geo
03-20-2012, 11:44 AM
As said, the Fresh Water tank had its bottom nestled in the R-7 insulation. (Fresh_Water_Tank,jpg) There was no supplied furnace heat or vent in this area as it is on the opposite side of the Gray2 tank valve. The aft facing side of this tank is exposed to the uninsulated volume of the rear of the underbelly area. Note the squared portion of the tank to the right. That is where the drain valve is located. (Drain.jpg) Note a couple of things about the drain. For one, it is on the edge of the insulation and not within the insulation. But a surprise to me was that the drain is not the lowest point of the tank! Though I thought I had drained this tank, there was still about 3" of water contained within the tank! By shining the flashlight around the tank bottom, I could see light colored sediment within the tank. This even convinces me more that the fresh water system needs to be sterilized at least once or twice a year! The fill and vent connections to the Fresh Water tank along with the sensors and pump supply Pex can be seen in FW_side.jpg.
The ducting is a mess! In a previous post's picture (Forward_duct.jpg), one can see a huge horseshoe bend in a duct that is being crimped by the shore power cable. This same duct continues down the port side to another huge horseshoe bend to feed the kitchen heat vent. (Rear_duct.jpg) I removed some 8' from this duct to eliminate these bends and located the splice beneath the Gray2 tank. The ducts for the rear living area heat vents were entwined along with the valve heat duct. I removed the valve heat duct and un-entwined the rear ducts so they lay parallel on the bubble wrap. I then re-attached the valve duct to provide warmed air to the valve.
I did remove about 4 bolts holding the coroplast near the port rear area of the Alpine beneath the adjacent slide area holding the entertainment center. I gently pulled this coroplast down to feed an electrical fishing tape through to pass around the fresh water tank. I am pulling some wires that will result in another modification post at a later date. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture at that time for this post. But what I saw was "nothing". There is just a volume of empty, open space between the coroplast and aluminum-coated bubble wrap and the insulated floor of the Alpine. Yes, there is the duct work supplying furnace air to the living area vents. And yes there is the Lippert slide mechanisms for the two opposing slides. But other than those items, there is just an empty volume of air. I noticed one small pool of condensate water, but more troubling was the pool of ATF fluid pooled beneath the kitchen slide plunger. I have a hydraulic leak! I will tend to this later and also plan to attach a drip pan and put a small tube in to drain it off to one side . . . just in case of further leaks! But it is this large volume of "nothing" that is exposed to the aft side of the Fresh Water tank.
With this posting, I personally can understand why so many of our Alpine members had freeze-up problems during the winter of 2010-11. It also gives me a "justified feeling" of doing this work so my DW, pups, and I can camp in the future in colder climates or even in north Texas during the winter. That work, however, is not part of this posting and will appear later in the Modifications portion of the Forum.
If I can answer any questions, etc., please let me know. Two years ago when I purchased the Alpine, I had no idea that I would know the underbelly of this fiver so well. I do believe that my present and near-future modifications will result in better cold weather durability and even save on the a/c use.
Oh, I promised to say how to fix the coroplast after cutting. I guess this is really a "Modification", but why not? I have thanked him before on this Forum and will once again . . . Many Thanks to Flyguy! Through his postings of where to find parts, I found Surplus RV Parts on the Web. Surplus RV Parts sells "underbelly tape" by the foot. I would bet if you crawled around the bottom of the slides or beneath the RV for a short while, you would see that some of this tape has already been applied to your RV. I was surprised to see some on the "outside the I-beam" underneath while working this past weekend. The "underbelly tape" is used on RVs and Mobile Homes to seal cuts, seams, and openings on the underbelly material whether it be coroplast, etc. It is a rugged and very sticky tape that you need to be sure to properly position before applying! Armed with this tape and a box cutter, I have no fear of slicing open the beast, er ah, coroplast.
Ron
The ducting is a mess! In a previous post's picture (Forward_duct.jpg), one can see a huge horseshoe bend in a duct that is being crimped by the shore power cable. This same duct continues down the port side to another huge horseshoe bend to feed the kitchen heat vent. (Rear_duct.jpg) I removed some 8' from this duct to eliminate these bends and located the splice beneath the Gray2 tank. The ducts for the rear living area heat vents were entwined along with the valve heat duct. I removed the valve heat duct and un-entwined the rear ducts so they lay parallel on the bubble wrap. I then re-attached the valve duct to provide warmed air to the valve.
I did remove about 4 bolts holding the coroplast near the port rear area of the Alpine beneath the adjacent slide area holding the entertainment center. I gently pulled this coroplast down to feed an electrical fishing tape through to pass around the fresh water tank. I am pulling some wires that will result in another modification post at a later date. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture at that time for this post. But what I saw was "nothing". There is just a volume of empty, open space between the coroplast and aluminum-coated bubble wrap and the insulated floor of the Alpine. Yes, there is the duct work supplying furnace air to the living area vents. And yes there is the Lippert slide mechanisms for the two opposing slides. But other than those items, there is just an empty volume of air. I noticed one small pool of condensate water, but more troubling was the pool of ATF fluid pooled beneath the kitchen slide plunger. I have a hydraulic leak! I will tend to this later and also plan to attach a drip pan and put a small tube in to drain it off to one side . . . just in case of further leaks! But it is this large volume of "nothing" that is exposed to the aft side of the Fresh Water tank.
With this posting, I personally can understand why so many of our Alpine members had freeze-up problems during the winter of 2010-11. It also gives me a "justified feeling" of doing this work so my DW, pups, and I can camp in the future in colder climates or even in north Texas during the winter. That work, however, is not part of this posting and will appear later in the Modifications portion of the Forum.
If I can answer any questions, etc., please let me know. Two years ago when I purchased the Alpine, I had no idea that I would know the underbelly of this fiver so well. I do believe that my present and near-future modifications will result in better cold weather durability and even save on the a/c use.
Oh, I promised to say how to fix the coroplast after cutting. I guess this is really a "Modification", but why not? I have thanked him before on this Forum and will once again . . . Many Thanks to Flyguy! Through his postings of where to find parts, I found Surplus RV Parts on the Web. Surplus RV Parts sells "underbelly tape" by the foot. I would bet if you crawled around the bottom of the slides or beneath the RV for a short while, you would see that some of this tape has already been applied to your RV. I was surprised to see some on the "outside the I-beam" underneath while working this past weekend. The "underbelly tape" is used on RVs and Mobile Homes to seal cuts, seams, and openings on the underbelly material whether it be coroplast, etc. It is a rugged and very sticky tape that you need to be sure to properly position before applying! Armed with this tape and a box cutter, I have no fear of slicing open the beast, er ah, coroplast.
Ron