I’m going to be traveling out West this summer to pick up my GFC (very excited!) I am trying to figure out how to hook up a fan or two in the tent. I don’t want to cut into the roof. Does anyone have any ideas for me? Not super handy so it’s gotta be pretty straightforward.
Thanks so much for your help.
I use a Caframo fan off of Amazon converted to a cigarette plug and mounted to a Seasucker mount. It’s moveable to wherever you are in the GFC, quiet, and most importantly has a tiny amp draw.
More details here.
Perfect, that’s exactly what I was looking for. Thank you
Going to mount mine like @MBBME did.
@shadesbro beat me to it! I have the Claymore V600+ fan and hang it on various tie downs I hung in the tent and bed area.
Clearly that fan is the all around winner! Just ordered it up.
This was $22 from Amazon. And it fits in the rear sliding window of the truck cab for my fur baby.
I’ve got one of those small portable USB charge fans like above, but I also have a Dewalt 20V portable Jobsite fan that really moves the air! The fan is available on Amazon, Ace Hardware, Lowes, Homedepot etc. Not cheap but a great fan to move air, although it isn’t really hangable. It would still work ‘upstairs’ if you are solo, but with two people in the bed it would be in the way. I have other Dewalt portable tools that use the same battery so it works out well… and might be something to consider for the installation trip since a portable drill might be a handy thing to take along as well. I also see there are a number of Dewalt knock off fans on Amazon for under $35 (bare tool: without the battery) that are compatible with the Dewalt battery.
If you have Ryobi 18 volt batteries they have a little clip on whisper quiet fan that works great.
+1 for the Dewalt fan. I’ve been running mine for 3 years no issues. I bring a 1/2 inch impact in my tool bag for tire swaps and any other stuff (has saved my ass before) so it runs same batteries.
I’m alittle late to the conversation, but I was also struggling to find a good portable fan. I ended up designing my own that magnetizes any of the fabric surfaces. Right now I have it charged by a battery pack that we have up there already to charge our phones. We used this one but I’m working on updates.
How does that stick to the mesh?
This is really cool.
She said magnetizes, so I assume magnets on one side and ferrous plate or additional magnets on the other side of the mesh, clamping into place. Frames likely 3D printed. Pretty cool idea.
That’s what I figured but am hoping to get some details because that looks like a great idea.
Thanks, it’s been a fun project! It has magnets on both sides, and the frame is printed with ASA. I had considered using a steel sheet metal plate for the final iteration, or if I start selling them. I had the magnets from a different project. I got the second iteration mostly assembled, and here’s a picture. When I’m happy with design, I’m planning on printing the magnets in place. I added a speed controller to it as well, steps up the 5V USB C to 12v PWM which is what the fan runs on.
I would definitely be interested in this. For most of my camping in SoCal, the issue is being too warm and this looks like a great solution.
I would be super interested in buying something like this
Quick follow-up to this thread since a few people asked about the prototype I shared a while back. I ended up finishing the design and will be doing a small production run.
The final version mounts through tent mesh using a magnetic clamp, so it stays put without hooks or straps and keeps airflow elevated without taking up interior space.
The fan is IP67 rated, USB-C powered with adjustable speed, and was selected to balance airflow and noise. It’s quiet enough to sleep with but still moves real air. In a GFC V2 Pro it can refresh roughly a tent-volume of air in about 30–60 seconds, depending on venting (107.4 CFM, 31.5 dB(A) max). The mount components are printed in ASA for durability and UV stability.
I’m planning to soft-launch these at $109 including the fan, starting with a small batch to make sure everything ships smoothly. I wanted to share the update here first since the early feedback was helpful.
Happy to answer questions if anyone’s curious.
