color.
OMG I feel stupid ahha. Sorry Anker for the false claims.
Hey Matt, HVAC engineer, love the video. You can utilize the Sensible Heat equation to help dial in your CFM needs.
CFM = Q/[1.08 * dt]
Q = heat, use BTU with CFM and Watts with Meters cubed. Average sized man at rest = 200btu
dt = The change in air temperature (F) you want to see between the flow in vs flow out of your car. Like if it's 68 degrees outside and you want the temp in the car to stay below 72 your dt will be 4.
Also a cautionary statement for you to think about, the actual CFM delivery is probably not what it says on the box. Many consumer/prosumer grade CPU Fans will either be labeled at max flow & no resistance, or at some pre-designated resistance they don't tell you on the box so unless you dig it out of their website or ask for it you won't even be able to guess the performance of the fans prior to install.
Thanks for the information!
Even if the CFM numbers were right they’d be meaningless to me. Haha. All I know is it feels better now than it did before.
11:28 That Marcus guy has some good insights huh?
He does. Unfortunately he doesn't know a thing about car camping.
Would probably be easier to utilize the car's factory HVAC fans and just wire them to run off a 2nd power source and the window vent can be the exhaust.
Cars have a simple interface for Webasto-style heaters we use here in colder climates. It’s an external petrol/diesel heater that heats the engine cooling water. When the water is hot, the system supplies 12 volts to a certain pin on your car hvac-system, and it will turn on the cars own fan.
You could just find where that pin is and connect a switch for it. The fan itself doesn’t need much power, but I would carry on of those small lipo jump packs with me if I did this.
Matt, I love your videos! I, too, love to over-engineer every aspect of my build, but you're next-level. Please keep them coming. Would love to see more of what you've done!
Nothings quite as fun as over-engineering! That might need to go on a T-Shirt.
Probably wont help at night but you could put foil on the outside part of the cover. Will reflect more of the sunlight, or maybe tint the windows with mirror tint, that would be better for stealth anyway.
9:55 the one battery banks might not have a low power mode, or a special way to enable low power mode.
I really appreciate that you read the user feedback and then took the time to update and remake this tutorial. The mark of a true designer! (And also you give your plans out for free?? Thank you so much!!)
I'm converting my Cube into a little camper van for scuba trips around the southeast and I was worried about the moisture problem inside the car. (Moist environment + Moist diving gear = A very bad and moist time.) My university has 3D printers for student use, so I'm going to try this out and see how it goes! Thanks again!
I don't have a sun roof, so I think I'm going to try having an intake fan on one side of my car, and an exhaust fan on the opposite side for air flow. (I guess just flip the fan facing the other way so it blows out??? I'll figure it out!)
I'm brand new to this so if anyone has any input, feedback, or suggestions, I'd love to hear it. Right now I'm a little worried about moisture accumulating on the window of the exhaust side and I'm not sure what the solution for that is.
You could try the one fan in one window and crack the opposite for a more passive exhaust. Then figure out an exhaust fan if that’s not enough.
Or maybe a fan pulling air into the front and back window on the left side and windows cracked on the right.
10:00 3x window fans don't run long enough on 1 battery...
I'm just going to speculate that when you step up the voltage from 5v to 12v, you are then pulling too many amps for your battery system!
So, either get a different batt (12V DC) or locate fans which run off 9V DC or 5V DC. If you run a 9V fan off 5 V source, it will simply spin slower
It’s been 2 years since I decided to do this (your v1). I ordered one sheet of plastic months ago (faaaaang- that stuff is pricey). I started making a cardboard template tonight but dorked it up. I definitely won’t be done by the time I “need it” Sunday night. One day I’ll finish this project 😂 I’m starting with the sunroof version alone. Hopefully it helps.
Hey @Matt The Designer can you link me to that little smoke machine please? 🙏🏼 🍻
vosentech.com
IDEA FOR V3 car camp please try adding peltier module for cooling like a AC
I am intrigued… I will look into this.
You should add a couple mini cameras in those side window units, that have a wide view and night capability. Have it Bluetooth to your phones. I feel like I’d personally feel way more secure to be able to easily see ‘what that noise is’ without having to much much and give away that I’m inside you know?! Love hour designs!!!
That’s a really good idea. I put one in my Bear Resistant Box video but cameras on these might make more sense.
with my set up of an bug out vehicle, due to hurricanes and the like, i find this an excellent idea. i would love to see a video of it working real time out in the field. because we all know it is how it really functions.
