Possible Maintenance on Basement Air Ducting

[Bumps]

For reasons that I would rather share while sitting around a warm campfire with a second beer in my hand, I now have the opportunity to inspect and/or do maintenance on the basement air conditioning ductwork behind the rear cap on my Vectra.

I’ve heard that the ductwork that runs from the basement to the roof is, due to the passage of time, subject to road vibration; it often starts to mis-shape or come apart at the corners/edges. Rumor or not, it seems like a great time to inspect and repair, if necessary.

I get one shot to do this. When the body shop calls me and says I can come down, I need to act. I want to be ready with a First Aid kit, of sorts, ready to make any kind of repair that I may find necessary. Does anybody know what I should expect?

• What kind of material is the ductwork made of?
• What are the materials I should have with me (if any are necessary)?
• Sheet metal?
• Aluminum foil duct tape?
• Self-tapping screws?
• Silicone Caulk?
• Expanding foam?
• Suggestions?

Thanks!

\ken

[RedT]

See:


http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/duct...ion-71122.html

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/base...eak-56538.html

[Davel]

Mine separated several years ago and Winnebago repaired it even tho it was out of warranty. The repair shop removed the back cap and repaired with new tape. I paid extra to have Reflectix (bubble wrap looking stuff) put completely around the duct and had that sealed. My hope was it would help with heat loss and also be kind of a back up system. According to them, taking off the back cap was not too hard if you had several people to handle it.

Good luck,
Dave

[FIRE UP]

Bumps,
Well Sir, somehow I think we're alike. Not exactly sure how but, it's sure sounding like it. You see, while backing our '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT into its parking place next to our home, which I'd done several times, SOMEBODY moved our home while I was backing.

Well, needless to say, I was in for some body work. Down to the local RV body shop I went. So, long story short, off came the back of the coach so it could be repaired. Whilst it was off, I saw that duct work. Now, I too had heard that, that duct work has issues of "separation" anxiety every now and then so, I asked them about the condition of it when the rear cap was removed.

The shop supervisor stated mine was in perfect shape but, to be on the safe side, he cleaned and prepped the joint areas that he had access to and, re-applied some duct tape to simply re-enforce areas of concern.

That was it. Here's a picture of what mine looked like while the rear cap was off.
Scott

[charles tuit]

Don't forget a cleaning agent. It will be dirty from road dust, etc. I just used aluminum foil duct tape but if had 1 shot with the total duct available I'd bring all you mentioned just in case. Good luck.

[Falcon190]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Bumps,
Well Sir, somehow I think we're alike. Not exactly sure how but, it's sure sounding like it. You see, while backing our '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT into its parking place next to our home, which I'd done several times, SOMEBODY moved our home while I was backing.

Well, needless to say, I was in for some body work. Down to the local RV body shop I went. So, long story short, off came the back of the coach so it could be repaired. Whilst it was off, I saw that duct work. Now, I too had heard that, that duct work has issues of "separation" anxiety every now and then so, I asked them about the condition of it when the rear cap was removed.

The shop supervisor stated mine was in perfect shape but, to be on the safe side, he cleaned and prepped the joint areas that he had access to and, re-applied some duct tape to simply re-enforce areas of concern.

That was it. Here's a picture of what mine looked like while the rear cap was off.
Scott

I've wondered what it looks like. Thanks for the photo! Oh, someone moved my house too but I only crunched my ladder. 😕

[Bumps]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the pictures - now I know better what to expect. I like the Reflectix idea - I'll have to look for some of that. And I forgot about the cleaning agent, Charlie, so thanks!

Sounds like my command performance will be early next week. I'll post what I find when I get there.

Thanks!

\ken

[swyates]

In addition to noticing decreased cooling capacity, I noticed that the grass was blowing under the rear of my 05 Adventurer when the fan was on. So I peered up with a flashlight and saw the duct bulging open, spewing wasted energy out the back. Since we're living in it for the summer and cannot get it professionally repaired, or perform drastic repairs myself, I removed the right taillight and fished a strap between the rear wall and the duct, then fished it back around. Then I adjusted the position and tightened the strap where the duct was bulging open to pull it back shut. So far this has worked well and I cannot tell that I am loosing much air. There is a very noticeable difference in the air flow from the ceiling outlets, so I believe this will suffice until a better repair can be made.