borninblue wrote:
I did not even think of the benefits of keeping the trailer components clean. With an open underside do you have to clean it often? Do you feel it is more likely mice will invade than if it was open?
Clean an open underbelly? Why? :h The surface is no different than that of an enclosed underbelly and isn't any cleaner or dirtier either way. As for mice the only time I had problems was with my KZ Spree which did have an enclosed underbelly full of fiberglass batting around the tanks that the mice obviously fell in love with, with an open underbelly there's nothing to "invade". ;) Those mice got into 3 of the 5 heating ducts in the Spree but I got lucky in that those ducts were flexible ducting run above the floor through the cabinetry ... had it been underfloor duct work I'd have had to open up the enclosed underbelly completely in order to replace those 3 ducts. :M
Open up an enclosed underbelly in order to gain access for a repair (which I've had to do with
every trailer I've ever owned) and I can virtually guarantee you'll find a rats' nest of loose wiring strung all over the place ... not fun when you're laying on your back and wet fiberglass falls out all over the place. :M The open underbelly of my current Coachmen Freedom Express is completely clear and any wiring or plumbing, what little there is of it, is neatly secured everywhere - no rats' nest at all. The reason is simple - during construction the trailer frame is flipped upside down for installation of the tanks, plumbing, wiring, axles, etc and in the case of a trailer with an enclosed underbelly the insulation & sheeting used to enclose it, usually Coroplast. Knowing that, there's little care taken by the installers to properly secure wiring and the end result is a rats' nest of wiring strung every which way ... with an open underbelly there's no choice but to dress and secure it all properly.
With an enclosed underbelly one of the most common oversights committed by trailer manufacturers - insufficiently supported and therefore sagging holding tanks - won't be obvious. With an open underbelly this is instantly obvious, particularly after the tanks have initially been filled and will often sag considerably, just as the FW tank in my Coachmen did ...
... allowing me to easily come up with a remedy - having my dealer install additional support for the tank ...
With that done I moved the pump's intake draw from the sidewall of the tank to the bottom drain port and can now draw ALL the water from the tank, not just the top 10 gals. With an enclosed underbelly one wouldn't be aware of
any of this but instead be left wondering why the pump is unable to fully empty the tank. :h Eventually you'd figure it out but then have to open that darned enclosed underbelly to enable a fix. :M
As for tank heating, the vast majority of trailers with an enclosed underbelly simply have a couple of short pieces of flexible 2" duct running down from the furnace to the tank area. It's a meagre solution at best, obviously only does anything at all when the furnace is running so if you largely depend on an electric heater as your primary source of heat during cold weather there'll be little to no benefit at all. Better those ducts are sealed off any heat otherwise wasted be instead directed into the trailer itself. Those who do winter camp and do have an enclosed underbelly would be far better off using electric tank heaters such as those offered by
Ultra Heat ... but for those not camping in below freezing temperatures this is entirely moot.
Much of the commentary from those preferring an enclosed underbelly is also from those claiming to camp in subfreezing temperatures ... but you already said in your original post that you
"wont really be doing any cold weather camping less than 30 degrees". That being the case, and considering all of the above, what advantage is there in spending another $450 for an enclosed underbelly? :h
