Is my basement heated?

[RJL]

We have a 2010 Damon Challenger 368. We left NJ last Saturday, March 11 and it was about 10 degrees headed to Cape Coral Fla. I thought I read somewhere that I would be ok to fill with water as long as I kept the heater cranking, which I did. Had it set at 68 for the day and night before I left. Didn't want to take any chances so we waited until we got to South Carolina before I filled the water tank on Saturday night. I will say it was snowing and below freezing on Sunday morning when we left. Anyway, is it ok to fill my tank before I leave? Is my basement heated?

Thanks

Bob

[RJL]

I emailed Thor and this is their response. Thought I'd share should someone else have this question.

Bob

Good Afternoon Bob,
Heated basement is not a word I would use to describe it, I would describe it as a small / minimal amount of heated air flow is going to the basement, but not warm enough to keep anything from freezing in such frigid temps.
What we like to suggest is a small space heater in the water tank area to keep the lines and tanks from freezing up.
I hope that this answers your question. If you need further assistance please do not hesitate to give us a call.
Thank you
Jaime

[bullydogs1]

I would call Thor and ask...they could look it up..in fact , it could be in your owners manual...and I've seen people put drop lights in there (safely caged) and that did the trick...some people even have a 12 v heater you can plug in....or a 120v heater..with a theromo cube plug.

[RJL]

Well thank you all for the replies. I was pretty confident the basement was heated but of course the DW told me better safe than sorry, so I didn't fill up. If there is a next time we leave in such cold weather I'm just gonna fill up the day before and keep the furnace cranking.

Bob

[Effy]

msturtz wrote:
Keep in mind that your dash heat will not heat the basement only the furnace. Most Gas rigs do not have heated basements and most DPs do but that isn't always the case. Some gas rigs do have heated tanks.

I think the OP had the furnace on - not reliance on the dash heat. And it's not true that gas units don't have heat to the tanks. The duct work for the furnace is run in such a way that allows heat to the tanks to keep them from freezing. On our entry level coach we've travelled in sub 20 deg temps and never had an issue as long as the furnace was running.

So yes to the OP, fill your FW. Even without heat it would take days of sub freezing temps to get that frozen. With your furnace on you should not have an issue. I would prep for trips in the winter when we lived in MD, often days before we would leave in sub freezing temps. Set the furnace to 48 and it kept things from freezing without using up a ton of lp.

[crasster]

Also keep in mind that moving water (driving) will also be less prone to freezing unless it is very cold. Residual temps apply from day to night. If you are worried, crank the heater on every so often and warm it up a bit. It will stay warm for a long while. You goal is above 32F, so 42F and you are FINE. Thermometers are also your friend.

[Harvard]

Our 2004 Class C has a furnace duct AND an engine heater to provide heat to the 3 holding tanks and all basement plumbing.

[msturtz]

Keep in mind that your dash heat will not heat the basement only the furnace. Most Gas rigs do not have heated basements and most DPs do but that isn't always the case. Some gas rigs do have heated tanks.

[Dutch_12078]

RJL wrote:
We have a 2010 Damon Challenger 368. We left NJ last Saturday, March 11 and it was about 10 degrees headed to Cape Coral Fla. I thought I read somewhere that I would be ok to fill with water as long as I kept the heater cranking, which I did. Had it set at 68 for the day and night before I left. Didn't want to take any chances so we waited until we got to South Carolina before I filled the water tank on Saturday night. I will say it was snowing and below freezing on Sunday morning when we left. Anyway, is it ok to fill my tank before I leave? Is my basement heated?

Thanks

Bob

Stick a thermometer down in your wet bay and compare it to the outside temp after the heat has been running for awhile.

[DrewE]

I would be surprised if it were not since you have an enclosed wet bay. Often the heating takes the form of a little duct from the furnace into the wet bay; on my motorhome it looks something like a vacuum cleaner hose cut off and hanging down a half inch.