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Old 04-23-2017, 12:02 PM   #1
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Heated underbelly

Hi all,
My wife and I recently purchased a 2014 Kodiak 291 RESL unit. So far we love it! My question is regarding the enclosed and heated underbelly. I am wondering how the underbelly is actually heated? We are in the mountains of AZ and it can get cold here. I plan on keeping it winterized in the winter months but curious how effective the "heated underbelly actually is". Anyone with experience with this have any input? TIA
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Old 04-23-2017, 01:50 PM   #2
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That's a great question.... we have a recent purchase of the a '13 242 resl and the amount of air( lack thereof) being pushed to the bedroom had me wondering.
We have two heat ducts in the living area... both baseboard outlets, and one in the bedroom from a floor duct.
While poking around I pulled the off the grill at the heater... and see the three runs of duct. The run to the bedroom does go into the underbelly... and I'm thinking that the reduced flow from the bedroom might be due to air in that line also being fed into the "heated underbelly"..?? Or maybe I just have a leak on that run.
We'll see....
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Old 04-23-2017, 02:14 PM   #3
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Welcome Doorguy,

In general a heated underbelly is heated by the LP furnace, some work better than others. Check you duct runs carefully for kinks, collapses and excessive duct length. Also the systems as installed aren't really balanced and the longer the run the less air movement you are likely to get.

Aaron
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Old 04-23-2017, 05:48 PM   #4
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Thanks for the replies,
I figured there was a small duct (or some kind of forced air outlet) under there. Did not really expect any heating elements under there on this trailer. I'll take a look at the ductwork next time I open up the furnace panel.
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Old 05-17-2017, 10:19 PM   #5
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Not for arctic operation

I think "heated underbelly" may be a pretty generous description of what most of us have. Our 253RBSL has 3 outlets for the furnace: Bath, Living area and Bedroom. They are fed via a duct under the floor and the underbelly is, of course, enclosed. That said, our fresh tank is somewhat forward and the pump is in a little compartment in the pass-through. The area where the pump resides is DEFINITELY not heated.

When we picked the trailer up at the dealer in Ohio the first week of January, we stayed two nights in it on premises. We had the furnace going pretty much constantly (went through a bottle of propane in two days). I can tell you that even though we were quite cozy inside while it was 6 degrees (F) outside, the plumbing froze. Next morning they had to put us in a bay to thaw out so we could make sure nothing had broken before we left.

This trip, we've been out since early March and have been in CO and WY for the last month. We had some nights in the 20's with no issues. If you're looking at single digits though, I wouldn't get my hopes up regarding the "heated underbelly".

As always... Your mileage may vary
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Old 05-17-2017, 10:28 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Panhandler View Post
I think "heated underbelly" may be a pretty generous description of what most of us have. Our 253RBSL has 3 outlets for the furnace: Bath, Living area and Bedroom.
Didn't you all have a smaller Kodiak?
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Old 05-17-2017, 10:44 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by dawniewest View Post
Didn't you all have a smaller Kodiak?
We did indeed. A 221RBSL. We loved everything about it except the only place to sit in the evening was in the dinette. We wanted a sofa or recliners, but I was absolutely not going over 30'. Sofas are not very common in the under 30' range. The 253RBSL did the trick, though. VERY roomy for a little over 5300# and 28'10" overall. We're out for 8-1/2 months this year, so by the time we get home in October, I should have some pretty strong opinions about a number of things. LOL!
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Old 05-17-2017, 11:27 PM   #8
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In our model, the 2"runs" for the living area are both feed above floor level using the cabinet bases... only the bedroom run is in the 'belly'. I thought its might be possible to rob some of that pushed air to heat that underbelly. Which would explain the reduced flow out of the bedroom floor vent, flow compared to the other two.
Of course that would then cause some neg pressure inside the living area and draw in some cold air...??.... not that these things are tight to begin with.
But, with that cover on the bottom I hope not to have to look anytime soon.
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