Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

Art-n-Marge · 04-22-2009, 08:58 AM

It's time for a lesson in thermostats.

The thermostat measures the AIR temperature AT THE THERMOSTAT and no where else. So for most of them they are located in the wrong places but there is no right place anyway as you'll see from my explanation.

A trailer even with the best walled insulation has a problem with keeping cold air out. The number of slides compounds this even further because of the thinness of joints which is only a layer of rubber next to wood or metal. Until recently most windows are only single pane. This can be improved with some window coverings, but we forget that insulation is just that - insulation. It does not add heat, it just reduces the affect of whatever the outside temperature is. And over time the insulation will HELP keep the interior temperature warmer or colder or something in between what's outside and what's inside.

Also, the heat registers are on the floors because heat naturally rises. That means temperatures on the floor or lower parts of a trailer will be lower. Guess what? If you could reach the ceiling the temperatures and measure that, it would be higher than expected. The furnaces in our trailer and stick houses will just improve the air we move around in. The walls, floors, and ceilings will be affected by the other adjacent factors (exterior, insulation, gaps, location, distance from registers, air flow etc.)

My hugemongous 4 slideout, 37' long, 9 foot interior height Montana furnace runs a lot more to maintain temperature than our single slideout, 27' long 7 ft interior height travel trailer we had prior, since the area is SO MUCH LARGER.

Lucky for me I keep VERY WARM no matter the temperature and because my exterior body warmth is far above average - it drives everyone crazy when I sit outside in a very cool day in my polo shirt and sweats and everyone else has to wear jackets and gloves. But you can imagine what happens to me in hot temperatures.

I remember one time that I was setting up my tent trailer in 0 (zero degree) weather at about 1:00am in pitch black at the Grand Canyon in December dressed in only a white polo shirt, jeans, but thick socks and heavy boots. Fortunately the campground was virtually empty (gee, I wonder why) and I move pretty quiet. I didn't put a sweater on until I was done, and no longer moving.

Oh-oh I am digressing. After all this forum topic is about the "bogus?" Arctic package. The bottom line is don't worry about it. Package or not our rigs are far better than any tent or popup offerings out there right now in comfort and convenience. Set you thermostat for an AVERAGE comfortable setting throughout the rig. This might mean 64 (like for our case) or 74 (like in my brother-in-law's rig (Keystone Everest). There is NO perfect singular setting. btw - his Everest has all the same Arctic-ness as my rig but he doesn't have the chrome sticker at the door. Go figure.

See you all!

04-22-2009, 08:58 AM	#31
Art-n-Marge Montana Master Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Murrieta Posts: 5,816 M.O.C. #9257	It's time for a lesson in thermostats. The thermostat measures the AIR temperature AT THE THERMOSTAT and no where else. So for most of them they are located in the wrong places but there is no right place anyway as you'll see from my explanation. A trailer even with the best walled insulation has a problem with keeping cold air out. The number of slides compounds this even further because of the thinness of joints which is only a layer of rubber next to wood or metal. Until recently most windows are only single pane. This can be improved with some window coverings, but we forget that insulation is just that - insulation. It does not add heat, it just reduces the affect of whatever the outside temperature is. And over time the insulation will HELP keep the interior temperature warmer or colder or something in between what's outside and what's inside. Also, the heat registers are on the floors because heat naturally rises. That means temperatures on the floor or lower parts of a trailer will be lower. Guess what? If you could reach the ceiling the temperatures and measure that, it would be higher than expected. The furnaces in our trailer and stick houses will just improve the air we move around in. The walls, floors, and ceilings will be affected by the other adjacent factors (exterior, insulation, gaps, location, distance from registers, air flow etc.) My hugemongous 4 slideout, 37' long, 9 foot interior height Montana furnace runs a lot more to maintain temperature than our single slideout, 27' long 7 ft interior height travel trailer we had prior, since the area is SO MUCH LARGER. Lucky for me I keep VERY WARM no matter the temperature and because my exterior body warmth is far above average - it drives everyone crazy when I sit outside in a very cool day in my polo shirt and sweats and everyone else has to wear jackets and gloves. But you can imagine what happens to me in hot temperatures. I remember one time that I was setting up my tent trailer in 0 (zero degree) weather at about 1:00am in pitch black at the Grand Canyon in December dressed in only a white polo shirt, jeans, but thick socks and heavy boots. Fortunately the campground was virtually empty (gee, I wonder why) and I move pretty quiet. I didn't put a sweater on until I was done, and no longer moving. Oh-oh I am digressing. After all this forum topic is about the "bogus?" Arctic package. The bottom line is don't worry about it. Package or not our rigs are far better than any tent or popup offerings out there right now in comfort and convenience. Set you thermostat for an AVERAGE comfortable setting throughout the rig. This might mean 64 (like for our case) or 74 (like in my brother-in-law's rig (Keystone Everest). There is NO perfect singular setting. btw - his Everest has all the same Arctic-ness as my rig but he doesn't have the chrome sticker at the door. Go figure. See you all!