Adventurer 38Q Microwave Door does not seem right

Campers302 · 01-31-2022, 09:36 AM

In our 2016 Winnebago Adventurer 38Q, "new to us", we have a Whirlpool Microwave Convection oven and the closures on the door do not seem to be as from factory. Could someone with the same model please post a picture of your door closure setup.

Here are some pictures of mine.

We have a 2016 WINNEBAGO adventurer 38Q ..One other question that I have is when the heat pumps are running are they also sending heat to the basement compartments so that they do not freeze. From everything I have read the gas heat does but I have seen nothing about whether the heat pumps send heat into the basement compartments to keep them from freezing. We just purchased this unit not more than a week ago and I have not had time yet to go through the manuals. Thanks so much for the reply.

Thanks everyone and its is Great To Be Here!

Morich · 01-31-2022, 10:31 AM

Welcome to the group and hope you find lots of help on the learning curve as it can be a confusing bunch of stuff to learn! I can throw in lots of ideas but do check it all as "remote " is not the best way to judge things!! If what I says looks wrong, it is quite possibly wrong!!

The first door latches look okay and don't need to align very much as they just act more as physical latches to help the door stay fully latched all the way around to avoid leaks. They also often make electrical switches inside close.
But the bottom pictures do look different from here and may be something somebody added? Any signs they are add-ons?

I'm better set to deal with the heat question as I look at online drawings which can help a lot to find things. This is one I love---but it has the old learning curve on how to drive it to get the best view!

https://catalog3d.winnebagoind.com/menu/Parts.htm

Drilling down and getting into the heat here:
https://catalog3d.winnebagoind.com/2015/182720.htm

I think you will find the heat pump is up top and doesn't have connections to the furnace ducts in the floor but has ceiling outlets?

I did some looking at the flooor furnace to verify how it shows heat might get to the compartments and it seems like there is one single connection which I might call more a "vent" between the interior and the storage below??

Click these to get a better view or go direct to the drawings above?

First snip is the whole layout of the furnace ducts with furnace in back feeding along the center line tot he front with one small duct coming up on the passenger side and anothe shown on the drivers side? The one on the passenger side shows connected to the duct run but then when I move closer, the one on the passenger side doesn't show connected to the duct but I would guess it just acts more as a vent to heated room air move down into the storage as the furnace pushes air into the living space!

That's a view from a distance so check to see if that vent has air coming out or if air is moving IN to go down below?

Americanrascal · 01-31-2022, 10:31 AM

On our 2016 38Q we were experiencing rattles and microwave door openings regularly. In 2017 we had to take the rig into the factory for a bunch of various work and while there the DW insisted that they fix the microwave door. Initially there was no latch installed at the factory- only the closure as was provided by the microwave manufacturer

During conversation with the tech at the WBGO factory they advised that microwave door openings and rattling on that model had been an ongoing problem that they regularly repaired. The repair was the installation of a single door latch as depicted in your photos. Its the same type used on drawers. We have not had any problems since.

Having replaced a few of those latches on other cabinets, drawers and the fridge I have found out there are at least 2 different sized latches that look identical but are different size.

I don't have a pic of mine handy but if I get out to the rig soon I'll post one or PM you

Joe

Americanrascal · 01-31-2022, 10:44 AM

If the forward heat pump is in use for heating purposes the thermostat is set to allow only heat from only the heat pump or can be operated in the heat pump with gas heat mode. On the forward heat pump, if there is a differential of a few degrees (I can't remember the number) the gas will kick in and operate in supplement to the heat pump

Know that the Coleman Mach heat pumps give up around 40- 45 degrees and cease to provide heat and will simply blow air.. At that point it may be best to use just the gas heat only mode from the forward Heat Pump setting on the thermostat and/ or add fireplace or other electric space heat.

As long as temps are above 40 we have found only operating the rear Heat Pump by itself (which is not connected to the gas) will adequately heat the rig. If we need a little bump we run the fireplace. We only run the forward system on gas mode when we need heat badly and below 40.

As noted above by Morich all gas heat emanates from floor vents only. All heat pump heat or cool air is by ceiling vents. Ant the 2 ductwork systems do not interconnect. WBGO advised me that the gas floor ducts do provide limited heat to the lower compartment bay-- but I've looked for years and have never found any vent for that.

