Regrets

[Mucram]

I love my 17b but I wish I had no range hood. Bump head, basically useless especially if max fan on & kitchen window open. Build sheet omitted range hood but during build Tammy called & said mistake was made, range hood installed. Offered rebuild but stupidly decided not to do this. In hindsight should have had the rebuild. Every time I bump into that thing I regret my decision. Just a bumpy heads up after many miles in Pearl. Still love her though. Just completed a 3 week trip thru Alabama hills, mojave preserve, Joshua tree, desert hot springs, Anza borrego, cathedral gorge, jackpot$$, boise.

[rubicon327]

How about removing the range hood? It’s held up with 4 bolts. Put some foam and gorilla tape in the big hole as a filler piece and do a nice adhesive backsplash like some of us have done. Wire up a light to the range hood power. Won’t even know it ever had a range hood except for 4 small holes in the underside of the cabinet.

[Eggscape]

You could replace the hood fan with cookie sheet upside down and the width of the cabinet...or your choice. This would cover any holes on the underside of the cabinet and be easy to clean. You could use a furnace floor hot air register grill to cover the hole to the outside. You could even cut the back off at a thickness to house a couple of muffin fans.

[gbaglo]

Once again, I don't get it. Neither of us have bumped our heads on the range hood. We mostly cook outside, but we do use the stove to boil water for coffee and for tea ( not me ).

[Jim Bennett]

Neither of us has hit our heads since 2009. What are we doing different I wonder?

Folks are free to do as they like, but I would never give up the range hood. It exhausts too much greasy crud for me to be willing to use the ceiling fan.

I used the Ventline which I like better than the Heng, which Escape installs. The SAM-1 replacement fan/light unit installed in it real easy, and is a pleasure to use.

[rbryan4]

My wife hit her head once on the corner of the range hood so I installed some foam bumpers. Haven't hit it since. As for the fan, like Jim I highly recommend retrofitting the noisy and ineffective tin box fan with the SAM-1 Fan and light assembly from Fabulous Operating Products. Now the range hood actually works, and is almost silent.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Now the range hood actually works.

The Ventline has nice rounded corners.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

The Ventline has nice rounded corners.

That looks nice Jim. More modern than the Hengs.

By the way, I see the cutting board insert for your stove has the same little burn marks as mine from the hot metal tabs...lol.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Once again, I don't get it. Neither of us have bumped our heads on the range hood.

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Neither of us has hit our heads since 2009. What are we doing different I wonder?

Us neither, I guess that makes us all non-bumpy heads.

Ron

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Us neither, I guess that makes us all non-bumpy heads.

Ron

And Lordy knows I hit my hairless head a lot too.

[Iowa Dave]

I never hit my head on the range hood. Probably because I am relegated to being either outside or at the table and not anywhere around the stove. My knees, however, have perpetual bruises in the camping season from stingeritis. “Can’t fix stupid” was an apologetic
consolation to my Boy Scouts. Glad they don’t see me each summer.
Iowa Dave

[Jim Bennett]

Twice on this current trip I have gouged a chunk of skin off the top of my head on the trailer door. Pretty sure I am smarter now!

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Twice on this current trip I have gouged a chunk of skin off the top of my head on the trailer door. Pretty sure I am smarter now!

Consider it a beauty mark. Not that us baldies aren't pretty enough already. [emoji23]

[BCnomad]

Yep, I hit mine until I remember that I have to avoid it.

[sclifrickson]

We also would not do without the range hood. In both our former and current Escape we generally use it for two meals per day, and it conveniently and directly expels both humidity and contaminants from our cooking. And no one in our family has ever struck their head upon it, or I suppose we might feel otherwise about it.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

I never hit my head on the range hood. Probably because I am relegated to being either outside or at the table and not anywhere around the stove. My knees, however, have perpetual bruises in the camping season from stingeritis. “Can’t fix stupid” was an apologetic
consolation to my Boy Scouts. Glad they don’t see me each summer.
Iowa Dave

Hi: Iowa Dave... 45 yrs. with my head in a dirty oven and I've yet to crack my cranium!!! I also know that you must remove the inner racks from a self clean job or they'll lose their luster!!! Now in the camper the range hood is another matter altogether. We keep ours well coated with magnets from "Wherever". One even found its way into the banana cream pie one night!!!Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[thiggins]

I totally understand your hatred of those sharp corners on the vent. I also removed our giant vent in our little 17' Casita. One of the best mods I've done. Little House Customs even has a "VENT HOOD REMOVAL KIT" for doing so, which includes the trim and a nice light fixture to put in the giant space the vent used to be. I loved removing it. No more bloody forehead!

[Dave Walter]

Problems with head banging on the exhaust fan seem to be a short persons issue. My head banging issues are a little higher up. If I removed all items from my Escape that I regularly bump my head on, I would be camping in a trailer without a roof or A/C.

[ksitte]

I too am among the head bumper-crowd. Did it a few too many times in our 17', so much so that we left out the range vent in our first 19'. Here's a link to a replacement done by a very crafty Casita owner. Always had the intention of building this but never got around to it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rfpd30...7626742329244/

[Fox hunt]

I'm short but i haven't hit my head on it yet= i will try to next time i camp!