Heat while on the road

[Chopper Scott]

Love this heat wave we have going on at the moment. As we are planning on a trip to Orlando/Daytona the end of February I got to wondering. What about heat? I'm in Nebraska and it could be cold still. I've never went anywhere in the bus when heating it was an issue. All I have is the heater/ defroster in the front. I know running the Suburban is not intended for use while moving. I guess running the gen with electric heaters is the most viable option. What do you guys do?

[Nellie Wilson]

Hi Chopper -

I run the OEM coach heat... toasty as can be. Even stopped, same thing, and I've gone through more than a few -26 (and even lower) nights. Not the best choice but - unless I'm plugged in - it's all I've got. Some guys - even with all sorts of fancy stuff on board (Webastos, Pro -Heat, etc.) use a little 100 buck Buddy Heater." Keeps things comfy at minimal cost. FWIW.

All The Best!

Nellie Wilson

[Chopper Scott]

I don't have the original coach heat as per say, just the front drivers heat/defroster on my MC 7. Maybe I should start chopping wood!!!

[Nellie Wilson]

Wood's good. I know a guy that actually does use wood. Built in a vented thermo-glass stove with a metal (aluminum?) chimney - carries wood in his bay. But he's nuts. Guess you can take a Quebecer out of the woods, but you can't take the woods out of a Quebecer?

Maybe it keeps him from getting homesick?

Nellie

[belfert]

The front defroster on my bus can put out an incredible amount of heat and it warms up the front living area pretty good.

Don't folks with regular motorhomes run their furnaces going down the road?  They gotta have heat somehow.

[luvrbus]

 That is true Brian people do run their furnace in motorhomes going down the road they are vented to outside so it is not a problem.
I had a bus with 2 propane units and always used it that way and have friends with buses that have propane furnaces that do.
Keep plenty of propane aboard and go for it

good luck

[bevans6]

If you're talking about actually while driving on the road, the MH guys do two things - they do run the propane furnace, the idea being that the co-axial or symmetrical nature of the intake/exhaust keeps wind pressures equalized to the extent that the flame is not too compromised, or they simply hang a curtain behind the cockpit and run the dash heat.  If you have dash heat, hang a curtain, and make sure there are no leaks and drafts around the door, I bet you will be nice and warm while driving.  Running the propane all day as well as all night could get pretty spendy.

Brian

[oldmansax]

We have a 40,000 btu Suburban & run it whenever we need heat..... driving or not.

Make sure to check the heat exchanger for cracks periodically or have it done if you don't know how. They will leak co2 into the bus just like a home furnace if not maintained.

TOM

[cody]

One quick question on this subject, a lot of people put the furnaces in the bays, for the outside vent are anyone using the fender wells to vent into or just cutting into the bay doors to create the vent opening.  I realize that when a furnace is mounted in the living area it can be tucked into a cabinet and direct vented outside thru the side wall but was wondering for those that mount in the bays what techniques are prefered.

[robertglines1]

we shut bathroom door (1/2) coach and go from SW Ind to fla in January..you"ll be surprised how fast its gets warmer going south...Use gen set if we get a little chilled and turn off and front heat keeps up(bus)after bus is warm.we also removed all bus heat except front heat & defroster.We had a surban before and used it on the road...co2 detectors are cheap.

[bevans6]

My Suburban is installed in a bay, and it is problematic.  It is designed to be installed in a cabinet in the living space.  the combustion air intake and exhaust go outside the bus through the side wall, not into a fender/axle space - the MCI bay has a 20" or so space with side wall beside the bay door at the rear passenger side.  The exhaust of the furnace is very very hot, hot enough to ignite combustibles, you have to treat it with respect.  There are length limits to the intake/exhaust piping as well, and 9" is about the longest they discuss in the manual.  The other problem is cold air return.  You need a significant cold air return capability to the furnace, or hot air delivery into the bus will be compromised.  Also, my furnace is in the bay holding the water tanks - and the black water tank is sometimes not the freshest thing.  Without cold air return ducting to the furnace, it was pulling the smelly air out of the bay and pumping it into the bus.  Creating a well enough sealed cold air duct was not the work of a single day, it was quite complex, and a PITA.

If it is in the living space, cold air return is a doddle, but hot air ducting is harder.  It's a trade off, and probably why MH's that use furnaces either have a couple or more smaller ones distributed along the length of the space, or build in venting and ducting from the beginning of the project.  Retrofitting such into a finished bus is hard.

Brian

[JohnEd]

My furnace heat exchanger was cracked and it dumped huge amts of co and co2 into the interior.  I am fortunate the leak was as big as it was cause it made my eyes sting and I couldn't stand it.  Should have killed me and would have if it had been smaller.  Small leaks kill you just the same.

Get a carbon MONoxide detector before you use the furnace again.  Also get a separate Carbon Dioxide detector and mount it as well.  The dioxide will KILL you also.  If you can't find these monitor/alarms local get on the eBay.  Trying to impress on you that you NEED these devices.

My CO monitor chirps and then resets every time my furnace starts.  It kicks of with a slight "whump" and that pressure slips a tiny bit of co out.  It is my "test" that the system is on and sensitive.

John the lucky fool survivor

[Tenor]

I removed the original bus heat, but used fittings to plumb in a smaller heater core from a 5 ton army truck (24v,3spd fan and big btu's) and put it under the couch with the propane furnace.  It works great!  It's a really easy job as long as your original plumbing wasn't hacked up.  I used a short piece of the original heater hose attached to an appropriate piece of pipe, into a reducer down to heater hose for the hot side and the return side.  No worries about co2 or wheter it's legal to run propane while on the road.  I also kept the core from my old winnie, since it was a nice box style unit as well, and I am going to put it into the bathroom or attach it to the genset. 

Glenn

[fe2_o3]

When on the road we use two propane cat. heaters. One in the drivers area and one in the hall near the bath. area. The old girl ( the bus ) is drafty enough the co alarm has never gone off. When parked we use the suburban heaters. One up front and one near the bath. area...Cable

[Ed Hackenbruch]

We don't have a furnace in our 5A, when going down the road we use the bus heat and it works just fine.