What is a "heated underbelly" ?? exactly?

[mjones12]

Originally Posted by larryandamy

I am sorry for the troubles you are having. I hope you can get it all resolved.
I am buying what they say is one of the few true 4 season campers (not trailer) next week. It is a Bigfoot slide-in truck camper that claims it is a four season camper. It has a clamshell fiberglass body (like a boat) with an inner and outer shell with R8 rated insulation between the shells. Also, all of the piping and tanks are within the heated shell and the heated underbelly. I am not one that will actually plan to do much winter camping (I live in San Diego), but I have been caught in 16F weather at the Grand Canyon in January and I worried about pipes freezing. From what I read, the Bigfoot will have no problems, but I will be careful. One thing that I do know for sure is "Buyer beware"... Do your own research and never believe a single word any RV saleman utters. They are two levels below used car salesmen.
How cold was it for how long when the damage happened?

My friend has had two Bigfoot towables, and they are top-quality stuff.

[Danley]

Originally Posted by larryandamy

I am sorry for the troubles you are having. I hope you can get it all resolved.
I am buying what they say is one of the few true 4 season campers (not trailer) next week. It is a Bigfoot slide-in truck camper that claims it is a four season camper. It has a clamshell fiberglass body (like a boat) with an inner and outer shell with R8 rated insulation between the shells. Also, all of the piping and tanks are within the heated shell and the heated underbelly. I am not one that will actually plan to do much winter camping (I live in San Diego), but I have been caught in 16F weather at the Grand Canyon in January and I worried about pipes freezing. From what I read, the Bigfoot will have no problems, but I will be careful. One thing that I do know for sure is "Buyer beware"... Do your own research and never believe a single word any RV saleman utters. They are two levels below used car salesmen.
How cold was it for how long when the damage happened?

I'm not even sure it was the cold. it was not very cold out up here this year. thank god I'm not living in it, but it's necessary for my cats and storage and a bed to sleep in when the spare bedroom in the house is in use. I just assume it was the cold that broke all the lines. although I wouldn't be surprised if it was just not installed correctly.

Almost everything is broken in the trailer, from the stereo RCA jacks, furnace, galley sink an drain, bathroom sink and drain leak, shower head, hand towel rack, and TP rack not installed, windows leaking and seems filled with sand, 2/3 exterior doors leaking, electric heater loud noise, toilet water leak, exterior cabinet roof leak, interior roof leak, trim pieces bent and falling off, bedroom headboard seems to be holding water behind it, Mold in several areas (regardless of the 33% humidity from the dehumidifiers, ugh the list goes on, too much to recall off memory. This trailer should never have passed inspection. it wasn't even finished being put together. drillbit shavings all over the floor and dust/dirt. Wasnt even cleaned before it was delivered.

Wish I knew more about trailers before I purchased a brand new one. And those salesmen... Jesus! my family almost in tears from escaping a fire we had to drive through (almost went out on foot), and they just lied to our face, with a smile. What kind of person is that take? makes me sick! and Forest River cares not. so sad. KCRA 3 of Sacramento interviewed us twice, we are on their website. I want to share with them this story. There is so much, I can't begin to even type it all. Ill play the game and just wish Forest River would step to the plate and help a family by correcting their errors and wrongdoings. The trailer will be in and out of repairs for god knows how long.
Thanks for letting me vent! I feel a little better

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by Danley

I'm not even sure it was the cold. it was not very cold out up here this year. thank god I'm not living in it, but it's necessary for my cats and storage and a bed to sleep in when the spare bedroom in the house is in use. I just assume it was the cold that broke all the lines. although I wouldn't be surprised if it was just not installed correctly.

Almost everything is broken in the trailer, from the stereo RCA jacks, furnace, galley sink an drain, bathroom sink and drain leak, shower head, hand towel rack, and TP rack not installed, windows leaking and seems filled with sand, 2/3 exterior doors leaking, electric heater loud noise, toilet water leak, exterior cabinet roof leak, interior roof leak, trim pieces bent and falling off, bedroom headboard seems to be holding water behind it, Mold in several areas (regardless of the 33% humidity from the dehumidifiers, ugh the list goes on, too much to recall off memory. This trailer should never have passed inspection. it wasn't even finished being put together. drillbit shavings all over the floor and dust/dirt. Wasnt even cleaned before it was delivered.

