My 2006 keystone montana has slots cut out under the bottom steps which i assume is for return air it goes into the compartments. When running the furnace say it's in the 30's. I believe i get a fair amount of cool air from the slots as i do with floor ducts say 70//30. Should i put a light bulb in the compartment, close a few of the slots, and i don't think i should close them up. Any ideas? Thanks

RV furnace recirculates inside air.Furnace sucks air from interior back thru the 'return' then warms it by passing it thru the furnace heat exchanger and discharging it thru the floor registersCold air return becomes warm air return as interior of rv warms up until t-stat set point is met.DO not obstruct/restrict return air flow....that will cause furnace to overheat from lack of proper air flow and it will tripLight bulb....never heard of that, don't see need as interior air being recirculated it will warm. Course it won't hurt anything. Just don't see the real benefit.

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I had the same issue with my trailer. Realizing that you cannot restrict the vent air flow, I choose to have my furnace encased with plywood and I attached heat resistant insulation to that plywood. That was 9 years ago and my furnace works fine with minimal draft coming from my uninsulated storage compartment where the furnace is located.

griffy00 wrote:I had the same issue with my trailer. Realizing that you cannot restrict the vent air flow, I choose to have my furnace encased with plywood and I attached heat resistant insulation to that plywood. That was 9 years ago and my furnace works fine with minimal draft coming from my uninsulated storage compartment where the furnace is located.wouldn't make the motor overheat,my furnace isin the corner of the compartment but the motor has a open vent. did you vent it some how? thanks

Old-Biscuit wrote:RV furnace recirculates inside air.Furnace sucks air from interior back thru the 'return' then warms it by passing it thru the furnace heat exchanger and discharging it thru the floor registersCold air return becomes warm air return as interior of rv warms up until t-stat set point is met.DO not obstruct/restrict return air flow....that will cause furnace to overheat from lack of proper air flow and it will tripLight bulb....never heard of that, don't see need as interior air being recirculated it will warm. Course it won't hurt anything. Just don't see the real benefit.

return air on fifth wheel | Good Sam Community

Carl_n_Susan
Nomad II
Dec 08, 2015
Not surprisingly you got lots of opinions from those who don't own a Montana. As someone who owns one and previously owned a 2005 Montana, I can only tell you two things.

1. Those slots *ARE* the return air supply to the heater. Do not close them off. Some have added a HEPA filter there (you have noticed there are no filters in the heating system) but it needs to allow a free flow of air.

2. Join the Montana Owners Club (MOC) forum, a free to join, non-vendor supported site, at MOC. There are over 18,000 Montana owners there and it is a huge repository of all things Montana. Use the "Search" tool (be sure to chack the "Archived Posts" option) to locate previous discussions about the Montana heating system.
Trail-Mate
Explorer
Dec 08, 2015
The only 5th wheels I have ever seen with a return so to speak of is the Open Ranges. This allowed the heat pumped into the underbelly to vent back into the utility area allowing underbelly circulation the vent was in the bathroom. I can say this works very well on my OR. I Full Timed in it 2 years ago thru 2 very cold winters with only a 600watt heater in the utility area that was wired to a 45 degree switch. It did not run much and was there for insurance. I had someone that came in for one week and had an Alpenlite 5th wheel and froze up good for 2 days.

Depending on where the Electrical Breaker box is the slotted step vent is for its cooling fans or venting heat from it. This what mine is for in the OR.
All combustion air is pulled in from outside. I have never seen a direct return line in and RV connected to the heater, only output lines.
GrumpyandGrandm
Explorer
Dec 08, 2015
Gearitis wrote:
I always put an incandescent bulb near the water lines. If the weather man is calling for temps below 29 then I turn on the bulb. It keeps the storage area well above freezing. It was 10 in Kansas City with 30mph winds and the "bulb" kept things from freezing a couple, three winters ago over Christmas. I believe in the "bulb"!

Did the same thing when we had our class "C"s. Had one in the utility compartment, it does work. Had them connected to one of these on at 35 off at 50.

Easy Heat Themostat
Gearitis
Explorer
Dec 08, 2015
I always put an incandescent bulb near the water lines. If the weather man is calling for temps below 29 then I turn on the bulb. It keeps the storage area well above freezing. It was 10 in Kansas City with 30mph winds and the "bulb" kept things from freezing a couple, three winters ago over Christmas. I believe in the "bulb"!
mudmaker
Explorer
Dec 08, 2015
slackeribew wrote:
So the vents in the bottom of the step is the return, it blows awful cold air. The light bulb in the compartment would heat the compartment so the air flow coming out of step would be warmer. Make sense.

Is there another cold air return for the furnace?
RAS43
Explorer III
Dec 08, 2015
If there is cold air coming out of those vents then I don't believe they are return air. Or there is something not ducted correctly. As Old Bisquit stated, the furnace pulls air from the living area and heats it and blows the warmed air out the registers. There shouldn't be cold air coming in thru a vent.
slackeribew
Explorer
Dec 08, 2015
So the vents in the bottom of the step is the return, it blows awful cold air. The light bulb in the compartment would heat the compartment so the air flow coming out of step would be warmer. Make sense.
slackeribew
Explorer
Dec 08, 2015
Old-Biscuit wrote:
RV furnace recirculates inside air.

Furnace sucks air from interior back thru the 'return' then warms it by passing it thru the furnace heat exchanger and discharging it thru the floor registers

Cold air return becomes warm air return as interior of rv warms up until t-stat set point is met.

DO not obstruct/restrict return air flow....that will cause furnace to overheat from lack of proper air flow and it will trip

Light bulb....never heard of that, don't see need as interior air being recirculated it will warm.
Course it won't hurt anything. Just don't see the real benefit.
slackeribew
Explorer
Dec 08, 2015
griffy00 wrote:
I had the same issue with my trailer. Realizing that you cannot restrict the vent air flow, I choose to have my furnace encased with plywood and I attached heat resistant insulation to that plywood. That was 9 years ago and my furnace works fine with minimal draft coming from my uninsulated storage compartment where the furnace is located.

wouldn't make the motor overheat,my furnace isin the corner of the compartment but the motor has a open vent. did you vent it some how? thanks
griffy00
Explorer
Dec 08, 2015
I had the same issue with my trailer. Realizing that you cannot restrict the vent air flow, I choose to have my furnace encased with plywood and I attached heat resistant insulation to that plywood. That was 9 years ago and my furnace works fine with minimal draft coming from my uninsulated storage compartment where the furnace is located.

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