12 volt fans?

[Rath]

Anyone here have a 12 volt fan they can recommend? This will be for the back of my truck in my sleeping area. Looking for something that is reliable and has at least two speeds. something fairly quiet would be preferred, brushless motor maybe?
Looking on amazon all I'm finding is cheap plastic stuff that I don't think will be the best choice. Willing to spend a decent amount on something solid. 8" size or smaller, don't have a ton of room to work with lol

 

[Road]

I have two and can heartily recommend both. Both are 12v.

The Sirocco II fan: light-weight but durable, super quiet, 3 speed, direct wiring, great purchase. Do a search for it in the boat world and you'll find rave reviews. I may get another and keep one on a portable mount for the rooftop tent, then just leave it up there when it's closed.

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I also have and love the Fan-Tastic Vent Endless Breeze fan: a good bit larger at 14.5" x 15.25" (approx 37cm x 39cm), is more of a box fan; quiet but not as much as the Scirocco II, also rave reviews from most, and has a 12v plug instead of direct wired. More portable than the Scirocco in that it has pivoting feet, too.

Mine was $75.05 USD when I got it almost 3yrs ago, and I see they've gone up a good bit, like so much other outdoor/recreational gear lately.

I don't have a photo of mine, as it's buried in a tote while using my van for hauling storage stuff, but they look like this:


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Lastly, while not 12v but uses the 18v battery packs from cordless Ryobi tools, this little portable fan has saved my butt more than once when hauling expedited cargo around North America. I still use it from time to time under the awning when in the swamps or desert and need some air moving. I keep several inexpensive cordless Ryobi tools with me when adventuring like an impact driver, drill, etc, so it's a gimme to throw this in somewhere, too.

Ryobi Hybrid 18v: pivots, will hang, and is nice because you can run it on AC, too, so can plug it in if you have shore power.



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[Rath]

Thank you! The ryobi is a neat idea, I already have some of their batteries so that would be cool. The Sirocco looks like exactly what I want, though. The price is insane lmao. Might have to look into the ryobi one.

 

[Road]

Thank you! The ryobi is a neat idea, I already have some of their batteries so that would be cool. The Sirocco looks like exactly what I want, though. The price is insane lmao. Might have to look into the ryobi one.

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Oh man, yeah, I didn't even look at the current price on the Scirocco II. Crazy markups have been happening since the pandemic started, no doubt encouraged by the sheer number of new outdoor enthusiasts and shortages in all sort of items.

Here's what I paid for that same fan in July of 2019, not even two years ago:


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It is very much worth $98.97 to me, with as trouble free, quiet, and easy to use as it is, though I'd sure think three times before dropping $242 and change. Crazy that it has gone up almost 250% in less than two years.

I feel fortunate right now to have gotten so much of my stuff years ago, much of it used. I've sold a number of things lately that I never used, some still in the box, that I broke even on but was still able to sell it for considerably less than current pricing.

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[Rath]

Yeah, pretty insane haha. Might have to just gamble on the cheap units and hope for the best lol
I do have a nice fan, that's 120v ac, but I don't have my inverter hooked up yet and honestly may never hook it up as I really have no need for it, aside from the fan I currently have. So I'd rather just replace the fan with a 12v unit.

 

[Road]

Yeah, pretty insane haha. Might have to just gamble on the cheap units and hope for the best lol
I do have a nice fan, that's 120v ac, but I don't have my inverter hooked up yet and honestly may never hook it up as I really have no need for it, aside from the fan I currently have. So I'd rather just replace the fan with a 12v unit.

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I usually only ever run my inverter when I'm in full sun and my panels are pulling in max power. Then I plug in my bike battery charger, and when it's done the one or two other AC chargers for camera batteries etc. Though every once in a while when I'm up all night shooting night sky images, I'll run it in the cool of the night to rotate camera batteries.

Now I have two identical folding panels that I keep mounted to the roof of van and trailer, each charging their own 100ah of battery, and will eventually each have their own 1000w inverter (just one in the trailer for now), so I can do more, and do it independently if I'm out with just van, or have basecamp set up with family or friend back at camp.

That's the other reason for having multiple 12v fans, too. Keep one in the van, one for the rooftop tent on the trailer, the Ryobi for those sweltering days under the awning in desert and swamp.

It's wonderful how much a simple thing like a little moving air can make or break someone's experience with camping, especially if they are not used to the high-low swing of outdoor temps. Takes me about two weeks of steady road travel to re-acclimate myself to outdoor temp swings after living in a house. Then after a few months of being on the road, I'm shocked how vulnerable and fragile others seem when they come out camping for a weekend.

I've toyed with making a 12v swamp cooler at times, too, for those really hot dry afternoons.
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[Viking1204]

I have two of these Opolars and they work good at moving air and the battery seems to last at least 2-3 nights before needing to be recharged, I use them in the tents, it's nice they have clips. I have several Ryobi batteries so I'll probably pick up the Ryobi fan above and probably the bigger one they have too, would come in handy on warmer days when sitting in camp and need some air movement. The nice thing about the Ryobi's is they'll run off 110 AC power if available in the campsite.

