Underbelly Heat... Where is it and what does it look like?

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
We are trying to prep our rig for better winter camping. We have removed the underbelly chloroplast, rolled back the metallic bubble wrap insulation, and I cannot locate the vent that supposed to come from the furnace and heat the underbelly. Does anyone have pics or an guide me to where to look?

We found a slit in the fabric underpinning that we thought might be where it's supposed to be but I'm not sure. Could HL have failed to install it?

Any help would be appreciated!

E
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Not sure how your basement is laid out behind the walls, but if you look at the photo, you can see a small diameter gray flexhose duct behind the water heater going down to oblivion. That duct blows back into the underbelly, providing the underbelly heating. Not sure how effective it might be though.
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
John I swear you have got your moneys worth for that pic. I think I've seen it a hundred times already. ;)
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Since you've got the under belly material removed and can access the tank, the best method by far would be to add tank heaters. If not heaters, consider wrapping the fresh water line to the pump with a heat tape and insulation and route the plug up to the basement. Also check the cables for your tank valves and make sure connections are tight. Have fun in there!
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
We are adding tank heater and pipe heaters. :) just trying to locate the heat that supposed to be there already. Well, we have the gray flex duct going there, but no "vent" in the belly. John are you sure that goes to the belly? Or is that how the heated air goes from the first floor ducts to the bathroom and bedroom?

Would love a factory response.

E
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
We are adding tank heater and pipe heaters. :) just trying to locate the heat that supposed to be there already. Well, we have the gray flex duct going there, but no "vent" in the belly. John are you sure that goes to the belly? Or is that how the heated air goes from the first floor ducts to the bathroom and bedroom?

Would love a factory response.

E

That's how mine is set up. The bathroom and bedroom ducts are the two larger ones rising vertically. The ones for the rear floor registers can be seen coming out of end of the furnace, but are wrapped in black covered insulation and are the same size as the other two large ones. The smaller one heading down is just an open duct at the end that blows under the main floor towards the tanks.

One of these days (next summer) I might get frisky and drop the coroplast to get a real good look under there. So far I've just peeked enough to run some wiring for my Ground Control jacks along the edge.
 

boatdoc

Well-known member
Just had our coroplast down and our heat duct to the tanks is just as John says. It's a smaller diameter than the other and is not wrapped with insulation like the others. It was just hanging there and I placed it between the upper black tank and lower grey tank.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
photo-6.jpgphoto-7.jpgphoto(1).jpg

We don't have the dropped frame for the basement. Here are some pics of our "behind the wall". We do not have ductwork visible in the underbelly, Ours is the metal box ductwork running the length of the unit first floor. There was not a vent pointed at the underbelly. The grey flex duct in the pics carries heat from the boxed ductwork of the 1st floor to the boxed ductwork of the upstairs bath and bedroom.

We can't find any evidence that heat gets to the basement or underbelly. We made a new vent ourselves. I'll post a pic later.

Erika
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Erika, none of your pictures show the furnace. That is where the small flex duct will come from and shoot right down to the belly. At least that is what I have seen in the past.

Peace
Dave
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Pic 1ElkRidgeunderbelly area under furnace.jpgPic 2ElkRidgeunderbelly fresh tank.jpgPic 3ElkRidgeunderbelly added vent.jpgPic 4ElkRidgeunderbelly black tank.jpg

Pictures! Moving from just behind the back wheels, toward the front of the coach, looking from door side toward the off-door side.
Pic 1: Grey tank directly under the kitchen... the brass elbows are new, we removed the low-point drain that Tee'd off of these lines. They run up into the coach, right next to where the furnace is located. There are no vents from the furnace into the underbelly.
Pic 2: The freshwater tank with new heat pad attached.
Pic 3: Between the fresh and the back is where we added a new vent. The largest open area, and where most of the valves and pipes are, between the fresh and black tanks.
Pic 4: black tank, and you can see the red and blue pipes going up to the basement area.

Erika
 

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