No insulation

adb

Member
Let me start off by saying we love our new Gateway 3680 fb. As with most new products, I expected some bugs to work out, some construction debris to clean up, messy plumbing and wiring and general absence of quality control. In an effort to find a vent issue, I removed some of the plastic under covering and there was no insulation. Is this a mistake or ????? I noticed on our last trip ( and first trip ) that both ac units worked hard to keep it cool. I think the "r" value was advertised as (10).
Am I the only one who has no insulation? Any help from Heartland?
Thanks Chipper
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
I would call Heartland and confirm what your unit was built with. Have your VIN handy. 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030
 

adb

Member
Thanks danemayer and Travel Tiger for the quick response. There is a layer of foil kind of shoved on top of the material screwed to the frame. It's wadded in places and there was no effort to make it or the plastic airtight as there is a gap between every screw going into the frame. Some of these are open 3/4" or more leaving the wood floor pretty much exposed to moisture (especially when traveling in the rain).
I just talked to Dustin at Heartland and found out that this unit had no floor insulation installed. Ordered that way? Also the front closet gets very hot when the sun hits it. I took the little shelf out, at the front cap, and found a layer of foil down about 2/3 the way down the front cap (stopped about 2'from the floor). There was also some bat insulation hanging from the top of the cap and some that had fallen down. Also this bat insulation stopped well short of both corners leaving both areas uninsulated.
My thoughts are to something like Solar Guard in the front cap and under as well. I am open to suggestions.
Thanks Chipper
 

danemayer

Well-known member
On the higher-end coaches with the Yeti option, you'll find a layer of radiant foil stretched out above the coroplast, with batting above that. In the front and rear caps, same thing. They also put in radiant foil on the slideout floors.

When the coaches are built, the coroplast goes on the bottom while the frame is upside down, early in manufacturing. That's the last time it lays flat with no gaps, except for cutouts around the springs.

Holding tank expansion can distort the shape of the coroplast. Then once distorted a bit, if it ever has to be taken down, when put back up, it won't lay flat at all. Some people have filled gaps between screws with expanding foam. And others have used scraps of rubber or other material to close up some of the cutouts around the springs.

But if you're towing through heavy rain, you can expect water to get into the underbelly. If you use a bit to poke a few 1/4" holes in the coroplast low spots, rainwater should drain. And if you don't seal all the gaps, the airflow will probably take care of residual moisture.
 

justafordguy

Well-known member
My Gateway also just has the radiant foil on top of the chloroplast with no bat type insulation. The floor insulation is a rigid foam that is laminated into the floor structure itself.
 

adb

Member
On a good note and inspection of the downstairs floor, there seems to be some areas insulated with a black scrim faced fiberglass while other areas have the scrim with no insulation. Also Dustin with Heartland was very helpful.
Next week I am taking it to the dealer to fix the toilet vent issue, where this all began. (I've been trying to find out how many tanks are there, which ones are for which sinks,lavatories, toilets, which indicators are for which tanks and how they are vented). The upper toilet gets pressurized and blast stuff and odor out when flushed. Anyway when I get it back I'll add some insulation, seal the pipe holes and the insulation along the frame. (And poke some holes in the chloroplast)
Thanks Chipper
 
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