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David Bott
12-02-2009, 09:36 AM
Hi All...

Well we are on our journey but not out of the cold just yet. We got up the other morning to 1/4" ice on our car and coach here in Gaffney, SC!!!

In any case, one of the things that drive us nuts is how cold the front end of out Tour Master is. I mean, from just behind the chairs forward. So I guess the question is not so much is yours like that, as it would have to be, but have you done anything about it you would care to share?

I think most of the issue is that the windshield and door are single pane glass and thus offers little help. I can understand the windshield, but the glass in the door could have been double pane. But also the front dash area seems to be very cold to the touch and just radiates cold.

So, any thoughts?

GO BLUE
12-02-2009, 02:05 PM
David......never experienced that........ suggest you move down her....84 today was 82 yesterday wife would like some cool weather I say fly home....Jim k

testerdennis
12-02-2009, 04:32 PM
Hi David, have you thought of putting a curtain up just behind the seats to keep the heat up front.

Dennis

David Bott
12-02-2009, 04:44 PM
Did not really want to do that as we like to see out. :) (Unless you are just talking about when driving.)

It is cold just parked here. Thus the issue. It comes though the front of the dash mostly and the front area of the floor is just cold, cold.

ellerich
12-02-2009, 05:26 PM
We use our RV as a ski chalet and have been in 10 degree wx. Yes the front end gets cold, but I close the sliding floor, and put a pillow up against the door. I also use a small ceramic heater to help supplement the front end heat. Elle and Richard

GStream40
12-02-2009, 09:00 PM
I found that if I don't shut off the heat control for the front heater under the dash that cold air will come in thru the vents when parked. I always shut off the vent/heat/AC control to the "OFF" position.

Ron

RayChez1
12-02-2009, 09:32 PM
I don't have a TourMaster, but I have never had any problems heating up my coach in cold weather. When parked we just close the lined drapes in the front and I just use one heat pump to heat the coach. Now if you are refering to heating while driving? I normally use the chassis heater, but if it is super cold, then I set the thermostat at 75 for the furnace. It will keep the whole coach warm at that temperature. I have double pane windows all around and the coach underneath is insulated with spray foam two inches thick.

David Bott
12-03-2009, 06:33 AM
Ron...

Very interesting. I will need to be sure I do that just in case. :)


Ray...

This is when I am parked I "feel" this coldness in the front area of the coach. We have all the same "under protection" but this cold just gets in though the front.

To make the coach warmer we did something simple. Seeing that the floor is mostly tile, we had a piece a carpet cut and bound with a felt backing that we lay in place when we arrive somewhere. It goes from the kitchen area on forward. This helps a lot and also makes for a more comfy feeling.

Thank all. Next stop...Just above Dallas Texas!

testerdennis
12-03-2009, 08:45 PM
Sorry David, I thought you meant while driving..

David Bott
12-04-2009, 06:47 AM
Augh...Made it to Boligee, Alabama and woke up this morning to 36 degrees outside!!! Again Augh! We came south to get out of the cold. :)

GStream40
12-04-2009, 12:52 PM
Keep heading south, your are not far enough.

Ron

RJ82much
12-06-2009, 09:42 PM
David,

A trick that I use to distribute the heat a little better is to turn on the overhead AC fans (without AC of course). My thermostats have a manual position.

David Bott
12-06-2009, 09:45 PM
Thanks Bob...The issue with that is the noise it makes. But I can see how that would work to move the heat around and even take it from the ceiling.

RJ82much
12-06-2009, 10:00 PM
Yes, for sure noise is an issue. I use the bedroom fan when we are in the front (dinner & TV) & switch to front fan when we turn in. The noise from the propane heater is an eardrum-breaker. We stow a couple electric radiators with us. They really work well in the small confines of the motor home. Plenty of power at a campground. I run my generator all night if we are stopped without services & may as well use the radiators then as well.

holmesaw
12-06-2009, 10:51 PM
We never turn in with the generator running without the exaust stack on because the gen exaust is right below the bedroom slideout. Poor design in my opinion. But better safe then waking up dead :(

David Bott
12-07-2009, 07:55 AM
Bob...

I tried your fan only trick last night, and I must say...Great idea! I put the oil filled heater in front of the oven which is right below A/C unit 2. Seeing that the oil filled heater just more or less produce heat that goes right up as their is no fan, the A/C fan took it in and moved it down the duct channels and this round the coach.

