Community Forums

jab3143 · 04-22-2006, 06:07 PM

Hey,

I am taking my trailer down to a Ski and Snowboard convention at Mammoth next week...The night time temps are not that cold currently...but it would be nice if I could go out to places when the temps get in the low 20's and not have to worry about the plumbing or the tanks. In my next trailer I will purchase the heated enclosed tanks...but that won't be for a while (a long while if you ask the wife) Some of you with WW's must go out when the temps drop below freezing....what do you do. I am thinking I could wrap the exposed pipes in some of that foam insulation....but what about the tanks (and the pipes)....does somebody make some kind of enclosure that mounts under the trailer....can I make one???? Do I need to worry about it. Any help is always appreciated.

James

jab3143 · 04-22-2006, 06:07 PM

Hey,

I am taking my trailer down to a Ski and Snowboard convention at Mammoth next week...The night time temps are not that cold currently...but it would be nice if I could go out to places when the temps get in the low 20's and not have to worry about the plumbing or the tanks. In my next trailer I will purchase the heated enclosed tanks...but that won't be for a while (a long while if you ask the wife) Some of you with WW's must go out when the temps drop below freezing....what do you do. I am thinking I could wrap the exposed pipes in some of that foam insulation....but what about the tanks (and the pipes)....does somebody make some kind of enclosure that mounts under the trailer....can I make one???? Do I need to worry about it. Any help is always appreciated.

James

Jeff_in_The_Dalles · 04-23-2006, 02:56 AM

Stock, mine has what looks to be 5/16 exterior structure board wrapped in that black rubberized tarp-like stuff. They are just screwed to the bottom of the frame rails.

Regular foam sheet insulation and fiberglass batting is between the frame rails and tanks, and above the wood, and a couple of heat ducts wind between the pipes/tanks on their way from the furnace to the vent outlets.

Assuming the tanks don't protrude below the frame, I would think it would be pretty easy to retrofit.

I have also seen plastic corrigated cardboard looking stuff installed the same way. I would think a variety of materials could be used, as long as it was strong enough to hold up insulation, and water proof.

WWFan · 04-23-2006, 07:05 AM

James:

Good question.."down here" we don't need to worry about the 20's very often (if at all

)...do you know what the factory does? I'd be interested if there's a retro they could do for you...

Good luck!

jab3143 · 04-23-2006, 12:03 PM

Hi Sean,

That's a good idea....I will call the factory and see what they can offer....that should give me a starting point.... I agree with Jeff also that it is not much.....they enclose the tanks...what I didn't know was they run some of the heating duct's through the area to keep it warm...now I understand a little more. I thought the heat was created by electic heaters on the tanks or wrapped around the pipes....never thought about running a heat duct into the enclosure...or just routing ducting through the area. Thanks for your responses.

James

Jeff_in_The_Dalles · 04-25-2006, 08:30 AM

There are tank heaters that can be added, but they pull quite a bit of juice. If you are camping in areas w/o electric, just the furnace will run a pair of batteries down pretty quickly, so that might be an option to consider only if you will be cold camping in areas that have shore power.

If you enclose the underbelly, run a heat duct through it if you can, and keep the thermostat at 60 or so, I think you would be pretty good as long as it isn't REALLY cold...

Checking with the manufacturer would be a good idea, especially if they are close.