Advancing Alvar

[Davydd]

The heating comes out of grills at the baseboard under the kitchen galley from what I can tell. You can get upgraded ducted heat back at the beds as mikes47's Imagine ARV that was completed at the end of the year. As for underfloor heat there is an electric radiant heating pad centered down the aisle.

This is the heated floor pad going down.

 

[avanti]

The heating comes out of grills at the baseboard under the kitchen galley from what I can tell. You can get upgraded ducted heat back at the beds as mikes47's Imagine ARV that was completed at the end of the year.

Our GWV has the grills under the fridge. I was worried whether this would be adequate to heat the bed area. In practice, it works just fine. Much better than I expected. I don't think there is any reason for heating ducts. You are going to be very happy with your Espar system.

 

[israndy]

There is also that heated coolant that can run thru the floor or the walls to keep them from being cold to the touch when it's cold outside. No forced air, no electricity. I know the new Winnebago ERA floorplan uses the space around the perimeter to run the heated coolant so the heat rises along the walls, keeping the interior uniformly warm w/o running a blower which is a big battery killer. I have seen guys on this forum who ran the coolant thru channels in reflective metal under the surface material so the entire floor was warm at all times.

That is a VERY comfortable way to keep the vehicle warm, but it doesn't give immediate satisfaction the way climbing in and exclaiming how cold it is in here and sitting bundled in your snow clothes and boots while the furnace quickly warms the air.

-Randy

 

[Davydd]

The glycol from the Espar heater in the Advanced RV is bundled with the water lines under the van to prevent them from freezing and then before it returns is channeled down the fresh water tank to keep it from freezing as well. There is a lot of residual heat left over after it does its pass through the heat exchangers for heat and hot water.

I believe the electric radiant floor heating pads you see being installed in our ARV can be set to a timer. That way you could have them on all night if you desire I think if say connected to shore power or off-grid you could conserve and only have them come on in the morning before you get up out of bed and until you put shoes on. I'll have to check. The floor heating is something they do. If it were an option I don't know if I would add it. Or if it were an option (I'm not sure now) I probably just absently said yes because we have all electric radiant heat in our floors at home. I figure it would be about a 5% of days need for those cold mountain overnights.

 

[mikes47]

ARV website FAQ's indicate Heated floors are standard in the Ocean One model, optional in the Gulf Coast model. The floor heat operates on 120 volts and uses 120 watts at the highest setting (comparable to an electric blanket). The owner of MYST used the heated floors while on battery power. MYST is equipped with 800 Ah LiFePO4 batteries. And yes, the Silverleaf control unit includes settings for the Floor heater, including a timer.

 

[israndy]

That sounds smart. Especially in the Sprinters that have as little floor as they do and how satisfying warm floors are. Too bad the linoleum in my floor was put down before anything else or I might pull it up and add the electric heat. We have it installed over the poured slab in our yard office and it keeps things nice and toasty there. Perhaps LTV will add that as an option. That extra heat going to keep the lines and tanks from freezing, that too is smart.

-Randy

 

[Graphite Dave]

The glycol from the Espar heater in the Advanced RV is bundled with the water lines under the van to prevent them from freezing and then before it returns is channeled down the fresh water tank to keep it from freezing as well. There is a lot of residual heat left over after it does its pass through the heat exchangers for heat and hot water.

I believe the electric radiant floor heating pads you see being installed in our ARV can be set to a timer. That way you could have them on all night if you desire I think if say connected to shore power or off-grid you could conserve and only have them come on in the morning before you get up out of bed and until you put shoes on. I'll have to check. The floor heating is something they do. If it were an option I don't know if I would add it. Or if it were an option (I'm not sure now) I probably just absently said yes because we have all electric radiant heat in our floors at home. I figure it would be about a 5% of days need for those cold mountain overnights.

If radiant floor heat in a van is anything like our house with radiant heated floors, there is a substantial delay (hours) before you feel the effects of running heated water through the pipes embedded in the floor. Suspect the same thing would occur in a van. Electrical radiant heating would work great using shore power in a RV park where it was on all night. Probably not much use to heat a cold van in the morning quickly.

 

[Davydd]

If radiant floor heat in a van is anything like our house with radiant heated floors, there is a substantial delay (hours) before you feel the effects of running heated water through the pipes embedded in the floor. Suspect the same thing would occur in a van. Electrical radiant heating would work great using shore power in a RV park where it was on all night. Probably not much use to heat a cold van in the morning quickly.

The radiant heat is not liquid but an electric heating pad under the 1/8" thick finished flooring. We have a 2,500 sq. ft. house with electric radiant heat cables under 2" of concrete and the effects do take a bit longer. However, this should be fast since there is no mass to heat up before it conducts and radiates. It is comfort like a heating blanket. This is not new with Advanced RV. It also is not the heat source for heating the van. Heating is done with blown air through the Espar diesel fired glycol heat exchanger.

