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Old 12-14-2005, 03:29 AM   #1
RonS
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Furnace Safety

I know this is a dumb idea, however I'm going to ask if anyone runs the furnace on low heat while traveling?? Original plan was just to stop every couple hours and turn on the furnace for a little while. But I need to get south and away from this snow and freezing temps ASAP. Have a lot of stuff on board which I dont want to freeze.
 
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Old 12-14-2005, 04:20 AM   #2
Montana Sky
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There is no such thing as a dumb idea or question here. That is one of the great things about this group, we are all here to LEARN and SHARE ideas. We do have a few members who run with the furnace on during southward travel. However I am not one of them, my coach in winterized sitting in the garage till April. Oh how I cannot wait for the day I can head south for the winters. Have not been above 28 degrees here for the past 18 days and they forecast another week of below freezing temps. I am sure someone will be along to tell you how they travel with the furnace on. Have a safe trip southward.
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Old 12-14-2005, 05:15 AM   #3
DHenry
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I do not run my furnace or water heater while traveling, however I do run the refrigerator.
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Old 12-14-2005, 06:01 AM   #4
Bill and Ann
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I do the same as Doug. I must say though that I usually get south before the freeze-up.
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Old 12-14-2005, 06:10 AM   #5
Parrothead
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Since we stay away from cold areas we have no need to run the furnace but we do run the frig. In our previous 5er we forgot once to turn off the furnace, it ran and no harm came of it. We don't run the water heater because it doesn't take long for the water to heat (on propane) after we arrive at our destination.
Happy trails............
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Old 12-14-2005, 06:56 AM   #6
dsprik
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Wasn't the Steve R. who told us he did run with the heat on the lowest setting??
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Old 12-14-2005, 07:49 AM   #7
jpbcny
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I have run previous RVs (Jayco, and Golden Falcon 5ers), furnaces, and hot water heaters, on trips from New York to Florida, and on the return trips, during Late February, and March with no problems. As I have only had the 2006 Mountaineer for 4 months, I haven't had the oppurtunity.

JP
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Old 12-14-2005, 08:36 AM   #8
ken
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Like most of the posts, we don't run our heater either while traveling to Florida in Feb. We do run the ref on gas while traveling. If I stop over somewhere where there is no electricty hookups, like Flying J or walmart. I wouldn't hesitate to run the heater at nites. I leave the water lines and hot water heater with the antifreeze in it (Hot water tank is bypassed)till I get to warmer climate. We carry about three gallon jugs of water in the shower so we can use that to flush the toilet, drink and wash with while were traveling. By the time we get to GA., we will stay overnite in a campground somewhere and flush out the antifreeze and hook up the hot water heater. By then, the weather should be above freezing and there is no need to run the heater. Hope this helps.
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Old 12-14-2005, 10:12 AM   #9
Glenn and Lorraine
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As Florida SnoBirds, we are rarely traveling in the type weather that we would need heat BUT if the case were to arise I would have no qualms about running the furnace while on the road. We run the frig, why not the furnace and if need be, the water heater??
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Old 12-14-2005, 12:21 PM   #10
BillyRay
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we have and haven't had any problems, but most times I just run the frig.
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Old 12-14-2005, 12:42 PM   #11
gkbutler
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Like Glenn said, as snowbirds we attempt to avoid the cold weather, but we do run the fridge on gas while travelling. Never thought about the hot water heater, as it heats pretty quickly anyway. If we had too, I think we would probably run the furnace on a low setting.
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Old 12-14-2005, 01:39 PM   #12
Roman4
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We did it one time. On one of our first trips I fired up the furnace about 30 minutes prior to our arrival at an overnite stop to "pre-warm" the trailer. It seemed not to cause any problems. After thinking about it, though, I noticed that about half of the floor registers are covered by carpet when the slides are retracted. That might not cause a major problem, but it is enough of a concern that I will be unlikely to do it again. Also, experience has taught me that the furnace is so effective that it will warm the trailer pretty quickly anyway.

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Old 12-14-2005, 01:49 PM   #13
ols1932
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I never run the furnace while traveling. I'm a little leery of running it with the possiblility of the wind creating suction on the exhaust. Probably nothing, but I'd rather not do it.
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Old 12-14-2005, 02:49 PM   #14
2007dura
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I run heater and fridge while driving. If rig is winterized I don't, but have been caught out and on way home we did. Set it on low setting and no problem. On our 2955, none of the vents are covered by slides, so that has not been a problem. I would turn heater off if I had to fuel up truck though.
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Old 12-14-2005, 03:17 PM   #15
derfr
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I turn off the propane at the source (bottles) and do not run any of the propane fired appliances. The reasoning is that there is a very small possibility of an accident and I do not want to have a ruptured propane line ignite the trailer and possibly the truck. I have found that even in the warmest weather I do not need to run the fridge to have cool food by the end of the day. I may turn it on propane during my lunch break or any other longer stop in very warm weather. If there is material that cannot withstand freezing, bring it into the truck or have the trailer warmed before starting in the morning. Maybe I am anal, but I do not feel comfortable with the propane turned on.
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Old 12-14-2005, 08:17 PM   #16
T and J
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Hi Ron.
I'm not sure how great an idea this is, but last March when we left SW Michigan for Tennessee, the temp' was in the 20s. So I thought it would be nice to take the chill off everything so we could enjoy our first evening out. Well it worked, and we didn't blow anything up, but I would bet the National Fire Protection Association would have a seizure if they heard about it! I always run the 'fridge when traveling.
Definitely shut them off when gassing up (BEFORE you pull up to the pumps) Terry

P.S.Think of us shiverin and shovelin!
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Old 12-14-2005, 08:17 PM   #17
HamRad
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We ran for about 100 miles with the furnace on...... turned it off when we saw it was on. Always run with the frig on. Have never run with the HWH running on propane. But I would think if you lived in a COLD climate you'd want to run with the furnace on. I don't see why it wouldn't work.

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Old 12-15-2005, 12:44 AM   #18
Glenn and Lorraine
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I did a little research and found this...

Propane Savvy

That link has been added to the RV Related Links

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Old 12-15-2005, 01:37 AM   #19
Wrenchtraveller
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It is illegal in Canada to have your propane turned on while you travel. I do leave my fridge on and I always turn the fridge off before I refuel.
Thanks, Glen and Lorraine for the good link to that RV propane safety guide and that article does say to turn off all propane appliances before you refuel.
One note about propane tanks, if you ever travel on BC Ferries , they will give you stick on labels to put on your propane tanks to ensure they are turned off. Also they have a rather strange rule about a two tank maximum for propane. Most RVs have two tanks and many of us carry a smaller tank for the Barbeque. When you buy your ticket ( 180 bucks for my truck and Montana )
they ask you how many tanks. If you say 3 , some Ferry workers will force you to leave your portable tank behind or find a stranger to carry it in his vehicle. Doesn't make much sense but I have seen many people running around asking people to carry their extra tank over.

This was a gov't owned Corporation and has recently been privatized so maybe this silly rule has been changed. I love living on the Island but that 360 dollar round trip bill has me thinking of retireing on the Mainland. Take care.
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Old 12-15-2005, 04:21 AM   #20
Glenn and Lorraine
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And still another propane safety link....

"Propane - On or Off"
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