is there an outside vent for the stove/range on your trailer?

[peterh]

We don't have a vent, and sometimes that causes problems with our smoke detector going off. Currently we use the fantastic fan over the dinette to suck inside air out, but during the winter that takes a lot of our nice, warm air, sends it outside, and replaces it with cold outdoor air. I'm thinking that a putting a small, thin 12v "muffin" fan like those used in a computer cases in the window over the stove would be just right for exhausting the gases that tick our fire alarm off outside without sucking too much cold air in.

[Byron Kinnaman]

We don't have a vent, and sometimes that causes problems with our smoke detector going off. Currently we use the fantastic fan over the dinette to suck inside air out, but during the winter that takes a lot of our nice, warm air, sends it outside, and replaces it with cold outdoor air. I'm thinking that a putting a small, thin 12v "muffin" fan like those used in a computer cases in the window over the stove would be just right for exhausting the gases that tick our fire alarm off outside without sucking too much cold air in.

I'm planning on doing just that. I have two 12 Volt fans, both are 2 speed. I think I'll make an insert the same size as the screen in the little window over our stove. With a bit of engineering I can make it removable so that I put put either the screen in or the fans. I think that my using a couple of small fans I can keep the condensation down without the need to open windows. As it is now the furnace pretty much keeps up with open windows and ceiling vent, but it would be more efficient with the fans. The ceiling vent stays open all the time as does the window over the stove.

[Ed Harris]

I don't mean to hog this thread with any unwanted details, but found this to be very straightforward from the inside if you manage to peel the ensolite with a sharp scraper. All I did was drill all the way through the rivet hole through the rusted plate and fiberglass, pop-in a new rivet through a matching size stainless-steel washer inside, coat it with fiberglass on the inside to stop any leaks, and slap the ensolite back on with contact cement. It's not any better than the original design, but not any worse. And without the ensolite, when you have a bright light source on the outside, you can actually see how it's made from the interior like an X-ray.

I guess I was not too clear when I posted this in the first place.

In the spots where I had an issue with the rusted plates,I could only tell there had been rusted plates because there was nothing but rust blobs there.
I could also see the recessed areas where it seemed the plated were located and then it occured to me that this was how the band was attached.
The Ensolite was in such great condition in this unit that I did not want to peel it back if I didn't have to(yet!),
Of course I ended up peeling some and re-attaching it later when I R & R'd the windows.

On my 4500 the rust had progressed so far at the rear of the trailer that the band was held up with silicone that the previous owner had used and that is all.

When I removed the windows most of the wood framing was also rotted,some completely gone too.
Water had run down for some time I think and destroyed almost all traces of the metal plates.

One nice thing about the epoxy putty I filled with was that it seemed to hold the belly band nicely when drilled and stainless steel screws were used and I never had another problem there.

I would think that if I were going to redo the whole exterior I would just find a way to do an entire body job with fiberglass before painting ans I would not think changing the look of the belly band would be a big deal in that process.

[Bill F.]

So Im going to paint my trailer next month, and I wanted to take out the large home depot looking vent that went behind the fridge''long gone''. this woul clean up the look of the trailer. Not to mention, it would be easier on the spunge when washing... I looked at a bunch of airstreams, and they didnt have a vent behind the stove/ range.

what do you think?

Ryan
Can you e-mail direct to me(address in the first message). We apparently have exceeded the number of blocks of text and I couldn't answer this time.
Bill