Of course, if we are on shore power in a campground we certainly would keep it on on a cold night. Then no cold feet until you hit the bathroom.

 

[Diamondsea]

Having an Advanced RV i use the floor heat even when on battery power. At night I initially leave it off but I turn it on at about half power the wee hours when I make a quick pee break. Floor is toasty when I get up.

 

[Boxster1971]

David,
How do you register a conversion from ARV? Does ARV issue its own certificate of origin or do you just register it as a MB Sprinter?


- - Mike
2013 AS Interstate on 2012 MB Sprinter 3500 Long & Tall

 

[Davydd]

David,
How do you register a conversion from ARV? Does ARV issue its own certificate of origin or do you just register it as a MB Sprinter?


- - Mike
2013 AS Interstate on 2012 MB Sprinter 3500 Long & Tall

ARV will issue a certificate of origin for the vehicle with date, VIN no., year, make (Mercedes-Benz Commercial), Body type (Motor Home), Shipping Weight, HP, GVWR, Cylinders, and Series or Model.

ARV can obtain and issue a temporary paper sticker for your back window instead of plates if you intend to plate it yourself in your home state when you return home. I paid in full and received the Certificate of Origin ahead of time and went to our local state registrar (Minnesota) and obtained my plates which I will take with me to Ohio and put on before leaving ARV. In Minnesota, in order to get plates for a new vehicle you have to pay the sales tax of 6.5%. I had to show them a copy of my bill of sale for the sales tax. ARV's final invoice had no tax or sales tax from Ohio. I'll receive a new title from the state of Minnesota in a few weeks.

It is registered in Minnesota as an RV and the plate number starts out with RVXXXXX. Registering it as an RV is much less, considerably less expensive than registering it as a passenger vehicle in Minnesota. I imagine every state is different. The downside is if I wanted a vanity plate it would have to say RVALVAR instead of ALVAR. So I didn't. Also, I have no issues of being able to park at my house to want to try and disguise it as a non-RV.

I wired payment to ARV and I had to obtain a cashier's check to pay the sales tax for the plates. All and all it was a quick and easy process at my end. The Minnesota Deputy Registrar office and my bank were right in Excelsior two miles from my house.

 

[Boxster1971]

Thanks for the details. Here in Maryland they call everything except a passenger car a Multi-purpose vehicle. I have mine registered as a Sprinter van because I do have to deal with an HOA that restricts RVs.


- - Mike
2013 AS Interstate on 2012 MB Sprinter 3500 Long & Tall

 

[mikes47]

FWIW, The process I followed with Imagine is slightly different: ARV titled the vehicle in Ohio as a Motorhome and collected taxes. I got a temporary Ohio plate. When I went to the Michigan Secretary of State branch, they accepted the taxes paid to Ohio for those due in Michigan (reciprocity, I guess ... or collected on behalf of Michigan?). The SOS clerk did a lot of "just a minute" checks with her supervisor as she processed the Registration, but my Michigan Title arrived in the mail a few days later. We did have to pay the fee for the plates when we did the transfer of title.

 

[Davydd]

We are at Advanced RV to pick up Alvar. We will be quite busy today but here are some photos. Note we have electrically articulated twin beds in our B. We can control the bed through our iPhone to raise the back, raise the foot and adjust the head. We can also program pre-settings such as Bed, TV Watching, Zero Gravity Lounger, etc. The center portion at the shoulders gives us a full king at that point and possibly our cat Callie may make her home there. The opening at the floor will be her passage to her own domain under the bed should she choose. Cats can be finicky.

Alvar Photos

 

[GeorgeRa]

Congratulation for your new RV. I copied this picture from your Facebook's link you provided. Did you request the Smart Plug as an option or it become the manufacturer' standard. I installed mine about a year ago and really like it.

George.

 

[Davydd]

The Smart Plug is their new standard but I think we may be the first recipient of it.

 

[hein]

Van looks awesome! Congratulations.

 

[pfflyer]

What Hein said.

 

[GUARDSREDCAR]

Wow!!

Stealth!!

Congrats!!

Is that Graphite or Tenorite?

Looking forward to hearing your impressions of how it drives in the Snow

Looking forward to hearing your impressions of the VB Air Suspension

 

[chromisdesigns]

We are at Advanced RV to pick up Alvar. We will be quite busy today but here are some photos. Note we have electrically articulated twin beds in our B. We can control the bed through our iPhone to raise the back, raise the foot and adjust the head. We can also program pre-settings such as Bed, TV Watching, Zero Gravity Lounger, etc. The center portion at the shoulders gives us a full king at that point and possibly our cat Callie may make her home there. The opening at the floor will be her passage to her own domain under the bed should she choose. Cats can be finicky.

Alvar Photos

What you meant to say is that Callie will consider the situation and then instruct the rest of you where she wants you to sleep!