The white noise made by the fan was not an issue for sleeping seeing we use a white noise machine anyway to kill road noise.

This morning the first thing I did was to walk to the front of the coach, it was slightly cooler and NOT all like it had been.

The bummer for me is I do not have heat pumps in these A/Cs or the heating "tape" I have read about. Not sure if that is the same thing or not. Also not sure if it could be added.

So...thanks for the idea!

Chuck v
12-07-2009, 09:38 PM
David and Bob,

We are having an unusual cold snap here in the Portland OR area, and I woke up to 21 degrees this AM. My coach is parked outside here at my house and not yet inside out of the weather (want to build a storage building, but need to work out the location/grading/slab work and of course money issues first.)

Like others, I also use an oil filled heater in the coach to keep it warm when parked. I converted an unused welder outlet in the shop to a 50 amp RV service, so no worries about which circuits are active on shore power. In additiion to the heater (located in front of the range door just like David...) I have a small ac fan on the desk that is set on low speed -- very quiet and not much power used. I don't use the roof AC units to circulate air in the unoccupied unit.

I also have two ceramic heaters in the storage area set to low (750 watts each) which are powered from the 20 amp outlet for the basement freezer. I did have to run a power cord through to that compartment, but by taking out the round vent grills and then notching the plywood out past their flanges, it was a simple matter to snake a heavy duty extension cord from the freezer bay into the main storage. Since the ceramic heaters each have a fan, the air is well circulated, and I have a remote temp sensor in there that registers at the dining area where the 'base' unit reads the temperature and humidity of the coach itself. Even at 21 degrees outside this morning and being that cold or colder overnight, the basement was at about 56 degrees. So far I feel safe without having done any draining of the water system, but appreciate hearing the greater knowledge of the forum on that issue... This is my first coach and my first winter with it :!:

My smaller travel trailer was alway safely inside the shop, but at 20 ft long and under 10 ft tall it is not as much a challenge to house as the Tour Master... :roll:

Chuck

03heritagerider
12-08-2009, 02:39 PM
We too use a ceramic heater to break the chill in the front. But what we do to keep the heat off the ceiling is to use one of those small 6" clip-on fans. We clip it onto the top of the slide trim or the cabinet above the driver or passenger seat. We point the fan toward the ceiling to prevent any "wind-chill" effect by having a fan blowing directly on us. It serves to circulate the warm air off the ceiling and around the room. And these fans are infinitely quieter than the A/C fans.

David Bott
12-09-2009, 07:56 AM
Just as a followup on the cold...Well...we are in Aubrey TX and work up this morning to 24 degrees!!! The outside waterlines froze, guess I should have left a small amount of water running or something. Good thing we have water in out fresh tank. :)

bob3nliz
12-09-2009, 08:48 AM
I sealed all openings with foam under hood. There are quite a few of them. We use a spot light at night to see most of them, others we took a hand full of incense with fans in window sucking air out of RV to see any other ways air was getting in. Then when we are parked we cover the front end so air can not just blow in grill, just have to remember to remove it before driving off. :) Bob-Liz Merry Christmas

RJ82much
12-09-2009, 11:47 PM
David,

Did you burst any lines or fittings? Were you using the propane furnace also, or just your electric radiators?

I ask because I've often worried about frozen pipes when using the radiators, A future project was to rewire the thermostats or furnace fan to be able run even without the furnace making heat just like you can do with the A/C fans). The idea being to circulate some interior air down into the storage compartments. This has just become a higher priority project. Thanks and sorry.

David Bott
12-10-2009, 07:56 AM
Hi...

I forgot the that it was to get that cold and did not turn on my propane heaters. I only had the electric heaters that, well, did not keep up and the interior got down to 56. Woke up cold and turned on the propane heaters.

I think I am lucky that I did not have any issues at all. (well at least that I know of at this time.) I brought inside the frozen hose, water filter, and water softener to thaw in the shower. I am currently running off the tank without issue. It was going lower last night, so I keep the propane heaters on, all nice inside and the cargo area seems to have keep above 45 and I had the inside set to 67 for the night. (I put a remote temp sensor in it.)

holmesaw
12-10-2009, 11:26 AM
David, I assume you are heading on west at some point. If you choose
I-40 you are heading into colder weather than where you are now. I would choose dropping on down to I-10 for warmer temps. I have made that westward trip many times in January and it can get pretty cold unless you get further south.

David Bott
12-10-2009, 01:09 PM
Yes, I-10 is the route. :)