Have you looked under your trailer yet?

[Murphie]

I pulled the coroplast off the bottom of my trailer today to install a black tank flush kit. I found a few interesting things.

Firstly the heating plenums were poorly organized. One plenum went into a tee two feet from the furnace which fed the rear living room the kitchen and dining room. The second plenum went into the bathroom and the third the bedroom. In other words one line was responsible for two thirds of the trailer. I always had to open the bathroom door to help heat the trailer. Now I know why. This was an easy fix by taking out the tee and rerouting the plenums.


The rest of the trailer was pretty much what I expected. There are two holes in the front frame which I didn't know I had. This would explain how the mice got into our trailer. That will be taken care of as well. Once I finish installing the tank flushers I will insulate the underside of the floor with six inches of the recycled fireproof stuff they sell at Home Depot. This should make a big difference.

[Panhead]

Not sure I would put any kind of insulating material under the trailer. If the insulation material gets wet and holds water it can cause rust on the frame, rot in the wood, and may smell pretty bad if the insulation gets soaked. Just a thought.

Steve

[VicS1950]

Originally Posted by Murphie

...

The rest of the trailer was pretty much what I expected. There are two holes in the front frame which I didn't know I had. This would explain how the mice got into our trailer...

Ah, mice.

Our new to us 2001 had signs of mice. I just discovered that the left side wheel well plastic assembly is hanging down about 3/8" on the inboard side. On the right side the wheel well arch assembly edge is captive between the frame tabs and the floor at each end. On the left side it looks like it was never inserted above the tabs. There are extra screws so I suspect that during assembly the wheel arch was not properly installed and when it was discovered a couple extra screws was their answer to the problem. That is a guess. Their solution probably worked for a time.

Anyway, I agree with your suggestion to crawl around underneath for an inspection once in a while. I would've thought that your 2011 would not have problems yet though. Good catch on the duct issue. Many people wouldn't have noticed. It is likely a common standard design?

Not that you asked...
I have found that electrical knockout blanks work well with a little sealant to close holes in metal. They come in some fairly large sizes and also come as oil tight units with a gasket and thumbnut. Readily available at most electrical supply houses. Here's one example in 1/2" conduit size.
http://www.mscdirect.com/product/60266715


vic

[dlfeather]

How hard was the underbelly cover to take off. I have wanted to do this but not really taken the time to. I to think there could be better heat distribution in the trailer.

[82corvette]

Everytime I fix something on our trailer I just chuckle thinking about the saying "Amish Quality"

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Panhead

Not sure I would put any kind of insulating material under the trailer. If the insulation material gets wet and holds water it can cause rust on the frame, rot in the wood, and may smell pretty bad if the insulation gets soaked. Just a thought.

Steve

X2

I was wondering if you've looked at the rigid pink insulation at Home Depot.
I used it on my basement walls. Easy to work with, water and mildew proof.
It can be used on the outside of the foundation.

Might be a consideration. Comes in different thicknesses for different R-Values.

Best regards,
Doug

[MrNiceGuy]

Talk about surprised. We own a 2008 Eagle 328RLS and have had an issue with the lack of heat in the living room area since the trailer was new. I assumed it was unique to our trailer. After reading this thread I made a mad dash out to look under the trailer. The material used to cover the underside is fastened pretty securely. Could you tell me how much difficulty you had getting the material off to access the heating plenums? Could you also tell me what parts you needed to reroute the plenums? Thank you for sharing this information!!

Jim, AKA Silverado2500HD

[Murphie]

Taking the bottom off is not difficult. I bought a cheap crawler from harbor freight first. The bottom is attachechd with tek screws. I took mine off in three sections. The gas lines are attached on the outside of the bottom. I took three screws out of the manifold that diverts the gas to different areas and dropped it down to get the bottom off. Mine was just too long to take it off in one piece and pull it out from the gas lines. I cut it where I knew I could refasten it without worry of it sagging.
The pink board I may you in the small area that has the water lines. Home Depot has a fireproof insulation that is water resistant that is made from some type of rock and recycled wool. It is made for steel construction. I'm sure it will be fine. The underside of the floor has a black vapor barrier as well.