[AL]

Bill

A way to test your heat is push the 12v heat button in the bedroom or bath closet and set your SMX controls in the bus to 85 or 90 degress ( press heat once on SMX). If the water is cold it will take a few minutes for the Webasto to get up to temperature. If warm the registers in the bedroom, galley and cockpit will blow warm air.

As you travel down the road the engine keeps the water hot and the 12v registers will blow heat as to what your SMX is set to. The webasto will not fire unless your temperature falls after the engine cools down.

If you have no heat going up front check your 2 shutoff valves at the rear drivers side of the engine and make sure there open.

If you want to heat your engine block plug in the extension cord in the curbside rear of the bus. It will heat under shore power or generator.

Later

bv

Like Buddy said below, 2 pushes on the SMX heat button, I use my heat so little I forgot. One push for the roof heat.

[Archived]

Bill,

I’am sure you add a winter fuel additive to your fuel tank beginning at your first fill up and continue during the entire round trip.

AL

[Archived]

Be sure you fill up close to Breckenridge so you will get winter blended fuel.

I think they still do this.

Like Al said, I would still add some ant gel agent on your last fill up to prevent the small Webasto fuel lines from geling.

On my Marathon you push the heat button twice to activate the 12 volt toekick heaters and/or the Webasto heat exchangers.

[Tim]

I live in the Hudson Valley area of NY. I am in the process of purchasing a 2008 XLII-45 Marathon Coach. This year when I left for Florida after the Holidays, it was -2 degrees F and was 17 above in southern VA where I stopped for the night.

Are the bays in these conversions heated by the Wabasto unit sufficiently so I won’t need to worry about the water bay, tanks or liquids being carried below?

Just want to say as a “newbie” (hate that word) to the Prevost Community, the amount of information provided by the members and moderators is staggering and appreciated for someone coming out of a “typical” Class A pusher. I have a lot to learn,

– Ron

[Bob]

Ron,

I have two electric heaters separate from the Webasto system. One is the primary and one is the secondary back-up, both 110v heaters, in my water bay, which also have their own circuit breaker in my 110v panel. I assume you at least have one of these type heaters, which keeps your water bay from freezing.

[Archived]

I hope this isn’t too much thread creep, but to answer Ron’s question …

I have a 1999 Liberty, but I think the same principals apply. Living 25 miles north of Milwaukee and having to keep our coach outside I was worried about the it freezing up. My first experience at winterizing (blow the lines out) was only partially effective (froze up the Headhunter water pump and a valve on the refrigerator ice maker). Second experience (using the Liberty manual and 14 gallons of RV antifreeze worked fine, but took some time and then was labor intensive to un-winterize and then get rid of the antifreeze.

Now I follow the procedure set forth by Jon Wehrenberg:

Empty the holding tank, fill the fresh water tank. Plug the coach into 50amp. Turn on the 110 volt heater. Set out two or three 1000 watt cube heaters on the floor of the coach. Open the cabinets below the sinks as well as the doors to the toilet room and the washer/dryer. Set the cube heaters at a medium to high setting (you don’t need them running on a sunny day when its 50 degrees in the coach).

MONITOR THE COACH DAILY. CHECK ON IT.

Put a digital thermometer in the water bay. I was really surprised that when outside temps got to +5*F and zero that the water bay was still at 45*F. I shot the outside of the fresh water tank with the IR gun and it was in the high 40’s. While I have a 110volt heat gun on the ceiling of the water bay tied to a thermostat in the water bay, I’ve never had occasion to use it. As Jon has pointed out, between the sealing and insulation of the water bay, heat leaking from the 110volt water heater and its plumbing, and the stored BTUs in the fresh water tank … the water bay is safe.

Only time I run the Webasto is when we’re using the coach when its cold. We’ve used it down to zero a number of times for two or three nights. Others much longer for much colder weather.

The cube heaters keep the inside of the coach warm, helps keep the hidden plumbing above freezing, and helps keep the Vitricor from getting cold and cracking.

I have a friend with a mid-2000s 36′ or 38′ Class A that he keeps in heated winter storage. On his recent trip from Texas to Wisconsin he stopped in Missouri at an RV service center to have it winterized. He won’t drive it at temps below 20*F without winterizing it. It was 5*F when he got to Missouri last month.

Our Liberty (like coaches from converters) has engine coolant/Webasto heated coolant that runs through the water heater, so that really keeps the water bay warm when you’re running down the road or parked with the Webasto on.

Look your coach over closely and make a decision for yourself you deem prudent.

[Charles]

Be aware NOT to plug a heater into a inverter fed circuit.

[Tim]

Can you explain why you should not plug a heater into an inverted fed circuit? (I assume all outlets in the coach are inverter fed, so to run an external heater means running an extension cord from a land-based source?)

[Roger]

I’m not sure that is an issue. For example, our inverters provide power to the outlets when inverting, or when connected to shore or generator power the inverters pass through power to the outlets.

I am not at all concerned about running a toaster or hair dryer plugged into those outlets, regardless of how those outlets are powered. Both of those appliances are heaters.