How does the forced heated underbelly work on a 2018 16DBS?

[ZiaGeorge]

Hello all,

Just brought my new 16dbs home to NM and didn't see anything about the heated underbelly in any of the manuals that came with the trailer. Anyone know how that feature works?  Does the heater have a vent into the underbelly?

thanks!

George

[DavidM]

I have an older LL without this feature, but I understand the belly is sealed off from the bottom and there is a port from the furnace which sends hot air into the basement to keep it from freezing. This is a typical solution to freezing for 3-4 season campers. I would keep an eye on the tank drain fittings since they protrude below the bottom and could freeze if they are far enough from the heated area.

David

[ADR]

I have a 2018 16TBS with the heated underbelly.
Honestly I think the heated underbelly is near worthless on the 16TBS, don't know if the DBS is the same.
The heat is fed through about a 2" hose through the floor in the right rear corner of the camper.
With the very poorly sealed uninsulated underbelly I doubt very much there is enough heat available to keep the tanks from freezing.
It gets worse-  the drain pipes for the black and grey have several feet outside the belly with no insulation or heat.
Those pipes will freeze long before the tanks would,  even with no heat on the tanks.

I disconnected the heat hose from the furnace and blocked the opening off.   We do camp below freezing at times but more above freezing where some heat is needed.   Not a fan of throwing heat away when it is unnecessary. 

[ZiaGeorge]

thanks for the info! - my heater is under the fridge - does it come out pretty easily to get to the outlet for the underbelly?  Yeah when I took delivery I realized the gray and black tank drain are way our of the heated part.

[DavidM]

If you are doing cold weather camping in that unit with the unheated drains, wrap heat tape around the pipes. They even make 12V heat tape but that will eat up some battery power. But if you only have a few feet of pipe to worry about, it shouldn't be that bad.

David

[ADR]

thanks for the info! - my heater is under the fridge - does it come out pretty easily to get to the outlet for the underbelly?  Yeah when I took delivery I realized the gray and black tank drain are way our of the heated part.

If it is like mine there is a screwed on panel next to the heater under the fridge, take the 2 screws out and you'll see the hose.  If you just unplug it from the heater you'll need a blockoff plate to keep from wasting hot air blowing into that compartment.   I use an old rubber ball to plug the hole in the floor.
I do carry the hose in case I ever want to put it back.

BTW I put in threaded inserts* where the wood screw went into the framing of the opening and use 2 thumb screws to access that compartment- nice extra storage bonus.

*like these-  https://www.amazon.com/Z-Threaded-Insert-Internal-Threads/dp/B00207NF6W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1524172983&sr=8-2&keywords=threaded+wood+inserts

[K Syrah Syrah]

We went camping last week and it snowed the day before we left, so the antifreeze was out of the system.

We have the enclosed underbelly. Nothing froze (lows in the 20's) and we don't heat it above 65*. As long as the heat is on, your tanks should be OK. As for dump lines, those aren't usually connected in freezing weather. We have also observed that the furnace barely sips propane if you keep the temperature lower.

I would NOT DISCONNECT the hose to the underbelly.

[ADR]

As long as the heat is on, your tanks should be OK. As for dump lines, those aren't usually connected in freezing weather.

The issue with exposed pipes to the dump valves is they will freeze, even with a well heated tank if it is cold enough.
The heated underbelly might be useful if both black and grey tanks were dry and you just wanted to have fresh water available.
The problem with that in the 16TBS is the fresh tank is the other side of the two holding tanks, long way for that little bit of heat in an uninsulated belly to go and keep the tank above 32F.

[K Syrah Syrah]

There is very little difference in layout of the 14DBS and the 16DBS. THE 16Tbs May differ.

Overnight in cold mountain air once in a while will NOT cause a catastrophe. I wouldn't go out for a week in March, at 10k altitude with it. I'm just saying, from personal experience for 2 nights in below freezing weather, we had no issues. Daytime temps in the 50's helped to keep things flowing.