Closable Vents

mierwins

Member
The vents for the A/C and heat should be closable. I find that not nearly as much air flow gets to the front of the trailer as the back room and kitchen in my 3300RLB.

Does anyone know where to get replacement round style vents that can be closed for the A/C?
 

ezrhino

Member
HI Jim,

Thanks for the help. I see you linked with D&W Inc as a vent supply resource. I had already located them as well. The porblem Im encountering is the existing hole for the vent is 5 1/8 in diameter. the replacement vent option I have with DW vents is to either use a smaller diameter vent of 4 11/16 or the larger vent of 5 13/16.
If i go with the larger vent i have to enlarge the existing hole from 5 1/8 to 5 13/16. I dont feel comfortable doing this unless the factory does this and can walk me through the process. Using the smaller vent leaves a considerable gap between the existing hole wall and the new vent opening. Frustration is begining to set in and Ive only owned the trailer for two weeks. The factory should really consider making closable vents an option on new trailers to direct airflow. The cost of doing so is negligible and it would go a long way in what appears to be a very common complaint from Heartland owners according to this websites forums. I think it would also be a great idea if Heartland would attempt to locate an aftermarker supplier that either has a retrofit vent opening that closes to replace existing non closable ones or have one made that fits the exsiting hole diameter of 5 1/8 inches.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
HI Jim,

Thanks for the help. I see you linked with D&W Inc as a vent supply resource. I had already located them as well. The porblem Im encountering is the existing hole for the vent is 5 1/8 in diameter. the replacement vent option I have with DW vents is to either use a smaller diameter vent of 4 11/16 or the larger vent of 5 13/16.
If i go with the larger vent i have to enlarge the existing hole from 5 1/8 to 5 13/16. I dont feel comfortable doing this unless the factory does this and can walk me through the process. Using the smaller vent leaves a considerable gap between the existing hole wall and the new vent opening. Frustration is begining to set in and Ive only owned the trailer for two weeks. The factory should really consider making closable vents an option on new trailers to direct airflow. The cost of doing so is negligible and it would go a long way in what appears to be a very common complaint from Heartland owners according to this websites forums. I think it would also be a great idea if Heartland would attempt to locate an aftermarker supplier that either has a retrofit vent opening that closes to replace existing non closable ones or have one made that fits the exsiting hole diameter of 5 1/8 inches.

I ordered the larger vents and will let you know how they work out...looks like i will cut off the inserted upper flange on the new vents and leave the factory hole the size it is. This will make the new vents mount flush over the existing hole like the factory vents were.
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
I installed the new adjustable AC vents today. Took about 20 minutes per vent to install. I had to enlarge the ceiling hole openings aprox. 1/2", used a (Rotozip) to cut the hole larger. I also had to cut 7/8" off overall height of the new vent as it penetrated too far inside the duct restricting flow. (used a Dremel tool). Its nice to have the added air control to keep the bedroom cool.
 

mierwins

Member
Did it seem to make an airflow difference for you in the bedroom? I opted for the CD solution (put a CD in the stock A/C vents) and it didn't seem to matter. I first did the "tent in a vent" solution and think I did it perfectly, however no noticable airflow difference exists. It still seems like the front bedroom just gets a "puff" of air.

On a somewhat related note, how is everyone's experience with heat? I ordered the dampered floor vents to control some of the heat and ended up closing both the ones in the main coach area and the bathroom. Good flow up front by the thermostat (seems like an odd place for a vent) but the back bedroom always seems 5-7 degrees colder than the main area of the coach which is always too toasty. Seems like there should be more airflow to the extremeties of the trailer rather than the center.

Just wondering if anyone else experiences the same heating/cooling issues. Other than this we love the trailer!
 

westxsrt10

Perfict Senior Member
I installed 2 adjust. damper AC vents, one at the rear of the unit and the other near the return register. Closing those 2 vents made a significant increase in air flow to the bedroom (guessing 25%-30%).

As far as the heating system goes i have yet to improve it much. The bedroom still stays colder even after installing the 4 new adjustable damper vents. I also installed an air deflecter inside the floor bedroom vent, its aimed at the bed. Turning on the upper AC (fan only setting) seemed to heat up the whole unit evenly.
 

shaneandtammymoore

Shane & Tammy
A/c

Hey guys. Bighorn owner here if I may jump in because I dealt with the airflow problem on mine. Here is what worked for me. If you read on dometics website, they tell you a 15k BTU unit requires a minimum of 8 vents. Mine only had 6 so I added 3 more. I did the "vent tent". I also noticed that the trunk lines of the system ran way past the last vent openings. I blocked off at the last vent on both sides front an rear with sheet metal. They tell you not to do this, but with the added vents and blocking the trunk lines off, my airflow was double. I also re-taped everything. I had a lot of cracks and was cooling the roof in a lot of places. This fixed my problem unless it got into the 90's. I eventually added a second A/C unit and that was the best money I spent. Just my 2 cents.
 
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