Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 11-25-2012, 05:40 PM   #1
AMA2054
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5
Furnace on/Slides in...okay?

Real new to RVing. I have a 2003 Mobile Suites that I keep in the mountains of NC on a permanent site. I stay in it frequently. I keep the furnace (Zone 1) set at 53 when I am away. This weekend I brought the slides in to keep the leaves and snow off of them. Is it okay that I run the furnace with the slides in? :?
__________________

AMA2054 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-25-2012, 06:01 PM   #2
Stripit
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Home Prescott, Az
Posts: 1,019
Send a message via AIM to Stripit Send a message via MSN to Stripit Send a message via Yahoo to Stripit
Many do when they run down the highway with the furnace on, I don't see it would be an issue.
__________________

__________________
2013 Tiffin Allegro 34 QFA
2015 Cadillac SRX (towed)
2019 Tesla Model X
1991 Avanti Conv
Stripit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-25-2012, 06:09 PM   #3
AMA2054
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stripit
Many do when they run down the highway with the furnace on, I don't see it would be an issue.
Thank you for the reply. Just curious, how long cold the furnace run on the batteries down the highway?
AMA2054 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-25-2012, 06:35 PM   #4
billr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 857
Full day driving should be ok on a low setting as long as you have charged batts. One batt may do ok, two would be better for longer run. I have run ours for several days while on the road, hooked up to power at night for re-charge.

Easy to run it out of propane though if it gets real cold out. It sucks it up pretty good.

As Stacey said, no issue with slides in.

Bill
__________________
Bill and Joan
4 Collie pups
05 M/S 38RL3 #2046
01 Volvo VNL770
05 Smart Passion Loaded piggyback
https://picasaweb.google.com/billandjoan
Weigh-It Portable RV Scales
https://www.weighitrv.com
billr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-25-2012, 06:41 PM   #5
porkchop
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 382
My guess is that hooked up and driving down the road you would be limited by the amount of propane before the batteries, but that is just my guess. The furnace does not draw that much electricity and I think the alternator would keep up.
The one limiting factor to running furnace with the slides in is that the heat registers will be covered. Some heat will still get in and the basement will stay warm but you will probably be OK. I'd make sure the propane tanks were full because the effeciency will be poor due to no air circulation.

Bill
porkchop is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-25-2012, 06:44 PM   #6
AMA2054
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5
Very good information. Thank you all.
__________________
2003 MS 36CK3
2009 Honda Fit
2 Dogs
1 Cat
Retiring in August 2013
AMA2054 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-25-2012, 07:20 PM   #7
wingnut60
Site Team
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Where we park it
Posts: 2,838
We have used the furnace set at the lowest temp (40d) when traveling in very cold areas--does just fine. Doesn't seem to use a lot of propane, and the trailer was livable when we stopped. Made one run a couple years ago for 8 hours at 7d and did just fine.
The truck alt should be able to keep up with fully charged batts and the furnace; if the batts are low, then you might have a problem.
Joe
__________________
2016 Tiffin 40 QBH
2015 38RSSA, traded
2005 TK3 #1869, 10 yrs of memories,
2017 F450 KR--one more Ford is it
2009 F450 4x4-died; 2010 F450-retired
wingnut60 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-26-2012, 12:09 AM   #8
rjohnsonnm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 112
Your original question was about storing your MS during cold weather. I have been storing mine for 8 years now with the slides both in and out with the thermostat set on minimum (40 degrees). I also keep a 100 watt halogen light on in the basement (The kind that is sold at Lowe's & Home Depot for mechanics.) While I do drain the tanks and open all the water faucets, I have yet to "winterize" with antifreeze. I live at 5500 ft elevation in Albuquerque, NM and it occasionally gets down to 5 to 10 degrees at night. Sometimes the heater comes on but neither the living space nor the basement get below 38 degrees. (I have a thermometer that keeps track of lows and highs.) So far, no problems with the furnace airflow because the door side slide-out lifts up off the floor when it's in plus air goes to all of the other vents. By the way, I put a couple small (1/4") holes in the solid duct that runs through the basement to the front of the bedroom to allow a little airflow into the basement. I also open the sliding door in the basement where the water piping is and point the halogen light toward the piping. The flexible ductwork also adds heat to the basement, but only if the heater is on. So far, after eight years I have had zero problems (just talking about this topic, not other issues).
__________________

__________________
Ron and Betty
2004 Mobile Suites 36RS3 #0925
2011 F-350 Lariat Diesel Longbed
Albuquerque, NM
rjohnsonnm is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:24 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
×