Furrion Microwave external fan MOD 367BHS

[John Stein]

Was disappointed when we took delivery and noticed the nice convection micro which has the simple ability to vent to the outside was installed as a recirculating vent. Not good for those who want to cook and make smoke. I will be taking the unit down and cutting a hole in our rig soon, and have asked GD for help. They are now confirming that there is nothing int he wall behind the microwave so that I can vent to the outside. Seems they are, this week, doing a 'run' of 367BHS's and the person I am speaking with will literally be watching an assembly to be sure of what is back there.

Will post notes when done, but if anyone in the meantime has done this mod, please post your thoughts. Thanks.

[jkoval]

310GK owner here, this is the first camper we’ve had that didn’t vent to the outside also. Generally if we are doing any serious cooking, we run the maxi vent in the kitchen roof and the microwave fan which is pulling steam from the range top and blowing it out overhead. It’s worked OK so far and it is one less hole in the skin and one less vent to secure for travel...

[livinthelife]

310GK owner here, this is the first camper we’ve had that didn’t vent to the outside also. Generally if we are doing any serious cooking, we run the maxi vent in the kitchen roof and the microwave fan which is pulling steam from the range top and blowing it out overhead. It’s worked OK so far and it is one less hole in the skin and one less vent to secure for travel...

That's what I do, also.

[traveldawg]

Was disappointed when we took delivery and noticed the nice convection micro which has the simple ability to vent to the outside was installed as a recirculating vent. Not good for those who want to cook and make smoke. I will be taking the unit down and cutting a hole in our rig soon, and have asked GD for help. They are now confirming that there is nothing int he wall behind the microwave so that I can vent to the outside. Seems they are, this week, doing a 'run' of 367BHS's and the person I am speaking with will literally be watching an assembly to be sure of what is back there.

Will post notes when done, but if anyone in the meantime has done this mod, please post your thoughts. Thanks.

or..... you can unmount the microwave, use the template provided with the microwave installation instructions and, using a razor knife, just cut the luan paneling where the opening goes and see if is just styrofoam insulation there or if there is any framing. If there is framing (aluminum stud?) you can still make the hole as I'd guess the framing is only 1.5" or 2" wide so it wouldn't necessarily block much exhaust air.

anyhow - that's how I figured I'd find out. I did that with the hole I made for my power cord reel opening. I did find blocking that GD was suppose to drill through for the 50a power receptacle they installed, but they missed that my 2".

If for some reason you decide an external vent is not possible after cutting the luan you can just glue it back on. No one will see it since the microwave will cover it.

[SKI367BHS]

John,
Did you ever get this resolved and a solution from GD? We just purchased a 367 and I don't like the recerc venting either. I know we can run the maxx fan, but it would be nice to only exhaust the stuff over the stove.

[John Stein]

I am selling our 367BHS due to a huge life change, so I did not do the upgrade, that said, Grand Design made multiple promises to identify if anything was there but never did get back to me and I got tired asking. The comments above are exactly on point. The max fan is what we do too, of course, as well as removing all the stupid metal blinds and valence........which are horrible to clean when right over the greasy areas....and as far as installation, yes drop the micro, use the template and cut carefully in case GD did something different behind the wall, just go slow, and if you cannot or choose not to finish it, just re hand the micro, non harm no foul

[SKI367BHS]

John,
I'm sorry to hear about the changes life threw at you guys. Sometimes those changes can be...well...overwhelming. Thank you for replying even though you are embroiled in the changes.
I think I'll give this mod a whirl once it warms up and before we start our trips. Having only camped in this for about a week hunting, the times we did dinner it got pretty bad in there (part of that was my nephews and their "cooking" abilities...LOL.
Yeah the metal blinds are coming down and I think I'll do some one way film there or something. While hunting I was dissapointed to learn there was not an external vent. I do like the max fan, but it can suck out the warm air quick in the winter. Having something over the cook top is a much more efficient way to exhaust that stuff.
My 5th wheel goes in for soem warr work in March so between now and then I'll do my research and get ready. I know I'll need to pick up some parts (external vent housing and flapper) and get it done.

Thanks again for the reply, I do appreciate it.

All the best going forward!

[JustSomethingSimple]

Thanks for the Thread and info John. We Just purchased our 2020 367bhs, The salesman actually told us the vent was externally exhausted... My fault for not verifying. Looks like I will be following and eventually tackling this same mod. We are full time and cook often so the external vent is gonna be necessary.

[powerscol]

A quality electronic stud finder will work finding the aluminum framing. or go old school and tap along the interior wall with the back of a screwdriver. To verify you can uses push pins to get through the interior paneling and verify. Also on a frosty morning you should be able to clearly see where the framing is.

Hope this helps

BTW if you outside vent is sticking, pull the cover, remove the flapper and carefully sand the flapper edges to get clearance and stop the sticking.

[traveldawg]

I finally cut a hole to vent the microwave to the outside. There was no stud in the way, but there was some metal plate in the wall, presumably to have something for the lower mounting point screws to have something to bite into.. It extended up a lot further than the support brace that was mounted to support the microwave but it was easy to cut through with a multitool as it was pretty thin gauge. It was laminated between the inside luan and the foam insulation.