ATF: North Trail - Underbelly

Is it normal for the underbelly enclosure material to be sagging? All tanks are empty but there is significant bow in the underbelly cover near where the waste and grey tanks are mounted.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Likely not normal. Pull down the underbelly material yourself or have a dealer/service center do it to see what's going on. For more details on how to go about this, please contact your dealer or Heartland Customer Service (877-262-8032).

Jim
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Sagging or visibly drooping (like your rig is going to have a pop-up baby)? Unless it's been secured to a cross member, it probably does sag a bit. Mine is dry underneath but does sag where it's not supported across a large area forward of the axles. I had a pretty good look-see while fishing the wiring for my jacks. It's basically a corrugated plastic cardboard.
 

OrangeWing

Member
Hey John... I have a 2011 Focus which has been renamed North Trail.. and was looking at the underbelly just tonight. Noticed the same bulging.. but you're right.. looks like just corrugated plastic... I was looking at it to possibly run a 12V line to the back of the unit for my satellite connection. I was thinking of removing some of the screws holding the belly cover to put the wires underneath. That sounds like what you did with yours. Did that work OK for you and any ideas/cautions?
Thanks!
 

TeJay

Well-known member
Dave,
It is worth a look under the cover to see if anything is loose. We had a shower leak fixed following our maiden voyage. They left the main water tank full following testing of the shower. I drove it home and began installing wet bolts on the suspension system. When looking back I noticed a 7 inch sag in the underbelly below the water tank. One of the straps broke. Wheels RV in Tontitown AR completed the sag repair. They placed a piece of wood covering the bottom and installed 2 extra straps. Their repair was excellent and they were very helpful. The bathroom and underbelly furnace hose was kinked and 4 feet to long. That was also corrected.
This is my opinion but I don't think HL does the best on the underbelly stuff. It lacks some TLC/QC when lines are run. The water lines are run very close to the frame. That can't help much to prevent freezing. The 24-RBS is advertised as a 4-Seasons camper with a heated underbelly. I was told by a factory rep to take that term with a grain of salt. We specifically searched for a camper with a heated underbelly so we could camp in colder weather. We're not wanting to head to Alaska in the winter but camping in some temps below freezing but not into the low 20's or teens. We live in AR and often get several days with great weather in Oct-Dec. There's one 3-inch furnace vent to the underbelly. There is very little room for the heat to transfer to all of the areas which are needed to prevent freezing. The vent that heats the underbelly is the same vent for the bathroom and that leaves very little heated air for the bathroom.
We had the underbelly insulated but 'll probably pull that down and add some heat tape to the water lines for extra protection.
TeJay
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Hey John... I have a 2011 Focus which has been renamed North Trail.. and was looking at the underbelly just tonight. Noticed the same bulging.. but you're right.. looks like just corrugated plastic... I was looking at it to possibly run a 12V line to the back of the unit for my satellite connection. I was thinking of removing some of the screws holding the belly cover to put the wires underneath. That sounds like what you did with yours. Did that work OK for you and any ideas/cautions?
Thanks!

I didn't have a lot of difficulty, other than getting the "I wanna stay curled" fish tape through a crossmember between the axles. Then I kept getting snagged pulling the wires forward until the "lucky" pull. But I was pulling four heavy gage wires in a plastic conduit. When you're removing the screws and pull the Coroplast down, don't be directly under the edge. I did get a small amount of water come out and got my cordless driver out of the way in the nick of time. The water was between the Coroplast and the foil/bubble insulation, so I think it was just collected condensation. Above the insulation, all was dry. It's also not necessary to remove all of the screws, just enough to be able to work the tape and wire.

My suggestion is to not have anyone around with tender ears. That wire did have a momma and she was spoken of badly.
 
Update....I got my trailer back from the dealer. According to the service rep, he contacted heartland and was told the underbelly sag was normal. I asked him three times if he looked under the corrugated plastic to make sure the waste and water tanks were secure. He assured me that he did. I am not real sure about that as the bolts don't show any sign of recent tooling. I can only hope they did and everything in normal and tight. I also got my new trailer with a 1 foot square repaired torn section of underbelly covering. Black duct tape was used and the dealer told me it was that way when they got it. The service rep told me Heartland advised him to repair it with what he called "body tape." In my opinion, they should have patched it with something better than tape.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Well Dave, sounds like your dealer did the repair the cheap easy way. The screws that hold the corroplast on are easy to get to and it does not take much time to remove for an inspection. It's just me ...but I would be very unhappy that they cut the corroplast and just taped it back together.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Don't expect the fasteners to look like they've been beat to death if the dealer removed them to drop the Coroplast. After working mine with an 18V Impact Driver, you couldn't tell they'd been touched.
 
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