Morich · 01-31-2022, 10:52 AM

This seems to be the door to rep[lace for your unit. Does this look like what you have with maybe something added on the bottom corner?

https://www.whirlpoolparts.com/PartD...er=WMH76719CS0

Campers302 · 02-05-2022, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

Welcome to the group and hope you find lots of help on the learning curve as it can be a confusing bunch of stuff to learn! I can throw in lots of ideas but do check it all as "remote " is not the best way to judge things!! If what I says looks wrong, it is quite possibly wrong!!

The first door latches look okay and don't need to align very much as they just act more as physical latches to help the door stay fully latched all the way around to avoid leaks. They also often make electrical switches inside close.
But the bottom pictures do look different from here and may be something somebody added? Any signs they are add-ons?

First let me apologize for taking so long to get back to you all. Between traveling and little to no Wifi service it has taken this long to sit down and reply.
After eading all replies today I can see it is an add on to help keep the door closed during travel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

I'm better set to deal with the heat question as I look at online drawings which can help a lot to find things. This is one I love---but it has the old learning curve on how to drive it to get the best view!
https://catalog3d.winnebagoind.com/menu/Parts.htm

Drilling down and getting into the heat here:
https://catalog3d.winnebagoind.com/2015/182720.htm

Thank you for the links. I will add this page to my keepers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

I think you will find the heat pump is up top and doesn't have connections to the furnace ducts in the floor but has ceiling outlets?

Yes I can see that. l see one run down the length of the RV is supply and the other is return. The return side filters in each return vent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

I did some looking at the floor furnace to verify how it shows heat might get to the compartments and it seems like there is one single connection which I might call more a "vent" between the interior and the storage below??

Click these to get a better view or go direct to the drawings above?

First snip is the whole layout of the furnace ducts with furnace in back feeding along the center line tot he front with one small duct coming up on the passenger side and anothe shown on the drivers side? The one on the passenger side shows connected to the duct run but then when I move closer, the one on the passenger side doesn't show connected to the duct but I would guess it just acts more as a vent to heated room air move down into the storage as the furnace pushes air into the living space!

That's a view from a distance so check to see if that vent has air coming out or if air is moving IN to go down below?

The vents in the middle of the unit from front to back are heat for sure and are working ok. The small round vents in the bathroom vanities are blowing air out and I believe if I understand correctly you feel they should drawing in air to go to the lower compartment. Also, in our unit there are two vent or registers in the side of the shower floor wall. These do not have any air movement either in or out.

Thanks for you help and I will save all of this very important information for future referral.

powercat_ras · 02-05-2022, 09:05 AM

The round vent in the bathroom is an outlet vent. The return air vent has openings behind it that connect to the basement and to the air inlet side of the propane furnace. In my Vista there is another return air vent in the bedroom that ties to return air side area in the bathroom under the vanity and shower. That said every floor plan is different but they all have heat outlets in each room and bathroom as well as at least one 3" heat outlet in the basement. Then an arrangement so that return air can be drawn from both the basement and the main living area.

If you heat with electric rooftop heat pumps or space heaters then no heated air is blown into the basement. If you leave your hot water heater on some heat will escape from it into the basement. Some heat will radiate down into the basement thru the floor. Personally I've found the tipping point where I get concerned about something below the floor freezing without use of the propane furnace is about 29 degrees. When using the propane furnace about 25 degrees. At least with my Vista, the basement is not well enough insulated to keep up with the heat loss below 25 without adding a supplemental heat source in the basement, such as a small space heater or heat lamp heater.

Morich · 02-05-2022, 09:13 AM

Si9nce you are here, maybe we should pass along a few other sites which you might want to bookmark to keep handy for future looking!

Catalogs can be a goldmine on a cold winter day?
https://winnebagoparts.com/store/

Plumbing?
https://www.winnebago.com/Files/File...m/Plumbing.htm

Wiring?
https://www.winnebago.com/Files/File...ram/Wiring.htm

Tons of info there and we hope to never need it! But having info on hand can save lots of grief when we get caught in a pinch.
I think not having info is one way to attract gremlins-----

**creativepart** · 02-05-2022, 09:38 AM

On my 2017 Adventurer the Microwave door has one of the standard black plastic drawer latches shown in your lower photos installed at the top of the door. I also have these installed at the top of the residential fridge doors, too. Winnebago adds these to help secure the doors when traveling.