Wish I knew more about trailers before I purchased a brand new one. And those salesmen... Jesus! my family almost in tears from escaping a fire we had to drive through (almost went out on foot), and they just lied to our face, with a smile. What kind of person is that take? makes me sick! and Forest River cares not. so sad. KCRA 3 of Sacramento interviewed us twice, we are on their website. I want to share with them this story. There is so much, I can't begin to even type it all. Ill play the game and just wish Forest River would step to the plate and help a family by correcting their errors and wrongdoings. The trailer will be in and out of repairs for god knows how long.
Thanks for letting me vent! I feel a little better

OK getting a little confused about your story . again sorry for your losses and what you've gone through . now what does that have to do with the TT. did you buy it before or after the fires . Did you not do a walk through PDI , since it seems you are living in a place and hve this TT for your cats did you not winterize it ? since you did not live in it did you even have the tank heaters on and was unit plugged in ? you say it wasn't even finished when they delivered it again did you not inspect it before delivery ? . Things are starting to smell fishy and wonder if you are being honest with your story or fully fourth coming with all the facts.

[spock123]

Sounds to me like buyers remorse, cats living in camper and no person there. It doesn’t have to get that cold to freeze things, just below 32 degrees and stay that way for a few days

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by judyoshi

Am relatively new to RVing, bought my 2016 Class C Coachman Leprechaun 220QB less than a year ago here in Florida. Leaving to take a seasonal job in a national park in South Dakota arriving there April 8. Didn't realize that the temperatures can still drop quite low at night.What are my best options? Custom skirting is not an option and some of the DIY projects look overwhelming. Should I just winterize and ask to stay in employee housing the first week or two until night time temps go above the 30s. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Leaving Florida March 24 and looking forward to the adventure.

if day time temps are above freezing you should be able to use your water tank and pump . it will handle night time temps in the upper 20's if day time temps are above freezing . but to be safe just keep it winterized and can still use it just go to the common bathroom until temps stay above 32

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by MR.M

OK getting a little confused about your story . again sorry for your losses and what you've gone through . now what does that have to do with the TT. did you buy it before or after the fires . Did you not do a walk through PDI , since it seems you are living in a place and hve this TT for your cats did you not winterize it ? since you did not live in it did you even have the tank heaters on and was unit plugged in ? you say it wasn't even finished when they delivered it again did you not inspect it before delivery ? . Things are starting to smell fishy and wonder if you are being honest with your story or fully fourth coming with all the facts.

From what it sounds like, they had a house fire or where caught in a wildfire and had to buy a trailer as an emergency situation. Very likely knew little to nothing about trailers when they bought it.

My wife's family had the same thing happen to them when she was a kid. They had a house fire and their insurance bought them a trailer to stay in while the house was repaired. They just put it in their backyard. I guess it was cheaper than renting a hotel or apartment for that amount of time.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

From what it sounds like, they had a house fire or where caught in a wildfire and had to buy a trailer as an emergency situation. Very likely knew little to nothing about trailers when they bought it.

My wife's family had the same thing happen to them when she was a kid. They had a house fire and their insurance bought them a trailer to stay in while the house was repaired. They just put it in their backyard. I guess it was cheaper than renting a hotel or apartment for that amount of time.

That's what i thought until i read the last post they made . doesn't make since . using it for cats and a guest bedroom ,

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by MR.M

That's what i thought until i read the last post they made . doesn't make since . using it for cats and a guest bedroom ,

My guess is that it was originally bought because of the fire and now that he has it, he's just using it as an extra bedroom/storage. Again, that's exactly what my wife's family did with their trailer.

But I suppose it's difficult to do that if it really has as many problems as he says it does.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

My guess is that it was originally bought because of the fire and now that he has it, he's just using it as an extra bedroom/storage. Again, that's exactly what my wife's family did with their trailer.

But I suppose it's difficult to do that if it really has as many problems as he says it does.

I suppose you're right . but from the last post it got my radar beeping

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by Danley

KCRA 3 of Sacramento interviewed us twice, we are on their website.

I found one of the videos where you were at the Christmas tree with your family.

[Cdj1990]

I bought the 2019 Alpha Wolf 26dbh-l last August based on the "exterme weather arctic package". In November I froze my water line between the fresh water tank and pump during a 20 degree overnight. I cut the coloplast open to find no insulation, water lines not insulated and attached to the C-channel frame. Had to use a heater to thaw the line. When I got home I called FR to complain and they told me it was only a two season camper with upgrade insulation in the walls, ceiling and floor.

