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Cold knees in van


hil

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Ho,I've just stayed overnight in my vw crafter ,van nice and warm but noticed a distinct cold area from floor to knee ,not a draft but definitely a very cold spot,can anyone suggest a cure please as I'm new to campervans but hope to use it for one or two night stops in winter 

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23 minutes ago, B Dobson said:

A friend of mine layed Rockwool over the carpet and then simply folded it away during summer . Think it was 150mm stuff 

Whilst upping the insolation of van might be a good idea, having 'loose' Rockwool in the area you are living might not be so good, especially if in a place where it is disturbed such as on the floor.

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1 hour ago, colin said:

Whilst upping the insolation of van might be a good idea, having 'loose' Rockwool in the area you are living might not be so good, especially if in a place where it is disturbed such as on the floor.

Apologies Colin one had forgotten that this OAL and one should have put a smilie with my last post . Would anyone put 6 inch Rockwool loose on their floor? 

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44 minutes ago, B Dobson said:

Apologies Colin one had forgotten that this OAL and one should have put a smilie with my last post . Would anyone put 6 inch Rockwool loose on their floor? 

If you see the amount of stupid ideas put on Faceache that people then go out and try and copy, then yes someone is likely to try and do that if they see it posted as a solution.

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18 minutes ago, colin said:

If you see the amount of stupid ideas put on Faceache that people then go out and try and copy, then yes someone is likely to try and do that if they see it posted as a solution.

Well given that info one can say hand on heart I am glad I don't do Facebook though I cannot believe for a second that anyone, not even Barryd999 would lay loose 6 inch Rockwool on the floor in their motor . Now 6 inch kingspan would be different 

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This 2015 Caravan&Motorhome Talk thread relates to the issue mentioned by hil.

https://www.caravantalk.co.uk/community/topic/102126-cold-floor/#comments

As warm air naturally rises, unless a motorhome's heating system has been carefully designed and installed, a cold-at-floor-level/hot-at-ceiling-height situation is to be expected.

This 2012 Practical Motorhome article may be helpful.

https://www.practicalmotorhome.com/advice/heating-your-motorhome

Owners of motorhomes with Alde heating tend to praise that system's ability to keep the vehicle comfortably warm from floor to ceiling. My three coachbuilt motorhomes had a Truma blown-air system and, despite me taking every effort to optimise how the warmed air was circulated, the living area was always significantly colder near the floor than higher up.  

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I don't know about the Crafter, but I imagine its similar to the Ducato panel van which has hidden vents around the floor.  There are 2 grilles hidden behind the external plastic trim behind the rear wheel, and a gap in the bottom of the rear door pillars, which vent through the box sections arround the edge of the floor.  Cold air could be coming in there, but its necessary for ventilation.

I wouldn't advise prising off the external plastic trim around the sides and rear to see the ventilation grilles, because its liable to lead to broken clips or worse.

Bodyshops even go to the trouble of masking the panels off before spraying, rather than risk damage through prising them off.

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Must be down to low down ventilation or lack of insulation in the back I suspect. Its not something Ive experienced in our old Kontiki 640 but it has double floors in the back where we sit and generally we have our feet up in the rear lounge. The fire is also stepped down and is toasty. On EHU in winter all I do is whack in a 2kw Convector heater from Screwfix (Twenty quid) and its T shirt conditions within ten minutes. Might be worth a try.

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  • Keithl changed the title to Cold knees in van

A lot depends on how the hot air circulates, the number and position of the vents.

While not yet perfect, an example of a good design can be seen at https://www.malibu-carthago.com/en/vans/added-value-promise/

In addition to the hot air distribution scheme (it also arrives under the front seats) in one of the photos you can see one of the two vents in the living area and one of the two at floor level.

Just got back from a long weekend in 0/-2°C, setting the heater to 17° was enough to avoid the problem you are complaining about. At 20 it was entirely comfortable.

I know someone who, doing it by himself, has modified the air circulation in their motorhome by bringing pipes and vents where they were missing or were insufficient. The materials you need are on sale at most RV dealerships.

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hi, if possible on your van, try setting the heater controls to recycle. this closes the vents that allow fresh air into the van through the heater system. we, also, use one of those cheap halogen heaters on hook up. you've already paid for the electric, all the best, ian

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  • 2 weeks later...

One of the negative aspects of my Timberland Destiny is that the Eberspacher diesel heater only has one heating vent low down on the side of one of the bench seats so heat distribution is very patchy. We do supplement it with an ceramic electric heater when on hook up.

I do miss the heated washroom from my previous van.

 

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This 2012 forum thread discussed the single warm-air outlet fitted as standard to a Timberland "Endeavour" that had an Eberspacher D2 Airtronic diesel-fuelled air-heater.

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/topic/24076-eberspacher-heater/

As will be seen from Page 2 of the thread, Harry (PC Plod) was able to install two extra outlets in his motorhome - one in the bathroom and one in the rear of the lounge.

The D2's maximum heat output is 2.2kW, so it won't turn a Discovery into a sauna. Although installing an outlet in the bathroom is likely to present challenges, adding an extra outlet (or even two extra outlets) in the bench seat should be less difficult. This would improve heat distribution and (as Harry did) a length of ducting could be temporarily led from one of the outlets into the bathroom when necessary.

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