just purchased 2015 Heartland XLT 298BH....questions

Hi,

I'm new to the group and had some questions about this model (and/or Heartland)....

- is this model winter/summer 'ready'? I think other brands call it their Arctic package. My R values on this are R-7 (walls) and R-10 (floor) which seems incredibly low.
- with summer being here and hitting the slideouts, I can place my hand (inside) against the wall and where the slideouts meet and feel a large amount of heat. As I move my hand up the wall it becomes cooler. I'm assuming that this is because of the black 'seal' that meets the wall. Is there a way I can insulate this better?
- my A/C is incredibly loud. I can't talk in a normal voice when it's on and have to crank the TV up full blast to hear it. Any way to quiet this down?
- Is it easy (or doable) to install a ceiling fan in this?

I love the layout of this camper other than it just having a love seat, loud A/C, and the narrowing of height from the bathroom to the head of the master bed (the master bdroom is also raised for the cargo space, making this space even smaller)....otherwise is nice. Needed the separate bunk bedroom, so I'm still a happy camper. Just want to be able to prep for the winter since I'm a full-timer, but also hate the heat more.

thanks! Chad

Hi clight027,

Congratulations on your new Sundance and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. There's lots of useful information here along with a great bunch of friendly and helpful people.

Those with similar rigs will probably weigh in, but I'd guess that your trailer can deal with mild winter weather. There are 2 issues: staying comfy, and keeping the water running. For comfort, if the furnace isn't enough, you can supplement with ceramic disc heater(s). But on even the high-end luxury trailers you need to take extra steps in sub-freezing weather to keep the water running. The heated underbelly will help, but there's a point where the tanks and water lines will freeze. For example, in temps below the high 20s (F), you need tank heaters which are optional on many trailers - not sure about yours.

We all have noisy air conditioners. Not much you can do about that. As for installing a ceiling fan, the usual problems are 1) getting 110V to the fan location if it's not already there, and 2) the fan usually has to be mounted pretty close to the ceiling so that the blades don't contact the slides when they're pulled in. When a fan is close to the ceiling, it's hard to move a lot of air. Some people have had better results with floor fans.

We have several owner-written user guides you might find helpful, including one on Heating and Cooling and another on Water Systems. Here's a link.

Chad,


Welcome to the Heartland Owners Group - As Dan indicated, other members will chime in with their experiences ( the best part of this site other than the friendships that you develop ). When in doubt if you do not get the answers you are seeking here, grab your VIN and call Heartland Customer Service, they will be able to look up your Rig's Build Sheet and tell you what features it had coming off the line - and even email you the final build sheet ( they did that for me when I purchased mine used )

The A/C unit noise could be a few things, the AC could have two fan speeds ( high will be louder ) also if it is a ducted system with a direct vent on the ceiling mount unit, you will see a slide to close that vent and direct all air to the ducted vents ( that will quite it down a lot in the living room ) I have the same unit in my Cyclone. BTW - with that main vent open it cools the main area much faster... loud yes but cool faster...