In August 2021 we took our 2020 Newmar Dutch Star 4369 (on Spartan chassis) to the Newmar Factory Service Center for warranty work and some ‘specials.’ One of those was to have the convection oven/microwave vented to the outside.
Why we wanted this done
We love to cook, and tend to use the stove top, microwave and convection oven quite often. While Newmar does put a power roof vent directly above the range vent, all those smells still come into the coach. Since we use the coach a lot, and intend to be fulltime in 2022, we thought this was a good investment.
In the end, we’re very pleased with the ‘upgrade’ and the results are immediate. While still at Camp Newmar I made a stir fry on the induction stove top, the second I turned on the fan you noticed the difference!!
The Process
The entire process started with an email to Service stating we were coming in for warranty work, could we order a ‘special’? I simply requested a quote for “vent the convection microwave to the outside.” They quickly responded with a quote around $850 total for parts, paint and 5-hours of labor at the full labor rate ($140 compared to the $115 ‘winter’ rates). While that seemed high, I wasn’t comfortable cutting a hole in the wall myself, nor could I ever match the paint, so we justified the cost and agreed to the quote. They were also able to confirm the work could be completed during our upcoming scheduled visit! Win!
On the first day of working on it, the technician, Robert, removed the convection microwave, built a reinforced backer board, cut the hole through the wall, then built a spacer to fill the void between the wall and the convection microwave itself. He explained how he built that out of aluminum channel and taped everything up so no air could esacape into the wall void. I appreciated his attention to detail – this is the same effort I would’ve gone into myself, having a techician that treats your coach like his own is awesome.
At the end of the day, the coach came back all put together on the inside, with tape over the hole on the outside. The vent cover had been sent off to paint for install the next day.
Mid-morning the next day the vent came back from paint and was installed by the technician. He came to get me…..
This was the first vent that was installed. It was painted to match, but the paint had cracked once the tech went to install it so he was sending it back to be redone. That turned out to be the best thing that happened. I actually hated how it looked, it just didn’t match the fit, finish and quality of the coach. I had envisioned it matching the sleek dryer vent, and it was no where close to that. It wasn’t a conversation I knew to have: what style of vent to install.
I somehow did not get a picture of it installed, probably for the best, I hated it. The screws were all visible from the exterior, it did not match the fit or finish of the coach at all.
It was a standard Dexter\Ventline range vent.
The next morning another tech came to pickup the coach to take it directly to paint (there are rules who can drive it only across the street vs anywhere), and I told him I was unhappy with the vent and could they please look at other options, something that looked similar to the dryer vent. I had done some searching and knew options existed, just didn’t know what they’d have available. I felt like he kind of blew me off, stating this was the best they had, the Luxury line doesn’t even vent these out, etc.
Well, the morning tech did NOT blow me off at all, he and Robert (usual tech) spent the morning looking for another option. Robert found me in the customer lounge late that morning and told me they found a better option and it was in paint and he thought I’d be way happier with it. He had a picture on his phone and I could tell it would be a better, more ‘sleek’ looking.
Sometime after lunch I saw the coach roll into the Service shop, so I wandered out to take a look. I could not be happier with the result!!
The Finish
The final result is everything I had hoped it would be!! I was so pleased when I saw it. The technician, Robert, really went above and beyond to ensure I was happy with the result, and agreed this vent was much better and looked like it came installed off the assembly line.
The new Dexter vent details can be found here.
I got to use the vent that evening as I made dinner. Once I turned on the vent hood fan, the usual rush of air in my face was gone! The forced air now went to the outside, which actually made the noise quieter on the inside. That was an added bonus I didn’t expect, but it of course makes sense.
The vent cover on the outside has a small ‘arm’ to open and close the flap. This flap allows you to completely close the vent to outside elements and critters. I had left it open on my drive home and noticed no noise, however another trip with my wife and she noticed it immediately. I simply closed the vent and the noise was gone, so I’ve added to my pre and post trip steps: close the vent when we leave, open the vent when we arrive in camp, etc. It can be done from the ground using the extension pole I have for washing the coach. Simple!
Parts and Details
This is the quote for our coach, your quote may vary based on year and model as some may be more complex than others. For example, we had just one paint color, but if your vent was in the middle of a swirl that’d likely be a higher paint quote.
Note the ‘Duct Microwave Vent’ part number is the same as the original quote we received, but it was a different vent than originally delivered. If you get this upgrade I would recommend showing them which vent style you want:
- What we installed: Dexter V2250 Exterior Wall Vent, Plastic.
- First one installed and hated: Dexter V2111 Exterior Outlet, plastic, locking damper
Total cost out the door was $845.29, and he even offered me the leftover aluminum channel if I wanted it.
I hope you found this detailed write-up useful should you want to add this ‘special’ to your coach! I’m sure glad we did.
