Espar D2 / Webasto Air Top 2000 in front of passenger side rear wheel well?

cody

Member
Hi guys,

I'm about to install my Webasto Air Top 2000. I would prefer to mount it just in front (forward) of the passenger side (right hand) rear wheel well, with the hot air blowing out over the sliding door step well.

I have a 2004 140 T1N 2500 that is configured as a crew van with platform bed behind crew seat. I haul a lot of different gear and my rational is that this step well area is always clear of gear/obstructions and it seems like that is the ideal place for hot air to blow. My passenger seat pedestal is taken up with an aux battery and charger. My plan is to build wheel well boxes and the passenger side one will have the heater in it (on floor forward of wheel well). Also this will be easy to route the rheostat/controller and mount it just aft of the sliding door where it can easily be reached from bed/etc.

It looks like there is a small space in the undercarriage just in front of the wheel in-between some structural frame members where the intake/exhaust/fuel/mounting bolts can protrude.

Wondering if anybody has mounted their heater in this location and/or has any feedback.

The drawback seems to be that the exhaust and intake will be near the sliding door and on passenger side which might be stinky and loud. Also its a little ways away from the fuel tank.

My alternative spot is under the crew/bench seat near drivers side wall. This location is usually plugged up with gear and junk stuffed under the bench seat.

I was really considering mounting it under the chassis like I've seen airstream(?) do in a post, and have hot and return ducts run up the wall cavity to vent inside the cabin out of the wall panel near the crew seat. But I've decided thats too complicated and difficult to service and I've read plenty about long duct runs or too many bends in duct runs causing problems.

Any opinions or advise??

Cheers

Cody
 

roblee

Member
Look at MsNomer's thread in the Competition section. Her AT2000 is in that area. Others in the build threads too. My AT2000 is under pass seat with exhaust near slider. With muffler I don't hear exhaust with doors closed. When I'm heating, slider is always fully closed & I don't smell exhaust and not worried about it. CO detector inside.
 

MsNomer

Active member
Also note how I directed cabin air over and around the living area without unnecessarily heating under the bed. It works exceptionally well.
 

cody

Member
I wonder if anybody has installed their heater this close to the wheel well? (!) I'm wondering if the intake will be detrimentally restricted of supply air flow. The heater body at the intake will be aprox 1/2" away from wheel well metal at near the floor and rapidly gets more space as the wheel well angles away from the heater..

Image 0941 shows the undercarriage where I will be poking the heater through, there is a small hole which is where the exhaust outlet will poke through.

I think Im going to go for the install in this position and maybe dent the wheel well to get more room for supply air if needed. Also I think I will use a short piece of duct work to get the hot air to blow at least a few inches above the floor. I will build a wheel box with a false floor with the heater under and devise a means for sufficient supply air flow.. I could move the install location 10" forward, but that puts it on the edge of the step well, and I'm picky and want as much space there as possible.

Any advise or comments? The Webasto instructions are pretty vague but, being a builder I like to follow all manufacturers recommendations and provide minimum clearances especially regarding combustibles...

Cheers

Cody
 

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cody

Member
Quick follow up to say that the heater is working well installed in this location. I will be finishing it off with building some wheel well boxes/storage cubbies in the future. This location has the rheostat located just aft of the slider door (directly above heater) where it can easily be reached from the platform bed behind crew seat, and also from reaching in the sliding door or while entering/exiting the sliding door.

Cheers

Cody
 

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Akatdog

2006 3500 170
Has anyone ever seen one mounted on its side in the slider footwell? It looks like it will just fit on my T1N in the narrow section to the back. Exhaust and intake will go through the side wall vs. the bottom where the door slide bar/wheel runs. My only hesitation is that if parked un level I may be slightly past the 90 deg acceptable angle.
 

Paul_E_D

Member
Footwell could be a nice location. Could box it in nicely.

I installed mine on TOP of the wheel well. I like it as that is really hard to use space otherwise. It is under my bed, but I like that for sleeping in the cold. I direct it right at my fresh water tank. I could likely use that whole system in non arctic winter conditions. intake and exhaust are in the wheel arch.
 

Akatdog

2006 3500 170
So I crawled under tonight and looks like it could work well in the slider footwell. Pipes through the footwell sidewall and my plan is to run the exhaust through a copper pipe side pull heat exchanger towards the back wheel. Sink and water will be in a small cabinet on the slider wall so it will be a short loop and hopefully free warm water in the winter.
 

GSMaynard

New member
Ive heard the unit may also be installed under the driver’s or passenger’s seat in the NCV3. Does anyone have experience with this?
 

Zundfolge

Always learning...
Has anyone ever seen one mounted on its side in the slider footwell? It looks like it will just fit on my T1N in the narrow section to the back. Exhaust and intake will go through the side wall vs. the bottom where the door slide bar/wheel runs. My only hesitation is that if parked un level I may be slightly past the 90 deg acceptable angle.
Reviving this to ask how you ended up installing yours? I'm still torn between under the pass seat, and now in the narrow section of the slider footwell. Did you end up going with that location and mounting it 90º rotated? Or has anyone else used that location with any input?
 

Badairman

New member
I have a 170 ext. Should I still put the D2 under the passenger seat or is that too far away from the bed in the back to keep warm?
Also, where did you purchase your D2?
 

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