Saturday, Apr 18, 2009 at 22:16
Kim,
I bought a pair of those rotating waterproof roof wind vane vents for the canopy on the back of the 4wd truck.
They are white plastic but you can paint them to match the vehicle color if your so inclined (I wasn't, and installed them white out of the box).
While I say they are plastic they have a sealed steel ball bearing race in them that allows them to spin at great rpms seemingly effortlessly!
It never ceases to amaze me how they will be spinning on days when i can barely detect a breeze of any kind on my face.
What I can say is they spin furiously fast when the vehicle goes along and suck out an awfull lot of air.
In all respects they have been great so far for a couple years now.
They would want to be good - I forget exactly what they cost me but my friendly local ARB guy down in Mandurah sourced them for me - at some$ 265 or somesuch each! (My memory 2 years back for specifics isn't THAT good but I remember nearly having a heart attack at the cost).
They keep water out really
well.
The ONLY downside that i have been able to detect is that if anything they suck too
well.
because they work so
well - it appears that the vacuum created inside the canopy is so strong that inordinate amounts of dust get sucked in side the rear canopy as a result thru the tailgate which isn't sealed.
It's like a willy willy went thru the inside of the rear canopy after even a short distantance on a dusty gravel road.
I used to cart (occasionally still do) 6 x 60 liter metal fuel drums with spare unleaded fuel for the boat inside the rear canopy and wanted REALLY GOOD air exchange when it was left sitting parked in the sun for days at a time in the
Pilbara to vent ANY errant fuel vapors.
It performed that task
well and the truck never blew up, so I guess they did their job.
The ARB guys can source them from their canopy manufacturers, I forget the exact brand, but "Raider" springs to mind, but don't quote me.
They do look good spinning like crazy when your doing highway speed!
The bearings seem to hold up
well and haven't missed a beat.
Good luck with whatever you end up using.
Cheers
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