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Old 11-01-2021, 02:10 PM   #1
KYRattler
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Bathroom fan draws cold air through furnace.

Hello all, please excuse if this has been answered somewhere on here. I'll blame the Google and forum search algorithms for keeping it hidden.

Anyhow, just like the title states, we have outside-temperature air being drawn into the coach while the bathroom/kitchen exhaust fan(s) are being used.

We are full timers in our 377FL, and as fall/winter presses in on us, I'm trying like a little Dutch boy to put a finger on all the gaps installed at the factory in Elkhart. I've filmed the single pane sliding windows and Reflectix'd all the bedroom windows. I've placed extra weatherstripping around the door frame gaps.

Between the electric fireplace, the main AC electric HEATER, and a radiant oil heater in the bedroom, I can keep it toasty when the frost hits... WITHOUT using the propane furnace. However, should we take a shower or "release any demons" in the bathroom, the awesome vent fan will draw an enormity of cold air through the intake of the furnace (which I'm sure is coming from the pass-through storage bay). I've checked this with an oil infuser in front of all the likely suspects of cold air. The furnace is the culprit.

Am I missing any secrets or RV lifehacks? My chilly-willy wife thanks you in advance!

PS: No, I will not stop using the fan... Moisture and "demons" are not friendly to small space living.
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Old 11-01-2021, 03:20 PM   #2
Daryles
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My list of...

Air gaps...
(mice, bugs entry points)
look all around the frame underneath. Take gorilla tape and cover all the holes in the frame. As mentioned above, there is a gap where the gas line goes into the furnace/hot water heater. There is also a gap aft of this. Where the skirt meets the frame forward of the sewer pipe. There is a plastic filler in the space with a gap all the way around it.
Big gap around the middle jack legs.
Same around the front jack legs but you cant block them. This provides venting for the propane tanks.
Also gap around the water heater on the outside. Probably the same around the furnace on the outside.
Look up in the pin box. There is a big hole where the 7 way wiring goes through. Also if you look up there you will see the bedroom floor. No insulation. I added 2" pink styrofoam and taped over the hole around the wires bundle.
You can cover your stair vents in the summer (need to leave it open for furnace air return in the winter). Cover the floor air registers with magnetic covers. Trap all the cold air inside.

Put reflectix on the exterior walls of your pantry and cabinets. Also on the interior of your basement compartment doors
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Old 11-01-2021, 08:56 PM   #3
KYRattler
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Daryles,

Funny you should mention Gorilla Tape. I blew the coupling off the cold side intercooler tube on the way home the other night. One of Ford's miserable love affairs with plastic engine parts!

Anyhow, without a spare tube, I was boostless on the side of the road. With a clever yoke I made from Gorilla Tape, I was able to hold that tube against the throttle body for the half hour drive home, and up a mountain no less!
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Old 11-01-2021, 06:23 PM   #4
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I had a similar problem with my 375FL, which is the same identical layout as yours, except yours has the loft over the master bedroom and without the stairs, we have a slightly larger bathroom.

The real problem is the chloroplast underbelly. It's not sealed. Oh, there may be a few screws holding it up in place, but there are gaps big enough for a rat to get through.

When the ceiling vents are turned on, the air is sucked up through the underbelly because of those gaps and lets cold air in. It comes in through the furnace, or the return vent area under the steps going to the upper level of your camper.

The solution is much easier than you think, but also take a little time to do.

When I discovered all the gaps and holes along the edge of the chloroplast, I sealed those gaps up with old-fashioned Liquid nails. You can probably use other caulkings, but the original Liquid Nails has been time tested and proven to last almost forever in all weather and wet conditions.

It took about 10 or 12 tubes of the stuff, but I went around the entire chloroplast edges under the entire front half of the trailer. The biggest gap was where the drop down frame drops down. There must have a 1/4 inch gap or more where the chloroplast was sagging and drooping down.

I pumped a lot of Liquid Nails in those gaps. I actually did that in the Summer. We noticed immediately the air conditioner cooled better, and when running heat when weather turned cold, we did not feel the cold draft on the kitchen floor any more.

And when turning of the ceiling vents, there's no longer a draft pulling through the furnace, or the return vent. The furnace actually runs less .... a LOT less and the entire trailer feels warmer.

That's my solution.

