Review on Lippert Components 389381 Siphon Roof by Paul Barnes

I am sure this product will be excellent and will work great once installed. My rating is "less than 5 stars" and the comments are about installation and instructions. I have 3 vents and sometimes my 5th wheel smelled like sewer so I decided to do something about it. I watched numerous YouTube videos, took notes, and collected tools and installation materials. Climbing onto the roof, lugging everything in, and then turning off the old vent is a big deal for me. Before I get started, I read the extremely short and compact manual about 10 times. The installation does not look like a YouTube video. The latest model, sold at Revain and Lippert.com, allows you to retrofit an old 360 bleed cap, saving about half the labor. However, the instructions are so short and the parts so "universal" that it takes some time to figure out which parts to use and how to put them together. The largest component is the distinctive outer cover, the other parts are the adapters and the funnel. Luckily, I was familiar with my bleeder caps from having checked them for clogs last year, so I was able to determine that "number 3" matched my old bleeder caps, which gave me a head start on site to figure out how to install them. On the roof I took off my old hat and then read the instructions 10 more times before I fully understood what I had to do. I wanted the vent to work properly and didn't want to go past the "point of no return" without being sure it could be installed properly. The new vent MUST be glued on along with the regular overlap sealant covering the base. Some of the parts that seem important are actually OPTIONAL. Other parts are obviously adapters for different sizes of air ducts. After the third vent, I was sure that I installed the cover correctly. The biggest lesson I learned was that cutting the vent tube in older videos is a big step and no longer necessary. Installation will be easier if there is about 1.5 inches of pipe sticking out of the old vent cover. Cutting the old pipe to less than 1 inch makes the installation a little more difficult. If you have more than 2 inches you will end up with a very ugly vent with a black pipe sticking out between your white roof and a nice white 360 vent. After preparing the old vent by cutting off the legs, I connected the components to check the fit, then re-read the instructions (again) to see where the glue and where the lap sealant had gone. The guide should be much more comprehensive, with better pictures and step-by-step instructions. There are many contingencies for pipe diameters and heights that are difficult to decipher. It's hard to determine what components are needed, so a parts list and an explanation of what they are for would be helpful. Hope the glue holds. I really would have preferred to have had a few screws with me to hold the components in place. The time will show. If one of them comes loose I have to repeat the process, but I improvise by adding a few screws on the side to attach it more securely. We are traveling from New England to Arizona in December and will be sure to check the vents on arrival and then update this review. I might also update the review if it stands.