Finally, an RV Manufacturer that gets it

Our Minnie Winnie came with thermal panes and we really like them.
One issue ignored by industry is height of ceiling, bed, cabinettes, etc.
Horse and stock trailer industry has it figured out... stnd and tall top. Tall top is 6" higher than standard top.
Why... not RVs? I'm at Camping World... a lady checking out tells the clerk "dang microwave in our new Class A is so high I have to use a stool to reach it". The couple behind them in line says... "ya I had to buy a stool to get into our bed". The clerk looks at me, and I say "I agree with them, first thing we bought was a stool as our ceiling is crazy tall and my wife can't reach any cabinettes".
Seems RV industry could offer a standard top and tall top. 6" lower standard top would also reduce hwy windage by 4 square feet. And think about the weight reduction with 6" lower side walls, etc.

GrumpyandGrandma wrote:

vikrv wrote:


Now if they would just add some cold weather capability like enclosed and heated tanks again like in our '06 plus thermal-pane windows and improved insulation.

We have friends who had their coach retrofited with "Thermal Panes" and he said "don't waste your money" they did not make a significant difference. Also we have been out in 17 degree weather, no artic package or themal windows and had no problems. Our tanks are enclosed however.

Thermal panes increase the window R value from R-1 to R-2. Not a significant difference, the main advantage of thermal panes is the the lack of condensation on the inside of the windows.

@rivercity22

Yes, the burner is propane but the motor that circulates the air is 12v.

Sorry...didn't refresh the page before I replied. You already have the answer.

Just an interesting note. I have a 30 ft C that I use for travel, but I purchased a used Jayco Designer Fifth wheel that I use while I'm in Florida for the winter. It was originally built for Canada to their RV standards. It has incredible insulation all around. So the manufacturer's can produce them.

Lantley wrote:

rivercity22 wrote:

vikrv wrote:
Don't forget, your furnace is running too, drawing 8-9 amps. Many folks are concerned about having enough battery capacity to run their furnace all night during a cold night, and to add tank heaters on top of that dry camping? Sure, just below freezing not an issue, but at 20F another story.

I'm a new RV owner (2011 Jayco Greyhawk) so please don't laugh at me but isn't the furnace also fueled by LP gas.

It is fueled by LP but the blower and control circuits are 12 volt

Ok never even thought about that. How many amps does the average blower draw?

Using electricity, especially from a generator, strikes me as being horribly inefficient. A generator converts 1/3 of the fuel energy into electricity and 2/3 into heat. The furnace should be twice as efficient.

vikrv wrote:


Now if they would just add some cold weather capability like enclosed and heated tanks again like in our '06 plus thermal-pane windows and improved insulation.

We have friends who had their coach retrofited with "Thermal Panes" and he said "don't waste your money" they did not make a significant difference. Also we have been out in 17 degree weather, no artic package or themal windows and had no problems. Our tanks are enclosed however.

Good points above regarding both the propane furnace fan and heating pads taking battery power!

Barring a large enough battery bank to handle both of those heavy power needs every 24 hours - and given we're talking about drycamping ... which in many drycamp sites means no generator restrictions - in really cold temps I'd merely run our small Honda generator most of the night, too. We have an ultra-quiet 650 watt four-stroke Honda that would handle both power draws just fine via the RV's built-in converter. Our propane furnace has ducted vents throughout the RV and the plastic 3 inch (warm when the furnace runs) duct piping passes through all of the interior water plumbing cavities so as to keep the fresh water tank and pipes from freezing.

rivercity22 wrote:

vikrv wrote:
Don't forget, your furnace is running too, drawing 8-9 amps. Many folks are concerned about having enough battery capacity to run their furnace all night during a cold night, and to add tank heaters on top of that dry camping? Sure, just below freezing not an issue, but at 20F another story.

I'm a new RV owner (2011 Jayco Greyhawk) so please don't laugh at me but isn't the furnace also fueled by LP gas.

It is fueled by LP but the blower and control circuits are 12 volt

rivercity22 wrote:

vikrv wrote:
Don't forget, your furnace is running too, drawing 8-9 amps. Many folks are concerned about having enough battery capacity to run their furnace all night during a cold night, and to add tank heaters on top of that dry camping? Sure, just below freezing not an issue, but at 20F another story.

I'm a new RV owner (2011 Jayco Greyhawk) so please don't laugh at me but isn't the furnace also fueled by LP gas.

Yes, but not the blower fan and controller board.