Having coach heater on while driving

[seahunter]

Safest and cheapest way to be comfortable in your trailer if it's cold * * * * WHIPPETS. You will never need much heat or heated blankets These guys are the original bed warmers from England and get so hot they ooze out from under the covers panting at night - but they don't explode. Just thought we would add a little humor to the discussion...

[klash]

I guess I really opened a can of different opinions when I wrote about why we shouldn't drive with propane valves open and any of the propane appliances in use.
I guess that is what makes all of us humans so interesting, we are all different.
I am now 72, and I think I owe my long life to not doing stupid things, or disobeying the laws of common sense. That is why we tow with a 1 ton rather than a 3/4 ton. Here in Brit5sh Columbia we have s special requirement for people who tow fifth wheel trailers over 10,120 lbs or 4,600 kgs. It is called the code 51 endorsement and requires a special exam and a road test. I did it back in August as I figured that I might be one of the unlucky ones who was pulled over by Department of Transportation inspectors for a weigh in. Here when you are checked and found to be overweight, and without the endorsement, you park the rig and go find a qualified driver to get you to where you want to go. Sure could be inconvenient.
When I finished my road test the examiner said that I looked pretty confident and was a good truck and trailer driver. He asked what my experience was. I told him 32 years, 7 trucks, 7 trailers, 300,000 + miles, 10 Canadian provinces and 39 states. I also said that we are not finished yet, but felt pretty good now that I am legal to tow. ( *With propane valves shut I might add.)

[pbahlin]

We full time so we never have to drive in freezing weather (below 60 degrees F) which means we never HAVE to run with gas on.

For us, we feel more comfortable with gas valves off. It never fails - at every stop we find something shaken loose and there's no reason to think that couldn't happen to a gas line eventually. Our refrigerator holds temp just fine when shut down and we've done several 400+ mile days.

Having said that, I would not hesitate to drive with gas on if I had to for comfort. I think I would be more cautious during set up (smelling for gas) or maybe even checking a few times for smell on the road.

[Rspradling]

Not too mention propane powered vehicles. Sheees

[Art-n-Marge]

Rspradling brings up a good point about open propane tanks. They do have to be open in a propane powered vehicle. But maybe they have additional safeguards (I think not).

Klash - I like what you say and that works for you and used to do this myself, but these discussions help us know all the possibilities, then make our decisions. If we travel with pets in cold climates, their comfort and lives outweigh the problems of an open tank. When we realize that laws were made because one person screwed up real bad, then the rest of us can find a way to safely live around it and hope we don't make that group.

From what I've read about traveling with open propane tanks the big concern is because this means that something else is probably being operated like a furnace, fridge, or water heater. When these devices are in operation, they often use a spark to perform their function. The SPARK is the concern. For tunnels and fuel stations a spark can be a big problem (lingering fumes in the tunnel or at a fuel station). Even if the tanks are turned off, the devices will continue to spark if they are trying to light whatever they are operating and this is the real bad part, so it's more important to turn off the devices not necessarily the tank valves. Some bridges or ferries will have a rule to turn the valves off, just so they don't have to worry about the mishap, but in the open road, I'd prefer to keep the fridge contents cold. (I don't expect I'll ever run the heater or HW when I travel).

The other problems don't seem as probable (leaking hose, leaving a valve open, failing shutoff). Of course, in the event of an accident all bets are off and one will not control whatever happens in that mishap, but this could happen even if not running anything with the tanks.

When I approach a fueling station or a bridge (haven't done this yet and hope I remember) I turn off these devices but leave the propane tanks open. I didn't use to do this but find this is the most convenient in my travels. If I ever get on the ferry with the rig, everything gets turned off.

[Phil P]

Hello Bingo

I have inspected our Montana with the slides in (you got to trust the wife for that one) and found that with the slides in there are only 2 heater vents not obstructed by the slide rooms.

Have you ever checked to see if the slide room floor or carpet is getting hot?

Phil P

[bncinwv]

Phil,
We have four floor vents in the middle of the rig. Bedroom vent is adjacent to the bed and is not affected by the slide since the bed is not as wide as the slide. We do not travel with the bed made but rather use the top of the mattress for storage and wrap everything in the blankets and spreads. Bathroom floor vent is not an issue since there is no slide in the bathroom area. Kitchen floor vent is adjacent to the counter extension and is not affected by the dining room slide. Living room floor vent is in the middle of the floor and the manner in which the front slides work (L-shaped couch on one side an couch on the other) leaves about three foot of center space where the vent is located. I am extremely comfortable travelling with the rig's heat on. Again, this is not what I endorse, but rather what we do to supplement the fur coats on the creatures. Your post brings up a good point though, I could benefit from being able to close off a couple of the vents and may have to look at some different vent covers that will permit this. No sense in heating the living room and the bedroom when they are inaccessible during travel anyway. Got me to thinking!!
Bingo

[mhs4771]

I have changed out our furnace registers with ones that can be opened and closed. They can also be angled a bit to help direct the air flow. Plus I don't think you will ever see hot enough air from those vent to cause any problem (don't forget, the top of the heat run is the floor). Our kids ride in the truck with us, but when we came South in Feb we did run the furnace on a low setting just to keep the Monty's belly warm as she was no longer winterized.

[Phil P]

Hi

I just wondered. Our trailer doesn’t have a bathroom vent and the 2 in the living room are covered by the carpet from the DS slide and the ODS slide the carpet meets in the middle of the trailer. This only leaves 2 vents open.

So we have always planed not to get in weather that would require us to heat the trailer while driving any way. LOL

Phil P