As to heating the basement compartments, there is an open air floor vent behind the drivers and passengers captains chairs that allows heated air in the RV to be shared with the compartment below. But I don’t see how it can really do anything since heat rises. Heated air is supposed to gravity feed , aka “fall” through these open holes with vent covers to warm compartments below.

The heat pumps don’t connect to the floor ducts in any way. Only the LP Furnace operates through the floor ducts.

The small square vents in the ceiling of the bathroom are exhaust fans only and they vent directly to the outside. Note: on the roof of your RV are small round plastic covers that screw on to a center bolt from the fan below. These can and do unscrew and go flying while you drive. Leaving a hole in your roof that lets rain into your RV through the fan. My advice is to check yours every time you are on the roof. I lost one a while back and it’s the first time I even noticed them. Replacements are available for a few dollars on Amazon so now I carry a spare.

The round vent below the shower door is supposed to be the vent for the furnace for the bathroom since there isn’t a floor vent in there. Our 1/2 bath has a floor vent.

We use the heat pump in the living room only because the bedroom heat pump is so noisy when sleeping. (We do the same for A/C when it’s not too hot, as well). Both A/C-heat pumps are connected to the ceiling ducting and running one unit distributes air throughout the RV. Running both of them at the same time increases the amount of cooling/heating but increases the noise level. So it’s handy to use just one unit at a time depending on where you’d like less noise.

Morich · 02-05-2022, 10:53 AM

Theory only and not looked at one, my thinking was that the simple vent would tend to work by pressure more than sinking air.

I see forced air ducts from the furnace which would tend to add a touch of pressure to the interior and if there is an open vent down to the compartment, I was thinking that might be the "vent" to let that air go down. It would seem to relie on a number of things that may make it a pretty low airflow. Things like leaky doors and windows, but maybe some gets to the lower compartment and there is likely to be a fair amount from the furnace duct run leaking?

On some, like our Vista, there was a duct run off the furnace ducting that dropped through the floor for heat in the tank/compartments space.

If one wanted to do some mods, it might be possible to find the duct run in this RV and cut in a duct as just an opening and then place a vent cover on the hole to allow closing or adjusting the amount of heat going there as the weather needed.

Campers302 · 02-05-2022, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Americanrascal

If the forward heat pump is in use for heating purposes the thermostat is set to allow only heat from only the heat pump or can be operated in the heat pump with gas heat mode.

On my thermostat it looks as though the forward heat pump can operate on heat pump mode with electric backup or straight gas. Am I misunderstanding this?
Zone 2 or the rear heat pump can be run in heat pump mode but does not show any backup heat of gas or electric.
Of course either will do cooling.

On the forward heat pump, if there is a differential of a few degrees (I can't remember the number) the gas will kick in and operate in supplement to the heat pump

Know that the Coleman Mach heat pumps give up around 40- 45 degrees and cease to provide heat and will simply blow air.. At that point it may be best to use just the gas heat only mode from the forward Heat Pump setting on the thermostat and/ or add fireplace or other electric space heat.
A concern I have with running interior heat sources like the fire place or a space heater is the possibility of water line freezing in the water compartment or elsewhere

As long as temps are above 40 we have found only operating the rear Heat Pump by itself (which is not connected to the gas) will adequately heat the rig. If we need a little bump we run the fireplace. We only run the forward system on gas mode when we need heat badly and below 40. how cold was your coldest trip? Have you ever had pipes freeze? What about outside shower?

As noted above by Morich all gas heat emanates from floor vents only. All heat pump heat or cool air is by ceiling vents. Ant the 2 ductwork systems do not interconnect. WBGO advised me that the gas floor ducts do provide limited heat to the lower compartment bay-- but I've looked for years and have never found any vent for that.

could it be just be radiant head from the ducts being in the floor just above the compartments

Off the topic. Since you own the same make model and year as us maybe you could answer a few questions.
How can I get the GPS direction voice to be louder than the radio. When we adjust the voice up the radio is louder as well. Driving me crazy that I have to have the radio so loud as to here the GPS directions.
How do we know the solar system is working?
Is there any lubrication that I should do to the slide gears?

