Trailer Furnance

[jokerman]

Need to get some schoolin on furnances, best 1 to buy,most economical to run,quiet running, where to mount inside? Have 28' insulated trailer,and propane already installed on right side,have a catalytic heater already,I'm at 7500' altitude,..thanks..pics would be great

 

[noob]

they got to sticky this subject. There are probably a dozen good threads for ideas on installation. I have used atwood in my last 3 enclosed trailers. Suburban is also another brand that has been used. If your already plumbed for propane, get either one of these(I find atwood on ebay for 3-400 bucks for a 34000 btu furnace I believe) You'll have to make a shelf for it to sit on and decide how you want to run venting(if you want to run it) You will need one(2 is better) 6 volt deep cycle batteries as well as a power inverter/converter so that you can charge the batteries. If you wire it up right, you can charge battery off the truck while driving. I can't find my pics, but do a search and you will find many great ideas.

 

[ndmtnsledder]

I agree the moderator should sticky the threads about furnaces and trailer ideas. Anyway the Atwood or Surburbans are good like said above. The Suburbans use less amps but usually can find a Atwood cheaper. Other then a power source, propane and a 12v thermostat there isn't a lot to it. My 34k warms my uninsulated 25ft enclosed in about 10mins from 30 to 65 degrees and from 10 to 65 degrees in about 20 mins. I need to take some pictures of my trailer to add to the trailer ideas thread maybe I'll get it done tommorow. Heres a link to one of the good threads http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127107

 

[jokerman]

OK, WHICH ONE IS BETTER SURBURBAN 35FF OR THE ATWOOD8535 EXCALIBUR, 28' INSULATED?

 

[ndmtnsledder]

Only real difference is the suburban should use a few less amps.

 

[noob]

OK, WHICH ONE IS BETTER SURBURBAN 35FF OR THE ATWOOD8535 EXCALIBUR, 28' INSULATED?

I havent' done a whole lot with suburban. The reason i like atwood is there are about 6 different ports to duct with. they both put out heat and work well though, go with either.

 

[boxer]

I have used the Suburban 35 in my trailer for the last 5 + years. It works great.

 

[papa bear]

Pull off the plywood/luan panel from the inside wall. Measure the space between the vertical supports. Size your propane furnace accordingly.

You can cut the vertical supports if you want. . . and custom fab in new wall supports. Or, you can make life easier and size your furnace to the existing structure.

What are you planning to use for battery power. I find the Trojan golf cart batteries work the best - last the longest hours. Two 6V batteries in series will give you the 12V. www.trojanbattery.com I used the T105.

Also have to give thought to permanent mounted charger - something easy to plug into when at home. Perhaps use an inverter/charger.

 

[Polar Express]

I just finished mounting my Atwood 8500 series in my enclosed. But, I did not do it the conventional way. Here's why:

That furnace was designed to be serviced from the outside. In the RV world, that is a major plus - it allows the furnace to be installed behind cabinets, and other hard to access areas, that would otherwise be unused space. Space in RVs is a premium.

But, being that I wanted to conserve my floor space in my 28' pace enclosed, I chose to mount my furnace up high, pretty close to the ceiling. The 'pancake' or 'flater' shape of that furnace, means it will hang down less than other, more traditional (read: old) designs. With this high-mount idea, it makes exterior-only access a definite bummer.

With that 'flat' design, it becomes wider. And, in my case, wider than the distance between two wall studs. This adds another fly in the ointment.

Also, I'm not a fan of the furnace components having access to the outside elements, especially in our sport, where that de-icer is getting kicked up in a spray type form and getting all over my stuff. That crud is hard on everything and that furnace wont like it none either.

So.... what did I do? I liked the shape of that flat furnace. And since servicing it from the inside in our application is a plus (I'd rather stand up inside my trailer to pull the furnace rather than be out in the weather and on a ladder) I riveted a few pieces of aluminum angle to the opening of the heater box, thereby creating a flange. I added some foam tape to the surface of my new flange, and mounted the furnace up against the inside of my trailer. I marked my location, drilled an exhaust hole, and then extended the exhaust tube, trimmed the excess of of the exhaust flange, riveted an insect screen on the outside of my exhaust flange, and then mounted it up.

On the inside of my trailer, I did re-locate the circuit breaker, so I have access to it from inside, and made a support for the back of the furnace to the ceiling.

It's still safe, because the exhaust if forced out the proper pipe (make sure to get the correct size, and make it extend the proper depth into the burn chamber), the air intake for the burn chamber does draw from inside the trailer, but a squirrel cage make sure the exhaust products don't make it back into the 'living space'. If the furnace gets a 'puff-back' or the fan stops working, the sail switch is normally open, it's a fail-safe design, so it shuts down the gas valve, and you're fine.

Now, all I have on the outside, is one, small chrome exhaust vent with a little dome-shaped screen over it. Puts out lots of heat, and my furnace is safely installed, and protected from the outside elements.

Send me a PM if you want pics.

PE