In January I went to an RV show and looked at their new brochure and it touts options for a heated underbelly now. So this past Monday I dropped it off at the dealership for warranty work and asked them about getting the heated underbelly option added. The dealer told me it's not a heated underbelly but tank heat pads so it won't help frozen lines. Dealer said to add and electric heat tape and pipe insulation.

Sorry about your loss. Doesn't CA have strict consumer laws? I'd write the Attorney General or BBB to complain about the misrepresentation by FR and the dealership. Who knows maybe it will help.

[Danley]

Originally Posted by MR.M

OK getting a little confused about your story . again sorry for your losses and what you've gone through . now what does that have to do with the TT. did you buy it before or after the fires . Did you not do a walk through PDI , since it seems you are living in a place and hve this TT for your cats did you not winterize it ? since you did not live in it did you even have the tank heaters on and was unit plugged in ? you say it wasn't even finished when they delivered it again did you not inspect it before delivery ? . Things are starting to smell fishy and wonder if you are being honest with your story or fully fourth coming with all the facts.

Bought after the fire.
no walkthrough, I wasn't really in the position too. that's why I bought brand new. I didn't know any better.
I have partial access to a house yes.
Do you winterize a trailer that's in use? Always plugged in and propane, I use the fridge daily and a computer desk inside the trailer. we sleep in it a few days a week sometimes.
tank heaters on? there isn't any on/off for said tank heaters (if it even has any) I don't believe anything they say. we were conned, its that simple, sorry if I was confusing you and not clear. nothing fishy, I don't have buyers remorse, I want this trailer, but I always want what I was told I was buying. we agreed to a purchase contract. they have not held up their agreement in said contract.

The trailer was picked up yesterday and at repair, FR won't answer questions in emails, they seem to just dodge the questions. I want my underbelly heated, I paid for it and the people said it was heated a heated underbelly trailer. the trailer was said to have every cold-weather option.

[Danley]

Originally Posted by Cdj1990

I bought the 2019 Alpha Wolf 26dbh-l last August based on the "exterme weather arctic package". In November I froze my water line between the fresh water tank and pump during a 20 degree overnight. I cut the coloplast open to find no insulation, water lines not insulated and attached to the C-channel frame. Had to use a heater to thaw the line. When I got home I called FR to complain and they told me it was only a two season camper with upgrade insulation in the walls, ceiling and floor.

In January I went to an RV show and looked at their new brochure and it touts options for a heated underbelly now. So this past Monday I dropped it off at the dealership for warranty work and asked them about getting the heated underbelly option added. The dealer told me it's not a heated underbelly but tank heat pads so it won't help frozen lines. Dealer said to add and electric heat tape and pipe insulation.

Sorry about your loss. Doesn't CA have strict consumer laws? I'd write the Attorney General or BBB to complain about the misrepresentation by FR and the dealership. Who knows maybe it will help.

I agree. I'm going to give FR a chance to do right, ill let them do like 3 maybe 4 attempts to fix and make right. I really don't want to have to deal with BBB and contract lawyer. CA lemon law takes forever too. not gonna spend 32,000$ on a broken brand new trailer that's missing things the contract said it had.

[spock123]

A lot of heated underbelly comes from radiant heat. That is where your ductwork radiant heat when the furnace is on. On my Cedar Creek it actually has ductwork going to the basement. Cedar Creek says with tank heaters on and camper furnace set at 70 degrees nothing will freeze at 0 degrees. I think it all depends on how long it stays 0 degrees. Forest River made my Cedar Creek and Cedar Creek has been very good to me. My motto is you can catch more bees with honey than you can with vinegar. I am always nice when I talk to the factory. I looked at the brochure of the camper you have and I didn’t see any heated holding tanks. But it said enclosed and heated underbelly and I bet you ten dollars to a doughnut hole Forest River was talking about radiant heat. I hope you get the camper fixed, it looks nice

[Tacky]

My TT has a heated underbelly and stickers indicating it's suitable for extended season camping. (Disclaimer, not a FR product.) I contacted the manufacturer to ask what the design temperature was for late season camping. I was told that they do not recommend using the TT below 32f. Yes, they really told me that!

