Uses for center tunnel

[Paladin]

Ok, so in trying to make sure that I plan for as many things as possible before I lay down my subfloor, what uses can everyone think of for the center tunnel? How can I best utilize that space? What should be run, laid or hidden in there?


-Dave

[Ray D]

If your'e going to Mexico, I have an idea!!!

Ray D

[prevost82]

I ran my propane main feed pipe down the tunnel. I also ran a bunch more wires for campground levelers and other things ... 1/4" airline for turbo boost guage. I also insulated under the floor with 1" ridged before I put the new floor down.
Ron

[JackConrad]

Maybe 2-3 2" conduit for future use. Sometime later, you may want to run a line for an air throttle, lines and/or wires for a leveling system, additional gauge senders, additional lights, etc. Jack

[Paladin]

Yep, planned for several lines of conduit for future runs as needed to/from the engine and bay areas, 110,12v etc.....
Planning on a separate conduit for air throttle. Ran lines for fuel sender across....
Didn't think of running propane though.

Any more ideas? How about Hvac?

[Len Silva]

I would be a little leary of running propane lines there.  Straight pipe is one thing, but no fittings of any kind, not even couplings.  Make them all readily accessible for testing.

Len

[John Z]

After having the propane line run into a new house that i built, we thought we could smell gas in the basement. We called the contractor who came out with the sniffer and found a tiny pin hole leak in the copper tubing! He said he had never seen it himself but had heard about that happening. So before you close it all up, you might want to have the line pressure tested.

[prevost82]

I ran 1/2 soft copper pipe with a "T" silver soldered on the end and reduceed down to 3/8, one goes to the sideout barbeque in the basement and the other goes to the cooktop in the kitchen. This was done by a licence gas fitter and tested for 24 hrs

I bought a 5/8 ID water hose and slid the 1/2 copper line inside the water hose and clamped it every 4 ft in the tunnel.

Ron

[DavidInWilmNC]

Any more ideas? How about Hvac?

Well, the tunnel in my bus used to suck air (a return); now it just blows air.  It was the easiest way I could find to get some of the OTR heat and air to the back.  The system is just too strong and noisy to blow freely into the front half of the bus.  It seems to work well.  We'll see how it does with a furnace of some sort soon.

David

[gumpy]

I use the tunnel for return air to my basement air, and my bus air is still intact.

However, I did install the lines for my engine preheat system in there, and I've snaked an air line through there recently for my leveling system. In hindsite, I wish I had put some smurf tube in there.

In the planning, I had a few other ideas for this area, before I decided to keep the bus air.

One idea was to put my water tanks in there. I was considering building them out of 4 or 6 inch PVC pipe and installing them in parallel in the tunnel. Also considered welding custom fitted tanks for that area. Connecting them together to allow for out of level use became a nightmare, though. Venting was an issue, also.

Another idea was to build a slide system in there with baskets for an under floor pantry. The baskets would slide along a track forward and aft of an access hole. If you put the access hole in the center of the bus, you could get about 15 feet of basket space. You might get more if you had 3 access holes. It's deep enough you could put all your canned goods down there, or possibly use it for clothing (socks and underwear) with access from the bedroom area.

[Len Silva]

I use the tunnel for return air to my basement air, and my bus air is still intact.

However, I did install the lines for my engine preheat system in there, and I've snaked an air line through there recently for my leveling system. In hindsite, I wish I had put some smurf tube in there.

In the planning, I had a few other ideas for this area, before I decided to keep the bus air.

One idea was to put my water tanks in there. I was considering building them out of 4 or 6 inch PVC pipe and installing them in parallel in the tunnel. Also considered welding custom fitted tanks for that area. Connecting them together to allow for out of level use became a nightmare, though. Venting was an issue, also.

Another idea was to build a slide system in there with baskets for an under floor pantry. The baskets would slide along a track forward and aft of an access hole. If you put the access hole in the center of the bus, you could get about 15 feet of basket space. You might get more if you had 3 access holes. It's deep enough you could put all your canned goods down there, or possibly use it for clothing (socks and underwear) with access from the bedroom area.

Now, that's thinking inside the box