I realized the gaps were there when I removed the wall of the pass through and had to do something in the underbelly. It was pretty dark under there and the light shone like little stars on a pitch black night. That's when I realized where all the drafts were coming from through the furnace area.

Liquid Nail is truly tough as Nails and the original will endure any weather. I once used it to affix a broken turn signal on the front of my Chevy S-10 because I was too cheap to buy another assembly. The plastic catches all broke out and the entire assembly was just dangling from the wires. I put the assembly back in place and then pumped a couple tubs of liquid nails all round that assembly. It never fell out again. I had that truck for 10 more years. The entire truck was falling apart by then, but that turn signal assembly was still rock solid when the tow truck came and hauled it away to the junk yard. They gave me $100 for the truck and they hauled it away! I literally drove it to death.

So, check it out. I almost guarantee you, there is your problem.
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Old 11-01-2021, 06:44 PM   #5
BB_TX
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There is no solution. You cannot exhaust air from the trailer without other outside air coming in from somewhere to replace it. Simply cannot be done. Otherwise you would be pulling a vacuum on the trailer. If the trailer were truly air tight, the exhaust fans would not exhaust any air.

Air can come in thru any small gap anywhere in the construction of the trailer. It can come in thru electrical outlets, light fixtures, around any plumbing entry point, around slide outs, and more.
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Old 11-01-2021, 07:01 PM   #6
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Exactly ^^^

Just like a poorly designed fireplace in a house. The fire will draw in air from the path of least resistance. It can actually make some rooms cooler by drawing in cold air.
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Old 11-01-2021, 08:53 PM   #7
DQDick
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One thing to remember is that if it gets really cold your heating methods will allow pipes to freeze and posibly the water pump to freeze since it holds water in the pump housing. The furnace running is meant to pump heat into the spaces where these reside, whereas just heating the living area won't do it.
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Old 11-01-2021, 10:00 PM   #8
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For the fans to function properly outside air is required. They are working the way they should. If the rig was perfectly sealed the fans would not move air.
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Old 11-01-2021, 10:11 PM   #9
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I've posted and reposted this link several times in answer to people with draft issues. The factory still makes them nearly identical to my 2011 unit with the dropped frame. If you remove the pass thru storage rear wall you can look right down into the underbelly which as stated by DutchmenSport is no where near air tight. Here's some photos though dated showing nearly the same situation 10 years later.
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ht=design+flaw
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Old 11-07-2021, 03:01 PM   #10
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vent fans

As has been mentioned, you MUST have a source of "makeup" outside air for the vent fans to work right. We have the same problem, with cold air coming out of the furnace vent. Simple solution, while running the bath or kitchen exhaust fans, crack open the nearest window to the fan. Yes, it will bring in cold air, but it will take the shortest/easiest route to the fan. Doing that should eliminate most, if not all the cold air coming in from the furnace vent. You could also do like the "manufactured homes" do for fireplaces/stoves that are installed. They create an air intake vent directly connected to, or under the fireplace/stove so it doesn't create a draft or starve the stove for air. But, that is a little more involved!
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Old 11-07-2021, 04:25 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KYRattler View Post
Hello all, please excuse if this has been answered somewhere on here. I'll blame the Google and forum search algorithms for keeping it hidden.

Anyhow, just like the title states, we have outside-temperature air being drawn into the coach while the bathroom/kitchen exhaust fan(s) are being used.

We are full timers in our 377FL, and as fall/winter presses in on us, I'm trying like a little Dutch boy to put a finger on all the gaps installed at the factory in Elkhart. I've filmed the single pane sliding windows and Reflectix'd all the bedroom windows. I've placed extra weatherstripping around the door frame gaps.

Between the electric fireplace, the main AC electric HEATER, and a radiant oil heater in the bedroom, I can keep it toasty when the frost hits... WITHOUT using the propane furnace. However, should we take a shower or "release any demons" in the bathroom, the awesome vent fan will draw an enormity of cold air through the intake of the furnace (which I'm sure is coming from the pass-through storage bay). I've checked this with an oil infuser in front of all the likely suspects of cold air. The furnace is the culprit.

Am I missing any secrets or RV lifehacks? My chilly-willy wife thanks you in advance!

PS: No, I will not stop using the fan... Moisture and "demons" are not friendly to small space living.
Normal operation. If you are going to exhaust air, it has to be replaced from somewhere.
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