[Silverbirch]

Danley, so sorry for all your losses. I know how overwhelming it is to lose everything to fire. So much to do! I just wanted to let you know that my Forest River travel trailer also came with the toilet paper holder and towel bar not mounted. I think they let you decide where you want to mount them. It sounds like you had a bad salesman and/or a bad dealer. My tt was all vacuumed out but you'll find many comments on here where dealers allowed units to go out with sawdust and lost screws, etc. I hope and pray that life will be more fair to you in the very near future!

[onetonford]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

On it's face it would seem wasteful. However, remember that heat rises. When heat leaks from ducts in the underbelly it will rise through any leaks in the floor. Wherever plumbing or electrical passes through the floor this air returns to the living space of the trailer.

This is why skirting on a travel trailer really helps when one is wintering in their TT.

As for tank heater pads, they do a lot more than one gives them credit. If you have a 40 gallons of water heated to somewhere between 40 and 60 degrees (the cut in and cut out temps for most "pads") they help keep the enclosed underbelly from freezing unless there is a blizzard blowing through under the TT.

That would be true for my basement but the only places that go to the underbelly on mine would be the toilet which goes thru the basement also shower\kitchen sink both are sealed to the floor to the top of the tanks not much air from underbelly as all my waterlines are in the basement area. I have had the underbelly coroplast off to run wires and the only lines are waste from the tanks. no other holes go thru floor into under belly. the ducts on mine run thru the floor as my floor is 4" thick laminated plywood foam plywood. and my wires for the unit only come thru floor by the converter and are also sealed to the floor. So the four inch duct they run to the underbelly is wasted to the outside by the holes in the coroplast frame etc.

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by Danley

Bought after the fire.
no walkthrough, I wasn't really in the position too. that's why I bought brand new. I didn't know any better.
I have partial access to a house yes.
Do you winterize a trailer that's in use? Always plugged in and propane, I use the fridge daily and a computer desk inside the trailer. we sleep in it a few days a week sometimes.
tank heaters on? there isn't any on/off for said tank heaters (if it even has any) I don't believe anything they say. we were conned, its that simple, sorry if I was confusing you and not clear. nothing fishy, I don't have buyers remorse, I want this trailer, but I always want what I was told I was buying. we agreed to a purchase contract. they have not held up their agreement in said contract.

The trailer was picked up yesterday and at repair, FR won't answer questions in emails, they seem to just dodge the questions. I want my underbelly heated, I paid for it and the people said it was heated a heated underbelly trailer. the trailer was said to have every cold-weather option.

Sorry for all your losses, but it does sound like you caused some of your issues do to your lack of knowledge of how to use a camper. Pipes can and will freeze, if you do not prepare for below freezing temps..... even when in use. Very few campers are meant to be used year round.

I think that your dealer did a poor job on instruction, there are many YouTube videos on RVs for beginners. If you were conned it sounds like by the dealer.......

Good Luck !!!!!!

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by Danley

Bought after the fire.
no walkthrough, I wasn't really in the position too. that's why I bought brand new. I didn't know any better.
I have partial access to a house yes.
Do you winterize a trailer that's in use? Always plugged in and propane, I use the fridge daily and a computer desk inside the trailer. we sleep in it a few days a week sometimes.
tank heaters on? there isn't any on/off for said tank heaters (if it even has any) I don't believe anything they say. we were conned, its that simple, sorry if I was confusing you and not clear. nothing fishy, I don't have buyers remorse, I want this trailer, but I always want what I was told I was buying. we agreed to a purchase contract. they have not held up their agreement in said contract.

The trailer was picked up yesterday and at repair, FR won't answer questions in emails, they seem to just dodge the questions. I want my underbelly heated, I paid for it and the people said it was heated a heated underbelly trailer. the trailer was said to have every cold-weather option.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. If you have tank heaters there will be a fuse(s) in the fuse panel. The tank heaters are thermostatic controlled and not all have switches. You can turn them off at the fuse panel by pulling the fuse. Oh, you did check that the fuse is good?

[csterl01]

My Sierra 371REBH has a "heated underbelly" of you keep the heat on. Mine has the air return grille in the stairs for the heater, and said return air passes through the underbelly on its way to the heater intake. As the cabin temp is pretty warm when you are living in it, it does a good job keeping it heated. Not sure how well the belly under the rear living area is heated since the heater is in the middle of the basement.