 

[Road]

I have two of these Opolars and they work good at moving air and the battery seems to last at least 2-3 nights before needing to be recharged, I use them in the tents, it's nice they have clips. I have several Ryobi batteries so I'll probably pick up the Ryobi fan above and probably the bigger one they have too, would come in handy on warmer days when sitting in camp and need some air movement. The nice thing about the Ryobi's is they'll run off 110 AC power if available in the campsite.

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Watch when you pick up the Ryobi fans . . .some stores still have the 18v only (not AC hybrid) in their bundles with chargers/batteries, and some just alone.
Ryobi also now has a Misting Fan that sits on a 5 gal bucket (that you can fill with water) for those dry hot environments. Burns through 5 gal of water in about two hours.

Generally speaking, too, Ryobi products are less expensive at Home Depot than online, sometimes dramatically so.

I've been pleasantly surprised over the years with Ryobi cordless tools. They are (or were) so inexpensive compared to higher grade cordless tools that I never expected them to last as long and be as trouble-free as they've been. Now I have quite a few, from weed wacker, circular saw, brad nailer, recip saw, etc.

I was cleaning out side compartments in the van the other day and found my Ryobi flashlight with swivel head that I use a lot on the road. It had been in there all winter and all last year without being used. I expected it to be deader than a doornail but it turned right on. I thought the cold and length of time would've drained the battery for sure.

Those Opolar fans look good, too, especially for the price and if they last a couple nights on one charge.
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[Cypress]

I carry a USB fan that runs off a battery bank for days. I also have a Geek Air rechargeable 12" fan that will run for 8 to 20 hours depending on the speed you set it to.

Edit to add links.

Geek Aire 12" fan. This will move a bunch of air for about 4 hours on a charge, or a little air for about 24 hours.

USB 6" fan. This guy will run for days off a USB battery pack. I use it at night in the tent.

 

[mep1811]

I have two of these. Work great

 

[Landsat8]

I hard mounted my own. It was a 12v radiator fan and a cheap amazon speed controller. The electrical has since been cleaned up and I added a cigarette plug so I can switch between my truck battery and jackery.

 

[DMS1]

I have 2 of the Endless Breeze fans that I have had for over 12 years, and they run great, but are very expensive, they pull 40 watts when run on the high setting. I recently bought one of these " Quick Products QP-TE1-0126 Boundless Breeze Ultimate RV/Marine Fan" off of Amazon and have been testing it for about a month and a half now and am going to buy 2 more, it works just as good as the Endless Breeze at 1/4 the cost and It only pulls 43 watts when running.

 

[FishinCrzy]

Anyone used this DeWalt fan? I have some batteries for the chainsaw and hedge trimmer. Thought it might be a useful addition. Reviews are OK but not for moving lots of air in an outdoor/larger area it seems.

 

[Rath]

Ended up grabbing one of the opolar 10,000 mAH battery fans, arrived yesterday and it should do the trick! The big battery is nice, and I can charge it very easily from my usb panel in my sleeping area.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Downs]

Ended up grabbing one of the opolar 10,000 mAH battery fans, arrived yesterday and it should do the trick! The big battery is nice, and I can charge it very easily from my usb panel in my sleeping area.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I've got their USB fan. It doesn't have a battery but it'll run for 2 nights on my 20v batteries with USB adapter.

 

[axlesandantennas]

Anyone used this DeWalt fan? I have some batteries for the chainsaw and hedge trimmer. Thought it might be a useful addition. Reviews are OK but not for moving lots of air in an outdoor/larger area it seems.

I do! I take the chainsaw with me on trips and 3 batteries. With the fan on the lower 1/3 it keeps the air moving really well. Plus it drowns out my tinnitus eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Plus when I am sitting down for the evening, I run the fan and it keeps the mosquitos away without having to douse myself in repellent.

I can normally get a few nights of 8 hour use on one of the big batteries on 1/3 power.

 

[genocache]

I learned that computer fans are 12v, they are pretty quiet also. There is YT video of a guy putting them in a trailer roof.

 

[FishinCrzy]

having to douse myself in repellent.

Ever try the Thermacells? I see there are some newer ones that cover a larger area. They can be very convenient around here at times.


Thread Jack!

 

[axlesandantennas]

Ever try the Thermacells? I see there are some newer ones that cover a larger area. They can be very convenient around here at times.


Thread Jack!

My buddy uses one and it seems to work great. But what I do is use the fan just to keep the air going and then have a oil lantern to burn citronella and that seems to do a good job as well.

 

[grubworm]

Ended up grabbing one of the opolar 10,000 mAH battery fans, arrived yesterday and it should do the trick! The big battery is nice, and I can charge it very easily from my usb panel in my sleeping area.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

how is that fan working out for ya?
we sleep in a camper shell and it gets hot. i have the endless-breeze fan like @Road has and it works very well. i mount it at the sliding window so it pulls in air and i open the slider by our heads to get the exiting air to flow over us. i'd like a second fan and was wondering how well yours is doing