I might try to devise some real tests to measure temps and airflow. Not sure exactly how yet though.
@@MattTheDesigner overnight solo camp, with temp gauge on start and how they function during the night. if there is a noticeable drop in temp or how the air is moving thru the space
i don't drive a van or an SUV. i don't have a sunroof on my car. but someday i might have a van with sunroof just for camping, and in the meantime i am compelled to watch this repeatedly. this solution is both beautiful and elegant.
Warning: I become more annoying over time.
I always look forward to your videos; yet another great design! Thanks for sharing the design and documenting the process. 👍
I'm soooooooo happy I came across your channel!!! You're informative AND so much fun to watch! Your humor and knowledge make watching your videos so much fun! I've subscribed!!
Thank you Carmen!
Thanks for all of these genius window treatments. I'm converting a 2003 Honda Odyssey and ventilation is a serious problem. It only has the driver/passenger windows and two small vents in the rear windows. And that's it. I'm seriously considering cutting a hole in the roof to put an RV fan in. The part that scares me is trying to remove the headliner. Fortunately I plan to drive it till it dies or sell it as a camper so I'm not concerned about punching a few holes in it. Subscribed!
Awesome video! I recently made the V1 collapsible platform for my CRV and love it. Thanks so much for the plans. I do have a question for you. Will the battery pack you use for your window (26800 PD) run your sunroof? I know you said your sunroof battery will not run your window. I already own the 26800 PD and I’m hoping to use it for the sunroof, if it works. Thanks!
Yes it should run the sunroof.
Love not just the subject matter, but how you deliver it, and your clear attention to detail. Your damn right you should be paid for it:)
Thanks Matt!
I love 'crafting' things. I love road trips. I'll be using some of your ideas. Thanks for making your videos fun to watch.
I'm a bit late to the party a year later. I don't have a sunroof but I have a truck with one of those rear sliding windows. Your design has me thinking about creating a similar idea for that rear window.
For the power bank that seems to stop powering your window fans after 30 seconds, you may want to check the manual of the power bank to see if you can turn on low current mode. The fan may be pulling too little power for the power bank to treat it as an actual appliance under normal mode.
Glue magnets inside of a sunroof wind deflector to make the sunroof more rain-proof. You can lay bug screen down and the magnetized sunroof deflector will hold down half while magnets can hold the rest.
Genius system. Please
Keep making more videos!!
Suggestio. Maybe try using aluminum composit panels they are more ridgid and they give you more of a thermal insulation value and easy to work with
If you use a usbc pd Bank, you can get 12v out. You can over volt fans slightly. 12v is optional on the pd specification, and I've noticed anker isn't the biggest fan of 12v on a lot of their products
with the 12volt fans i would have used USBc PD and the highest wattage availible with a little voltage selection board
That is great idea. I have power bank with USBC-PD ability. No need to buy another 5V fan (not powerful enough, so you need three fans, of course also need to consider the Fan noise). I have plenty of computer fan that I gathered from years of used old computers. All I need is to add a speed adjuster.
😀😀😀😀
Matt, what an excellent project and it is very effective. It’s the closest thing to Camp Mode in an electric car/suv.
so freaking pumped everytime you make a video, I just litterally mounted something to my strut roof rack thanks to you!
How’s she holding up? Mine’s still holding strong.
Solid as the day I put it on, I havent even painted it yet and only have surface rust on the cut ends after being in the weather for months. Your design is a lot smoother for air flow and I want to build it one day, but until then I found one of those work fans people use on construction sites that use power tool batteries it has a hook that folds out on the bottom, and the crossbar hangs over the sunroof and I just hang it from the crossbeam, one charge runs all night into the morning.@@MattTheDesigner
I'm going to recommend using PETG for your 3D printer. Cost is only a few bucks more than PLA but it'll handle the heat way better than PLA! (I also make parts for cars....Honda Elements specifically actually).
Thanks so much for your videos! I've learned so much and you make it seem so easy! I just went through 2 cancer treatments in 6 months and I'm ready to start planning (and building) for a life filled with adventure!
Living life to the fullest! This is so cool to hear. Enjoy your travels my friend!
The side window units are the neatest to see built, but they're a bit redundant now that there's a beefy sunroof unit. If it weren't for such a nice 'snorked' breeze position, I'd think they'd mostly just get in the way vs removing them.