I realize that all of these questions most likely can be answered in the manuals but we are trying to enjoy the rest of our trip and are out and about till late. We will go thru the manuals completely as soon as we arrive back in DelaWhere.

Thanks so much for all the information you have provided. Any tips and things to look for in the future will be appreciated.

Greg & Myra

Campers302 · 02-05-2022, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powercat_ras

The round vent in the bathroom is an outlet vent. The return air vent has openings behind it that connect to the basement and to the air inlet side of the propane furnace. In my Vista there is another return air vent in the bedroom that ties to return air side area in the bathroom under the vanity and shower. That said every floor plan is different but they all have heat outlets in each room and bathroom as well as at least one 3" heat outlet in the basement. Then an arrangement so that return air can be drawn from both the basement and the main living area.

I have yet to have time to look around in the basement but will when we return home. As for the vents iin the RV, ours seem to be as you stated yours are.

If you heat with electric rooftop heat pumps or space heaters then no heated air is blown into the basement. If you leave your hot water heater on some heat will escape from it into the basement.

.Hot water is always on so this will help. Do you think leaving the compartment lights on will help. I realize they are only 12v, what do you think?

Some heat will radiate down into the basement thru the floor. Personally I've found the tipping point where I get concerned about something below the floor freezing without use of the propane furnace is about 29 degrees. When using the propane furnace about 25 degrees. At least with my Vista, the basement is not well enough insulated to keep up with the heat loss below 25 without adding a supplemental heat source in the basement, such as a small space heater or heat lamp heater.

.We do leave water run, drip, on any night below 32.

Thanks for you answers. All are appreciated.

.................................................. .........

Campers302 · 02-05-2022, 05:27 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by powercat_ras

The round vent in the bathroom is an outlet vent. The return air vent has openings behind it that connect to the basement and to the air inlet side of the propane furnace. In my Vista there is another return air vent in the bedroom that ties to return air side area in the bathroom under the vanity and shower. That said every floor plan is different but they all have heat outlets in each room and bathroom as well as at least one 3" heat outlet in the basement. Then an arrangement so that return air can be drawn from both the basement and the main living area.

I have yet to have time to look around in the basement but will when we return home. As for the vents iin the RV, ours seem to be as you stated yours are.

If you heat with electric rooftop heat pumps or space heaters then no heated air is blown into the basement. If you leave your hot water heater on some heat will escape from it into the basement.

.Hot water is always on so this will help. Do you think leaving the compartment lights on will help. I realize they are only 12v, what do you think?

Some heat will radiate down into the basement thru the floor. Personally I've found the tipping point where I get concerned about something below the floor freezing without use of the propane furnace is about 29 degrees. When using the propane furnace about 25 degrees. At least with my Vista, the basement is not well enough insulated to keep up with the heat loss below 25 without adding a supplemental heat source in the basement, such as a small space heater or heat lamp heater.

.We do leave water run, drip, on any night below 32.

Thanks for you answers. All are appreciated.

.................................................. .........

Campers302 · 02-05-2022, 05:32 PM

Thank you all for all of the great information. Please feel free to share any and all information.
Thanks again,
Greg & Myra
;^)

Americanrascal · 02-06-2022, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Campers302

could it be just be radiant head from the ducts being in the floor just above the compartments

Off the topic. Since you own the same make model and year as us maybe you could answer a few questions.
How can I get the GPS direction voice to be louder than the radio. When we adjust the voice up the radio is louder as well. Driving me crazy that I have to have the radio so loud as to here the GPS directions.
How do we know the solar system is working?
Is there any lubrication that I should do to the slide gears?

I realize that all of these questions most likely can be answered in the manuals but we are trying to enjoy the rest of our trip and are out and about till late. We will go thru the manuals completely as soon as we arrive back in DelaWhere.

Thanks so much for all the information you have provided. Any tips and things to look for in the future will be appreciated.

Greg & Myra

Having a bit of challenge tracking here but will give it a shot on responding. All good questions.

