Fred
I installed my side vents after talking to a lot of our club members. I
came to many of the same initial conclusions that you did.
The extra venting while moving is probably minimal. However the engine
compartment is a box and does tend to trap heat in the top back as it is
very square. We used to build up a lot of heat on our floor after a couple
of freeway hours. I mean HOT. Especially where the seatbelts are attached.
You could NOT touch the seatbelt brackets without some pain.
I concluded that any extra venting would be welcome.
We live in Florida and in the summer it would take 2 to 3 hours for the
engine compartment to cool. This always made it hot over the engine area
and harder to cool our interior. But without any forced air I could not
see how much the vents would help.
So I added an aux electric fan in front of my radiator that automatically
comes on with my AC compressor OR by a manual switch. Now when I park, I
can shut off the engine but manually turn on my electric fan while I am
hooking up. You won't believe how much heat comes out of the vents. And
within 10 to 15 minutes at the most the compartment is MUCH cooler just
based on the temp to the feel.
With my extra floor insulation my front floor now never even gets warm.
It stays cool.
I also found a real nice plastic vent that is about 14x2 inches that I
was able to paint to match the coach. Found it at a marine store.
Just 2 Cents worth
Mike
- -----Original Message-----
From: FBHUDSPETH
To: gmcmotorhome
Date: Monday, November 23, 1998 10:50 PM
Subject: GMC: Side Vents GMCMh
>Paul,
>
>I don't see any problems with the cool down time, with or without the side
>vents. What I am really looking for is a quantifiable rationale for
>installing them. I don't believe the benefit is realized when underway
>because the volume of air due to ram at road speed and induction at low speeds
>is so large that the small vents would be insignificant in improving the
>venting of the engine compartment.
>
>Fred Hudspeth
>
>
>Subject: RE: GMC: Side Vents - GMCMh
>
>Fred:
>
>Just wondering what difference you see if it takes longer to cool the engine
>compartment area after engine shut down without vs. with same side vents?
>I've found that if you open the front access doors after shut down, you'll
>feel a significant amount of rising hot air escaping for a short while. But
>if it takes longer without facilitating the venting process, so what?
>
>I too, share your reluctance vs. the unsubstantiated benefits, particularly
>after I've installed ceramic coated headers.
>
> Paul Bartz
