2018 Reflection 297RSTS "heated holding tanks"?

[Cath Lab RN]

Quick question as this will be my first winter in this trailer and am prepping for the cold. The original brochure for this trailer says that it has heated holding tanks. Does that mean they have heating pads that I have to turn on or that the underbelly furnace vent also heats the tanks?
If there's something I need to do, I'd like to know what to do before it becomes necessary.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Redapple63]

Quick question as this will be my first winter in this trailer and am prepping for the cold. The original brochure for this trailer says that it has heated holding tanks. Does that mean they have heating pads that I have to turn on or that the underbelly furnace vent also heats the tanks?
If there's something I need to do, I'd like to know what to do before it becomes necessary.

Thanks for your help!

First, Welcome to the forum!

To answer your question, it’s both.

When you run your heat, it does heat the underbelly. If you have heated tanks, there is a switch to turn them on. Yes they are strips that are applied to the tanks that have their own built in thermostat and turn on and off once activated by the switch. They are 12volt.

Bill

 

[Cath Lab RN]

First, Welcome to the forum!

If you have heated tanks, there is a switch to turn them on.

Bill

Is that switch on the main panel for the interior lights, or is it somewhere else like the front vanity lights?

Thanks!

 

[Redapple63]

Is that switch on the main panel for the interior lights, or is it somewhere else like the front vanity lights?

Thanks!

Main panel.

Bill

 

[SilentService]

Quick question as this will be my first winter in this trailer and am prepping for the cold. The original brochure for this trailer says that it has heated holding tanks. Does that mean they have heating pads that I have to turn on or that the underbelly furnace vent also heats the tanks?
If there's something I need to do, I'd like to know what to do before it becomes necessary.

Thanks for your help!

As Bill stated, main panel. I do not recall my 2018 Reflection having the option of heating pads so not sure about yours. If your main panel does not have the switches for the 12v heat pads, the propane heater is your only current option keeping them from freezing. In the event you don't know, do not assume your fireplace electric heater will suffice because it wont. It has to be forced heat air, like your propane furnace, pushing the heated air into the underbelly via the vent ducts.

 

[Second Chance]

Our 2016 Reflection 337RLS did not have tank heaters - but it was never a problem. We spent several winters in places where it got down to 5F with high winds and, as long as we ran the main furnace, we never had problems with the tanks freezing (different story with the water lines to the kitchen island, though).

If your rig has heating pads, whether there is a switch or not, they are also thermostatically controlled.

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Rob

 

[315RLTSinPA]

2018 probably doesn't have heating pads. I think they started putting them on the 2019 Reflections.

 

[Second Chance]

2018 probably doesn't have heating pads. I think they started putting them on the 2019 Reflections.

[MENTION=331]huntr70[/MENTION] may be able to answer this definitively for us...

Rob

 

[huntr70]

I don't believe Reflections got holding tank heaters until 2020 or 2021.

 

[Redapple63]

I don't believe Reflections got holding tank heaters until 2020 or 2021.

I have a 2020 and it has the heated tanks

Bill

 

[huntr70]

I have a 2020 and it has the heated tanks

Bill

Yes, I think it started in 2020 when they went back to the white exterior. My 2020 260RD was tan and did not have them. My 2021 is white and does have them.

 

[dryfly]

When you run your heat, it does heat the underbelly.

Bill

Roughly how much of the heat produced by the furnace is directed to the underbelly? Living in the South and never camping in severe cold weather, I have no need for the heat loss when running my furnace. It might be worth my trying to block the duct(s).

 

[Second Chance]

Roughly how much of the heat produced by the furnace is directed to the underbelly? Living in the South and never camping in severe cold weather, I have no need for the heat loss when running my furnace. It might be worth my trying to block the duct(s).

In both our previous Reflection fifth wheel and our current Solitude, the basement temps stayed within 5 - 8 degrees of the interior of the trailer (I keep temp sensors in the basement that I can monitor remotely). Now, that's the basement - not the underbelly below that.

Rob

 

[dryfly]

In both our previous Reflection fifth wheel and our current Solitude, the basement temps stayed within 5 - 8 degrees of the interior of the trailer (I keep temp sensors in the basement that I can monitor remotely). Now, that's the basement - not the underbelly below that.

Rob

That's a lot of heat assuming you were in pretty cold weather, considering little insulation in basement. I can easily block that duct, but bet I'd have to pull the coroplast to do the same for the underbelly. I really only use the furnace to warm up the trailer on cold mornings, then switch to electric space heaters. Just no sense in wasting propane, and allow for faster warm up of interior.

 

[Second Chance]

That's a lot of heat assuming you were in pretty cold weather, considering little insulation in basement. I can easily block that duct, but bet I'd have to pull the coroplast to do the same for the underbelly. I really only use the furnace to warm up the trailer on cold mornings, then switch to electric space heaters. Just no sense in wasting propane, and allow for faster warm up of interior.

The basement is a lot smaller in terms of cubic space, so it's not a huge amount of the heating energy for the rig. (The insulation in the basement of our Solitude is the same as in the living space in the trailer - and better considering there are no windows down there and the "roof" is the heated living space.) Our dual pane windows also make a difference. We have spent all of our winters (eight, so far) in places that routinely see temps in the lower 20s and, several time a season, see single digits for 3 - 4 nights at a time. We use the furnace only when the electric fireplace can't keep up and/or when the basement temps might get below freezing. During the winter of 2022-2023, our total costs for propane were $146. That's not unreasonable for living in an RV and wintering where we want to be near family rather than chasing the sun.

Rob

 

[kamakazi98]

Our 2023 297RSTS has heated pads attached to the underside of each holding tank and the switch is on the main control board. I know this doesn’t help the 2018 owners but it may help someone else reading this thread.

 

[mbergthold]

If you don't have factory installed electric heating pads on your holding tanks, you can add them. Amazon has a variety of them.