Yes you are correct- The forward heat pump works either gas, or only heat pump--- but on the gas /heat setting if there is more than a few degrees of difference between actual heat in the rig and the heat setting, both will kick in and operate until desired temp is approached or satisfied. Then I believe it comes back to Heat Pump when satisfied and operates in both only unless the differential is significant.

Fireplace and heat pumps will not directly heat the lower bays, they will get some indirect heat from the upper coach area. However while the upper coach is heated, gas will heat the lower bay when its on to an extent. Yes there is some risk of freezing, but it would have to be mighty cold outside and in the upper coach for the lower bay plumbing to freeze up. If its that cold and if you are utilizing the camper you are probably going to want gas heat anyways for comfort so you should be ok. The fireplace alone will not keep our rig comfortable when its very cold out- say below 40. You're probably going to need gas heat for a kicker then unless you have other electric space heaters. The fireplace does good keeping the forward area comfortable but not so much the bathrooms and bedroom.

We live in the southeast in an area it constantly drops into the mid 20's almost every night from mid Dec until late Feb. The rig sits pretty much unused for that period. I always winterize the rig for protection. All that said I also read temps with remote thermometers in the coach and lower bays where there is plumbing. I have yet to see temps below freezing in the rig in the lower bays. I have seen it in the lower bays down to the low 30's but never at or below freezing. The residual daytime "greenhouse" heat helps keep the lower bays warm.

I can't recall the lowest temps we have seen when traveling in the rig. But there is not any freezing weather where we have been- and we have been through some- that I would hesitate to use the rig-even when full of water (road conditions permitting). Remember the engine provides huge amounts of free heat while the engine is running through the "coach heat" system (row of buttons on the left next to driver). That uses the gas system ducts and heats the lower bays quite well while in travel mode using the hot water from the engine. It also heats the water tank- watch out it gets VERY hot.

I have never found a way to differentiate the volume between GPS and radio- sorry about that . Don't think you can.

I understand Lippert does not advise lubricating the racks or pinion gears on the Slim Rack or Digisync systems. However on the Slim Racks I believe you'll find they do recommend using dry lube to lubricate the drive blocks and gib areas (not fun but doable). Lippert (Powergear) has a ton of good videos on their web site. Lots of other great YouTube info out there on this stuff also.

The solar system works- there just ain't much of it to work with unless you've added more panels. Morich and Creativepart helped educate me on that on a thread in here somewhere a few weeks back. They really know their stuff on that! (I'm dumb as a brick on lectrsity).

Feel free to private message me at anytime (upper right hand box) with any other rig specific questions.
Joe

Americanrascal · 02-06-2022, 11:35 AM

A little more on concerns about freezing.

When the rig engine is not running, we are parked. and the rig water system is in use, I set a small 200 watt electric cube space heater in the wet bay and run it full time. It takes care of all the heat and pipe needs down below. As noted earlier when we are on the road and its bad cold I just run the dickens on "coach heat" (until we are thoroughly roasted). Coach heat has 2 setting hi and low. Both will eventually cook you in the rig. That heats the lower bays just fine.

**creativepart** · 02-06-2022, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Campers302

Off the topic. Since you own the same make model and year as us maybe you could answer a few questions.

How can I get the GPS direction voice to be louder than the radio. When we adjust the voice up the radio is louder as well. Driving me crazy that I have to have the radio so loud as to here the GPS directions.

There are two ways.

The easiest is to use the volume UP button WHEN THE GPS IS TALKING. that will effect the GPS and not the radio.

But, in the Settings > Navigation screens there are volume adjustments and even adjustments for sound in relation to your radio. If you haven't customized your Navigation settings for your RV and preferences you need to do so next time you are getting ready to travel.

Oh... and would you please stop using SIZE and COLOR to make your posts "stand out" - it's like shouting.

When answering questions from others you can use the quote feature once and then answer the questions below. Or learn to multi-quote it's easy, or if you feel you must answer between the questions then just use the color feature for your answers but not the SIZE and then refrain from using COLOR and SIZE on new content that you are adding to such a post.

Thank you very much. ENJOY... but set some time each day to read a little of those important Owner's Manuals. They will provide important info that you need to know now, when you are traveling. Then review them again when you get home. I reread mine at least yearly even though I've owned my RV for 5 years.