I made the sunroof ventilation and I might do the window later on, I really like your design but it was a bit too expensive for me. Just in case someone else wants to cut on cost I ended up buying a pack of 3 fans on amazing for about $12 (Thermalright TL-C12C X3) they can be daisy chain (1500rpm) and then I used Coroplast Corrugated at Home Depot for about $25. Much thanks for this idea I tested it with just the rear windows cracked open and it was pulling / moving air extremely well, it’s like day and night, I’m sure this will help sleeping when I’m out on the road.
CFM: Cubic Feet per Min. Volume of air in feet, could be and liner measurement eg CC, Yards, cubits as long as you get it cubed. I would put some Gaffer tape on the tiny bolts against the window so it doesn't scratch it or rip-up the tint. Excellent as usual, I love your sarcastic? humor, it's motivating. I look forward to each one, well the ones I like, Lol. Safe Travels buddy!
You don’t like them all???!? Haha. Thanks for watching Mitch!
Exactly what I was after - thanks so much for such a comprehensive video.
The problem with your batteries is likely because the fans are not drawing enough current and it is auto shutting down.
Also you need flux to help with your soldering skills. Do not using plumbing flux on electronics. I recommend Kester 2331-ZX but this requires washing after because its conductive and slightly corrosive...but Kester 182 is another good rosin based option.
Do you really need to add fans to the side windows if you already have the 300cfm fans in the sunroof? You’d probably just need vents? Assuming a closed cabin, the air being pushed out of the sunroof would cause a decrease in air pressure which would then suck in air from the side windows so the side window fans may not be needed if you want to simplify things in the future.
It’s probably overkill. The hope was that folks would take bits and pieces of this and do what works for them. Thanks for watching Clifford.
Ok. 👍🏻 Cool project overall. Thanks for taking the time to make the video. 👏🏻
This channel rocks! Thanks man!
Great job on the video Matt! Thanks for making it.
This is awesome, i will probably be stealing this setup.
To minimize noise on the top fans you shiuld add a small spacer between the fan filter and the fans themselves. Noctua makes one specifically for their fans and are known to be the best PC fans out there if you don't care about RGB
I have that same battery and for USB devices that don't draw enough power for it to stay on, you just have to hold the button for a few seconds until one of the 4 LEDs turns green. It will stay on untill it dies or you click the button again.
On the topic of wanting to dispell heat from the switch, I'd put some bumpers between it and the ABS
Ingenious design! I wonder if a couple of strips of double sided Velcro would work better to hold the battery in place? Then they could be adjusted if you change the size or shape of the battery.
That would be a lot easier haha.
Air exchange, great! Now if air could be taken from under the car to the inside, it would be much cooler. The other is to design a swamp cooler for cars, this design is almost there, just need a damp cloth to draw air through, and a drip system to keep the cloth damp.
Re: the spicy youtube comments at the beginning. They're mistaking their own experience for yours. Personally, I love what you're doing, and at least 3.1k others agree
you could probably do with just leaving the side wiindows open a bit and having the exhaust fans.... the exhaust fans removing air from the car will automatically draw air from outside via the windows...(or if you fit a vent lower down, from there.... some of the campervans have vents lower down, so it draws in the cooler air..)
When it’s not too hot we just use the vents. But when it’s hotter the wind from the window fans makes it feel cooler even if it’s not.
Glad to have randomly stumbled across this video as I've been trying to figure out ways to keep cool while camping. I'm now gonna look into rigging up something similar. Thanks for the design/ideas and the inspiration!
Good luck Elijah! Let me know how it goes.
the battery that doesn't stay on after 30 seconds; did you try to hit the button twice? usually changes color to indicate that it won't turn it self off for small drawing things.
you need to make a hood in the upper part on the same window, and you need to open the roof
Matt, mate i salute you.... this is goodness beyond the normal. thank you
I love this video! Thanks for the great design ideas. Just one thing that I would like to comment on.
Your current design appears to produce negative air pressure. That is, the air pressure inside the vehicle might be lower than the outside air pressure. The potential problem with that is dust and pollen could end up gathering inside eventually, especially during pollen season.
I don't know if you consider this an issue or not, but positive air pressure would be ideal.
Always room for improvement. It’s still new so more testing needs to be done for sure.
sounds like someone has experience in either spray painting booths or dust free labs...
Where to buy that little smoke generator thing?
vosentech.com/
Fun! Cool to see your creativity and ingenuity. What you can accomplish with the right tools is quite impressive.
