Retrofit a diesel-fired heating system?

[Pete Masterson]

There's nothing to stop you from doing it -- given that you have the
time and money to engage in the effort. In my '95, the AquaHot is
placed filling part of two bays on the street side. (These are
shallow bays as the fuel tank is in the center.) You'd need to find
about 24" x 48" (this is an estimate, I didn't measure) of free space
in your basement to hold the system.

The big effort would be to thread the tubing for the interior heat
radiators and to wire in the thermostats. This task would certainly
be much easier when the RV was in a state of partial construction (or
otherwise gutted inside) and is likely to be very labor intensive as
a retrofit. If you were doing serious redecorating (new floor, for
example) and were to remove all the furnishings, it might be easier
to manage the retrofit at the same time.

I also note that an Aquahot unit is several thousands of dollars
(although, used units might be available from a salvage yard).

Frankly, I'd think you'd be better off to 'trade up' your 'bird for
one that already has a hydronic heating system (either Webasto or
AquaHot). I note that the retrofit (after the time and expense)
probably won't add any value to your coach on resale.

Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
aeonix1@...
On the road at Newberry Springs, CA



On Dec 6, 2008, at 8:30 AM, Scott Forman wrote:

> Has anyone ever retrofitted one of the diesel-fired heating systems to
> a mid-80's PT? This one one of only a few features of the newer
> coaches that I really wish I had. It seems to my feeble mind that one
> should be able to install the unit in a bay and tap in to the loop for
> the original hot water heaters coming off the engine, but I am no
> engineer. Any advice on this?
>
> Scott Forman
> 86 PT38
> Memphis
>