Forum Discussion

dodge_guy's avatar
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Nov 30, 2019

Venting basement storage

Hello. So I'm thinking of mods to do come spring. One of the things that bugs me is how warm/hot the basement storage gets on longer trips in high temps. When it's in the uppers 80's and 90's the basements get very warm/hot. To the point I can't keep my drinks stored in them as they get way to warm. I'm thinking of getting a computer fan to push air from inside the coach into the storage area and let it vent out through a screened opening I would cut into the compartment. I also have a fridge that runs in there and it would help with that too. It's not the fridge running as the other compartments that are separate get just as warm/hot. And it still gets warm even without the fridge running. The engine isn't running hot. Since this is our first MH I'm thinking this is normal for gas class A MH?

Has anyone done a mod like this. It would only be for running down the road and wouldn't run when parked. I just want to make the compartments a bit cooler. It would be nice to keep my extra drinks in the compartments instead of inside.
Class A

7 Replies

  • dodge_guy's avatar
    dodge_guy
    Explorer II
    Dec 01, 2019
    chuckftboy wrote:
    Most of the heat in the basement is from heat from the engine and exhaust on a front engine coach. You would need to dump a lot of a/c down there to get any benifit of cooling. Any air that leaves the inside and is dumped below will be replaced from ooutside through leakage around slides, vents and windows. It would make more sence to just put the drinks in a cooler with a 2 dollar bag of ice.


    Yes that is something I considered. Because when you put on the bath vent you feel the air coming in from other outside areas. At first i may try to insulate the compartments.
  • chuckftboy's avatar
    chuckftboy
    Explorer
    Dec 01, 2019
    Most of the heat in the basement is from heat from the engine and exhaust on a front engine coach. You would need to dump a lot of a/c down there to get any benifit of cooling. Any air that leaves the inside and is dumped below will be replaced from ooutside through leakage around slides, vents and windows. It would make more sence to just put the drinks in a cooler with a 2 dollar bag of ice.
  • doxiemom11's avatar
    doxiemom11
    Explorer II
    Nov 30, 2019
    Insulation works well. Ours have an insulated liner and ours don't get hot. Don't know if you can buy something like that or if it's only/ or used to be available to manufacturers. Ours is a 2000 coach.
  • way2roll's avatar
    way2roll
    Navigator III
    Nov 30, 2019
    Had an issue on one of our previous MH's that the genset was right behind the engine and could over heat. Aside from being behind the engine, the bay got no ventilation. I installed 2 fixed hvac registers (without the adjuster) beside each other in the bin door, painted to match the coach and riveted them in place. Looked factory and solved the problem.
  • dodge_guy's avatar
    dodge_guy
    Explorer II
    Nov 30, 2019
    No. The compartments are not heated from any where. No vents or ducts are run to them. I believe it’s all driveline/roadway heat that is heating them. The only plus for this is that my 50A cord is very easy to lay flat!
  • IB853347201's avatar
    IB853347201
    Nomad
    Nov 30, 2019
    Does your MH have an auxillary coach heater? Could it be that you accidentally have it turned on? This would supply heat to your basement comnpartments from the engine and could cause the issue you discribe in warmer climates...

About Motorhome Group

38,721 PostsLatest Activity: Apr 19, 2023