Winnebago cold air leaks

[garyemunson]

We just purchased a new 2015 Winnebago Vista 'left-over'. My problem probably applies to most Winnebago 2015s as the dashs seem to be the same. It gets cold out West at night and we noticed quite a bit of cold air seeping into the front of the RV under the dash on both sides when parked for the night. The 2015 Winnebagos have a huge molded dash that would be near impossible to remove to chase air leaks and I was hoping someone else has had and found the remedy for this issue. Because of the dash, access from inside is very limited so getting in to apply spray foam in all needed areas would be very difficult if not impossible. Anyone out there encounter this and fix it?

[fourmat]

garyemunson wrote:
What I finally found was that the A/C-heater box is held to the front of the firewall with a number of 3/8 nuts. The box is plastic and has a rubber gasket attached to it that seals it to the firewall. Looking at the bottom of it from under the front passenger wheel well there appeared to be a gap between the gasket and firewall. I found a hacksaw blade easily slid in the space. Either the gasket had shrunk a little since the coach was built or the nuts holding the box to the firewall were never properly tightened. I suspect #2. I snugged up all the nuts and now do not have that gap. Waiting for another cold snap to see it that was all of it...

You may want to put some loc tite on them

[garyemunson]

What I finally found was that the A/C-heater box is held to the front of the firewall with a number of 3/8 nuts. The box is plastic and has a rubber gasket attached to it that seals it to the firewall. Looking at the bottom of it from under the front passenger wheel well there appeared to be a gap between the gasket and firewall. I found a hacksaw blade easily slid in the space. Either the gasket had shrunk a little since the coach was built or the nuts holding the box to the firewall were never properly tightened. I suspect #2. I snugged up all the nuts and now do not have that gap. Waiting for another cold snap to see it that was all of it...

[garyemunson]

Once it warms up a little and I get the RV back out of the storage yard, that's my next project!

[Clay_L]

Have you checked the firewall from the outside for gaps? I had a couple of gaps that could only be seen with the hood open.

[timmac]

Well the nights have been cold here in Nevada as late, my Bounder is also colder up near the front than the back, they don't insulate the front area under the dash very well in most motorhomes, I have seen some people use thick blankets and place them over the dash during the winter months for insulation, also all those windows up front add to the cold coming in as well, just wait come July/August you will be complaining hot the RV is even while the a/c's are running..

[smacdiesel]

Haven't noticed drafts like that in our vista, but we don't cold camp much either. I hope you get it fixed, it's a pain trusting a dealer to fix things.

[imgoin4it]

Turn the dash heater/acnd control to "off" or max acnd. These are the only two positions that close up and seal the front of the coach from taking outside air staight into the inside. Do that first and then go from there if you still feel cold air.

[garyemunson]

Thanks for that tip, however, the air leaks seem to be coming in around the sides and top of the a/c-heater unit on the passenger side and from somewhere above the steering column on the driver's side. Not from any of the various ducts and grilles on the hvac.

[rgatijnet1]

Make sure that when you park for the night, you close the dash vent by pushing the button for "recirculate" rather than for fresh air in. This must be done while the engine is running.

[dougrainer]

The simple solution is the go to a Winne Dealer and have them fix it. It is under warranty. Air leaks are a warranty issue. Doug