Heated underbelly - do we really need ours?
We camped in the coldest weather we have so far on the past weekend and the temp. got down to just above freezing. The furnace ran non-stop all night and most of the time in the day. I *think* what ...
Forum Discussion
smkettner wrote:
I have no belly cover and I get by just fine. But that is the way mine came.
Tanks and drain pipes are exposed. I actually added electric heat pads for trips to the snow but I think you are fine if just a slight dip below freezing on occasion.
My furnace has replaceable knockouts for each vent. Yours is probably same so easy to delete the vent. Or just redirect into the living space.
Our last 5er had a open belly with two grey and a black tank exposed. The unit didn't use ducts to direct heated air but a hole in the floor into a plastic cover around the tanks. The plastic cover was open on one end.
As part of the purchase price I had the dealer add a thermostatically controlled heating blanket under each tank and then encapsulate each tank with foam. I closed off all the worthless holes in the floor that the mfg says was for heated tanks (what a joke). A 4"-5" hole in the floor for a 2" drain pipe = heated tank
Fresh water tank was inside the unit along with the water lines so no frozen pipes.
We lived in the unit one winter with temps down to zero and 40 mph winds. Winds with temps in the 20s kept the furnace running almost full time.