So true!
Very cool build! Regarding the batteries, I have also noticed many portable batteries have a minimum draw requirement or they turn off. Some kind of power saving feature I assume. Extremely annoying since things like LED lights or small fans can be under that minimum draw.
I learned from another commenter that I just had to double press the power button and the battery works. Whoops!
Happy to stumble across your channel. I’ve got these phantek fans kicking around might have to give it a whirl
🌪️
i'm sure someone in the comments has mentioned this but PETG is a good option here. i print mainly PETG on my super cheap ender 3 with only a few super cheap upgrades (pei magnetic plate, metal hotend, glue stick..total about 25 bucks) prints at 200+ so shouldn't be an issue in the summer. prints easy and the filament is super affordable.
Yea I need to do this. I’ll probably print some and lower the price in the spring.
None of those fans move rated CFM with the amount of restrictions you're putting in place. Still a neat idea I havent seen before.
Really enjoy your videos. While this setup is overkill for my needs, i can easily downsize the fans, etc. like you mentioned. Thank you for sharing. The peeping window is a good idea. Cheers.
Cool video. Anxious to see your next iteration.
I'd add some small insulation.
Also, i don't think you really need to pull air from outside in with a window fan. You probably could just use enough cfm to pull heat from the car. This is commonly done in houses.
I agree but you can actually feel the breeze from the window fans and I like that.
Wow Matt, imagine if you could focus all the time and energy you spent making this ventilation system into being productive and useful... Just kidding, that was an awesome video!! My set up and needs for my van are different, but great system you made!!
I am productive from 9-5 M-F. 🙃
can't wait til you update to the san Ace or Delta 12V fans that are 200+ CFM. It's only a low dB level of 50+
Please consider making a fan that pulls AC from a pick up cab to the truck bed that has a cap on it. 🙏 I’m trying to design one now cause we take road trips with 3 large dogs and I need to keep them safe and healthy. Thanks for considering. I cannot believe a product for this doesn’t exist yet!
I’m back and forth between getting a van or a truck. Depending on where I land I might make something like that in the next year or so. No plans for it yet.
Just bought all of the parts. Look forward to seeing how this works in the Virginia Heat 😬
They’ll be headed your way soon!
thanks i will do this but with 2 200mm fans its gonna be quieter and would be in the limit of the 5v-12v usb step up wattage
Your battery has an overcurrent protection and shuts off to protect the battery from catching fire.
Where did you get the smoke tool??
vosentech.com
Very clever solution for car climatisation!! A question... can you give us the link of the smoke machine? Thank you so much!
It’s from a company called Vosentech. However the one I have leaks all over so I don’t especially recommend it.
ABS or PETG+ on the 3D printer. way better for dealing with high temps in a vehicle
*I'm totally going to build this for my truck. Hopefully the rear center window has enough CFM.*
C F MMMM. How did you make that comment bold. 🤔
You should try printing with PETG. It is much more heat resistant than PLA.
I actually bought a roll of it but saw you need some kind of housing and need to dial in settings. I decided to get this project out the door before I started fiddling with that. But now that it is…
I just really like the sunroof design and function to having to get those huge rooftop fan systems…. Thou I’d probably leave my sunroof open during the night and storms roll in, what if the sunroof fans was intake comepared to exhaust?
It’s easy to just turn them in. You really feel the airflow when you do that.
Explore cooling sleep mats to lower body temp
That’s an interesting idea. Size and power consumption might be hard in the small space but it’s worth looking into.
All though the system was very well made, I can tell your not a big car guy.
Most vehicles built since 2000 had an abs vent built in the rear of the vehicle, for cars and SUVs it’s usually placed in the side of the cabin area with the vent hidden behind the rear bumper valance. For trucks it’s usual on the rear wall of the cab below the trucks bed line. These vents are large enough to pull and push air with your large fans. There is normally a vent on both side of the vehicle so it’s just a matter of run one pulling and one pushing to circulate the air.
The idea is to prevent the cabin area from becoming a giant air brake if your driving down the road at like 65mph with a window down.
Maybe I’m an idiot savant.
If your car leaves the AC outside vent open when turned off you should be able to get all the air in you want. However it might be warm from the engine... just a thought. Easy test anyway.
Simply get an EV, some offer camp mode. AC/heater runs for days, plus radio/streaming/TV on the cars display. Sleep in the car in summer/winter without any issues