Basement vs Storage

[Islander]

Need some clarity please....

As this is the largest 5th wheel I have ever owned including the 'huge storage space' it comes with...is this storage space referred to as the 'basement' or 'basement storage' ?

-Or- is the vast area encased by the underbelly skin referred to as the 'basement' ?

Next question....
All 4 of my tanks are encased between the underbelly skin and the floors of the unit.
Does my furnace distribute some warm air into this vast cavity when it runs?
If so... I have no intention to do any cold weather (below freezing) camping.... I would like to reclaim that wasted warm air and close off that access and make the furnace more efficient heating the inside of the trailer.
I would appreciate any input
Thank you
-Islander-

[Dave_Monica]

Yes, the front pass-through is commonly referred to as basement or basement storage.


As far as your plans to eliminate heating of the tank area with ducted furnace heat, do you have a switch labelled 'tank heaters'. If that's the case you have 12V heating pads attached to the bottom sump on the tanks and the tank valves. You can check opening up the access wherever the furnace is located and see if there's a flexible duct feeding the underbelly. If there is ducted heat, you could relocate that line to a new outlet or just blank it off if it's a small duct and force more flow to the other outlets as long as it doesn't cause the furnace to trip the high temperature sensor.


Dave

[Witch Doctor]

Just block it off with tape at the grill if there is one like on mine. I don't really camp in cold weather so my tank heaters are enough. If you think it will really get cold put a space heater down there and let it heat the area. I have done that from the 20 amp outlet on the pedestal. Your furnace shouldn't short cycle.

[Islander]

Thank you for the replies.

I do not have any tank pad heaters, from a visual I had on the tanks when I repaired the tank level gage wires.

I will have to dig deeper to look for the furnace duct so I can seal it up.
I do have the duct work running up through the basement storage to feed the bedroom and shower area, this also has some holes to allow warm air into the storage area...which I have sealed off right now.

However, I will wait for warmer weather before I crawl around under the unit.

-Islander-

[Richard6959]

I purchased a 36ft travel trailer in August. We were moving to Maryland so I opened up the belly and found about 8 feet of extra duct work coiled up. I cut it out and made more direct lines to the vents. The duct work is paper thin and designed to radiate heat into the underbelly for the purpose of keeping the lines from freezing. Its more than just the tanks to be concerned with.

I took the extra steps of putting the foam insulation tubes on all my water lines. So far so good. We have had temps down to 19 degrees but my temp minder thermometers at the water connections and the outside kitchen never fell below 38.