3 Tips For Your RV Furnace + Bonus Q&A -- My RV Works 

Thanks for sharing your experience! I’m trying to figure out my lack of furnace function right now, and I would have done the same thing and left the cover off.

Here is a link to some notes I give at seminars where I discuss this information. myrvworks.com/darrens-seminar-outline-for-winter-rv-living-in-comfort/

@@MyRVWorks Yes, those are mostly standard winter practices that I am familiar with except for a few items like R-19 insulation under the coach. Mine is already insulated, though not at that level, nor would there be anywhere to insulate to that level (assuming we are talking about actual insulation and not an "RV-manufacturer insulation rating" where aluminum foil with an air gap is imagined to be worth R-30, the residential-builder scandal with that stuff never having reached or been enforced in RV marketing claims). Unless you tear apart and retrofit floor raceways, under tubs, etc., to add heat tape and insulation to water lines and the total energy expenditure per square foot is essentially limitless, plugged into AC, and unless refrigerator manufacturers like Norcold are willing to go 40 degrees below their current minimum-temperature rating _even with_ their cold kit being installed, this still isn't going to get you down to any kind of normal, living functionality in the -40 range. My experience is mostly in the northeast corner of Washington State east along the northern tier into Idaho and Montana, and even older homes with at least 2 or 3 times the best RV's insulation, enclosed to the foundation (which itself is deep enough to be on unfreezing ground), far greater thermal mass, etc., often struggle to maintain a livable space with everything working normally at that temperature. An acquaintance scared himself with the encouragement of other owners in their forum that an Airstream would work well for him in severe cold. After his very first night just getting down towards zero, he woke to find the entry door frozen solid metal-to-metal. Despite recommended measures, he quickly gave up on it as impractical and expensive, and he was only experiencing the +10 to -15F range continuously. Frost formed on the interior rivets even at relatively low humidity and would then melt into / onto the finishes until reaching the floor, etc. There are trailers that are custom-engineered for commercial / corporate use in North Dakota and Alaska that are specifically intended to withstand extremes, but they don't have much in common with RV's.

Please join us for our next livestream, this Friday, Feb 3 @ 4:30 PM PST, where we answer viewer questions live!

Hope you have learned more by now, but if you have been busy with other stuff, definitely type in your brand and model and “manual into google, and you will probably come up with one. My 2006 Winnebago came without manuals. Im still building.

The furnace is only accessible from under the fridge inside.

It's a airxcel

If you believe there is a propane leak based on the odor you are smelling, we recommend turning the LP off and reaching out to a tech near you.