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Old 05-31-2011, 05:35 PM   #1
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Is our underbelly actually heated?

I looked under the trailer today and could find no heating ducts at all. I can see down both sides of the tanks and the only hole I could see, was where the fresh water tank hoses are. There was also no holes, directly below the furnace.

If Sunline went to the trouble to insulate the underbelly of our fifth wheel, then why wouldn't it be heated?
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Old 05-31-2011, 07:38 PM   #2
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Maybe they jsut count on heat transfer through thin paneling between the storage compartment and the living space. Or like in our old motorhome there was a grillework between the two spaces. The grille looked out of place until I saw where it went. or maybe sunline just didn't plan ahead.

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Old 06-01-2011, 03:42 PM   #3
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Hey Jim..

There is too much space between the living area and the underbelly, for that. Since heat rises, I can't imagine how it would even be possible. There is also no grillwork between the spaces. I would have found that. Sunline didn't mention a heated underbelly, until the 2004 fifth wheel brochure. Perhaps they just never installed in, in the 2003 models..
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Old 06-01-2011, 04:43 PM   #4
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Project before the next freeze? Ductwork would be a easy fix.

Edited to add: PO of our unit added a extra heat outlet at the cabinet by teh rear wall. Helps with cold air by the bed on our T2363.

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Old 06-01-2011, 05:07 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim-Bev-2363 View Post
Project before the next freeze? Ductwork would be a easy fix.

I may be able to add a piece of ducting to the basement. but it will take some figuring and planning. I believe I could tap into an existing duct, under the bathroom drawers. There are two ducts there and they do not interfere with the basement. I should be able to route a single duct to the underbelly.

Thanks for the idea!
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Old 06-01-2011, 06:56 PM   #6
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Gary

On ours the heat ducting runs thru the tank compartment on the way to the bed room and bath room. There is no actual duct that empties out into the compartment.

See here with the cover dropped




Since I could never find anything where someone could tell me how cold can you go, I installed a temperature sensor so I could read it myself.

See senor


I also added a layer of Reflectix on the bottom for added insurance




I know I have a pic somewhere.... of the gage mounted but can't seem to locate right now.

When it is 19F outside and the furnace runs the tank compartment reached around 79F. And over night when 19F out the lowest the tank area was 45.

So on my setup I saw no need to add an open duct to pump heat directly in. The convection off the 2 ducts was plenty enough.

Do you have at least a duct running through there on the way to some other room?

John
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Old 06-02-2011, 06:25 PM   #7
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[QUOTE=JohnB;95986

Do you have at least a duct running through there on the way to some other room?

John[/QUOTE]


John,

I've traced all the ducting and found it all above the level of the underbelly. There is only one place I haven't looked and that is under the bottom of the cabinet, under the breakfast bar. There is one duct coming out of there and it points toward the sofa-bed. If it has a tee pointing down, it would come out behind the fresh tank. Other than that possibility, there is no ducting in the underbelly.

BTW: Philip and I managed to get the underbelly put back up today. We had a lot of trouble getting it up and I may end up going to coroplast later. Sunline welded a 3-4" wide piece of 1/8" steel plate horizontally, along the bottom of the frame rails. The underbelly is attached to that. It made getting the underbelly properly placed, impossible.
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Old 06-03-2011, 10:55 AM   #8
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Gary

I have that same 2" ~ 1/16" to 3/32 thick strip too to hold the cover on. See here. It is all wavey which is problem 1



The coroplast is lighter for sure but it will droop over time. I had to add left to right hold up bars to keep if from sagging.

Every time I take the cover off I swear I'm going to fix this thing... Havn't made it there yet. With the axle and shocks work I was doing I had on and off more then I want to remember.

Those 1/4" self tapping screws are an issue over time. The hole in the metal strip get's wallied out and the screws falls out. I hope I never find one in a tire....
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Old 06-03-2011, 03:23 PM   #9
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The problem I found with my underbelly, was that it's too wide. Had it been 1/2" more narrow, it would have fit nicely. I ended up replacing the factory self-tapping screws with larger ones from Lowes. They also have a 5/16" hex head on them and are easier for me to install and remove.

Edit: I also noticed something else different, besides the curious lack of heating duct in our 311. Your main drain is routed below the frame rail. The 311 has it going through the frame rail and the handle rods also go through the frame rail. If our underbelly were heated, nothing would be able to freeze easily.



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Old 06-03-2011, 07:32 PM   #10
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It looks like that last section of grey drain pipe goes uphill or is that just an illusion?
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Old 06-03-2011, 08:34 PM   #11
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Gary

The grey tank pipe you see on mine is a dry pipe until I dump. The dump valves are on the ends of the tank so that is good even though the cover is not flat in this area.

See the pull rod here


and here


The gray pipe does join the black below the frame as the black exits under the frame.


Here is all that is exposed and it is dry. I added the pink 2" insulation to close up the 2 triangle shapes that use to be wide open


In the case of the TT setup, I'm glad they did not cut thru the frame to add a 3" dump pipe. These flat tanks in mine do not drain "stuff" well. Nothing like my T2499 with a pitched tank. I'm sure glad I have 2 tank rinsers in the T310 black tank.

With out them there would always be lots of "stuff" left in side.

John
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Old 06-04-2011, 05:51 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gene View Post
It looks like that last section of grey drain pipe goes uphill or is that just an illusion?

That's how it left the factory and how it was, for 9 years. I put a piece of pipe strap around it and it's now the way it should be...
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Old 06-04-2011, 02:33 PM   #13
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Gary, I was doing some work on our rig today relocating the on/off switch for the electric water heater element to a spot beside the micro monitor when I noticed a T in the foil heating duct going through the floor into the enclosed underbelly right beside the hot water tank.Now until I get the enclosed underbelly off I won't know how this duct is routed or if it is just a vent to the underbelly. I am wondering if they didn't install this duct on your rig for some reason. We can take a better look at it at Buttonwood next weekend if you want.
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Old 06-04-2011, 05:16 PM   #14
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Here's a picture I took, before I installed the new WH. Is one of these T'd in yours?

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Old 06-04-2011, 07:33 PM   #15
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Quote:
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Here's a picture I took, before I installed the new WH. Is one of these T'd in yours?

Yes, there is a T off one of those foil ducts that goes down through the floor in our unit.
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Old 06-05-2011, 07:46 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trailblazer View Post
Yes, there is a T off one of those foil ducts that goes down through the floor in our unit.
More evidence, that our unit may have been the prototype for the "New" fifth wheels. Not always a good thing!
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