Cold air from under inside stairs (3625RE)

[Bigsky3625]

Got a question. We have a 2012 3625RE. This week we have been hunting in eastern WA where the temperature has been getting in to the upper 20's at night. I felt a cold draft by the door and tracked it down. It is coming from under the inside stairs. I grabbed a flashlight and looked through the slats. There is a good size opening to the underbelly or basement. Is this normal? Is this where the heat is supposed to get to the basement?

There is just a vent in the basement wall with no ducting from the furnace.

Any insight is appreciated.

[mikell]

On the Alpine the stairs is the furnace intake and it warms that area. Strange but true

[geo]

BigSky3625 -

As several members here will tell you, I have "been all through this". If you go up to the title bar menu, click on Community, then click on Members. Go to the third page under G, and click on "geo". Click on the Statistics tab, then "Threads started by geo". There you will find all the information, with pictures, of what I have learned of the underbelly and basement over the past two years. Your Big Sky and the Alpine have most everything in common.

Now, just to add to what I've already written in the past, try this. Go to the end cap of your Big Sky and look under it. See how the fiberglass comes down below the coroplast? And how this is basically an opening? Does it make you think "air scoop"? I will tell you that the opening you are looking at is in direct air communication with the slat openings beneath the stairs! Cold air gets funneled down the underbelly, around the fresh water and galley gray tanks, around the end of the floor behind the WaterWorks, past the furnace, and through the stair slats. Look at my posts and you will find my descriptions and pictures.

Ron

[Ron]

BigSky3625 -

As several members here will tell you, I have "been all through this". If you go up to the title bar menu, click on Community, then click on Members. Go to the third page under G, and click on "geo". Click on the Statistics tab, then "Threads started by geo". There you will find all the information, with pictures, of what I have learned of the underbelly and basement over the past two years. Your Big Sky and the Alpine have most everything in common.

Now, just to add to what I've already written in the past, try this. Go to the end cap of your Big Sky and look under it. See how the fiberglass comes down below the coroplast? And how this is basically an opening? Does it make you think "air scoop"? I will tell you that the opening you are looking at is in direct air communication with the slat openings beneath the stairs! Cold air gets funneled down the underbelly, around the fresh water and galley gray tanks, around the end of the floor behind the WaterWorks, past the furnace, and through the stair slats. Look at my posts and you will find my descriptions and pictures.

Ron

Geo is absolutely right about the cold air issue, we like to use electric heaters with thermostats, so when the furnace is not running and pulling the inside air back through the return air to the intake of the furnace, it really gets cold down there, but you are also not heating the basement area for the water tanks etc. There has been alot of discussion over time about putting an electric heater, (assuming you are plugged into shore power) into the basement area to help keep that area warm, the only draw back that I can see with that is that the bedroom area would probably get very hot with the heat rising up through the bedroom floor, and you would have to make sure it is put in a safe area. We have not done this ourselves yet but might try it some time, just my 2 cent worth. Happy Hunting..........Ron

[mikell]

the only draw back that I can see with that is that the bedroom area would probably get very hot with the heat rising up through the bedroom floor, and you would have to make sure it is put in a safe area. We have not done this ourselves yet but might try it some time, just my 2 cent worth. Happy Hunting..........Ron

A warm bedroom floor and bathroom floor is a problem ??? The oil filled heaters don't get hot enough to burn anything. Going into my 4th winter with them

[Bigsky3625]

Thanks for the information. I thought it might be some kind of air return. It is odd that the furnace pulls from inside the trailer with all the air that is in the undedbelly. Oh well. Just wanted to make sure this was normal. Appreciate the knowledge sharing.

[Ron]

A warm bedroom floor and bathroom floor is a problem ??? The oil filled heaters don't get hot enough to burn anything. Going into my 4th winter with them

What I meant buy the bedroom would get hot is with the heat rising through the floor it would become very warm in the bedroom, not the heat burning anything. The oil filled heaters are a great idea, we use one while our trailer is in our building to help keep the moisture out......Ron

[mhs4771]

BigSky, what you can do and has been done by numerous members on the MOC us included, is remove the current slotted step kick plate and replace with a solid piece with a register that can be closed. So when it's cool, but not cold enough to run the furnace, close the vents and use a space heater. Just remember to open the registers when you turn on the furnace.