# New Used 21rs Question



## Ostenhouse (Feb 6, 2009)

Hello,

We are the proud new owners of a Outback 21RS. My family is very excited about going camping in our new camper.

We have the coach parked in the driveway. My 4 year old loves to go out in the camper and play and we watch a little tv out there sometimes.

I have a few questions:

When running the furnace I get minimal air movement through the vents. The air is hot but it barely blows through the vent. Is that normal??

I was checking out the roof and there are cracks in some of the sealer around the ac and some vents and other stuff. I plan on washing the top with mild detergent and laying some new beads with Dicor??

The coach is in a winterized state right now (i live in missouri and it is still cold) but when it gets nice what is the best way to de-winterize and as far as that goes I will need some info on winterizing for next fall.

does anyone have any 21rs specific articles or books or websites they would recomend??

Thank You,

Gary


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## Saltshaker (Mar 23, 2007)

Ostenhouse said:


> Hello,
> 
> We are the proud new owners of a Outback 21RS. My family is very excited about going camping in our new camper.
> 
> ...


Sorry, but I don't have the model that you have but I will give you a few pointers, hope they help. Since your planning on washing the top down, please don't take it for granted that you can just walk around up there, the outback roof's aren't built sturdy enough for that. I lay a half sheet of 3/4" plywood on the roof and work where I can, then move the plywood to another area and so on. The furnace should put out more air than your feeling, remove one of the vent covers inside and with a flashlite and a small mirror look inside the duct work, I had the same problem with my 28rs and found the previous owner had stuffed two of the 2 duct work's with part of a canvas, not good. Mine blows a nice steady stream of warm air, not an enormous amount but steady. Since we camp in campground that have hook-ups we seldom use the furnace, we use a small ceramic portable electric heater and save our propane for other things, much cheaper that way.

If you do a search on this forum, regular "outbacks" for your model, I'm sure your going to find a lot of stuff to be made aware of. I love this forum, by-the-way, it's saved me a lot of grief, time and money wise.

Good Luck,

Saltshaker


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## Ostenhouse (Feb 6, 2009)

Saltshaker said:


> Hello,
> 
> We are the proud new owners of a Outback 21RS. My family is very excited about going camping in our new camper.
> 
> ...


Sorry, but I don't have the model that you have but I will give you a few pointers, hope they help. Since your planning on washing the top down, please don't take it for granted that you can just walk around up there, the outback roof's aren't built sturdy enough for that. I lay a half sheet of 3/4" plywood on the roof and work where I can, then move the plywood to another area and so on. The furnace should put out more air than your feeling, remove one of the vent covers inside and with a flashlite and a small mirror look inside the duct work, I had the same problem with my 28rs and found the previous owner had stuffed two of the 2 duct work's with part of a canvas, not good. Mine blows a nice steady stream of warm air, not an enormous amount but steady. Since we camp in campground that have hook-ups we seldom use the furnace, we use a small ceramic portable electric heater and save our propane for other things, much cheaper that way.

If you do a search on this forum, regular "outbacks" for your model, I'm sure your going to find a lot of stuff to be made aware of. I love this forum, by-the-way, it's saved me a lot of grief, time and money wise.

Good Luck,

Saltshaker
[/quote]

Thanks for the tips, i like this site already!!

Gary


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Try blocking all the vents...except one. See how much air comes out. If it is still a small amount you'll need to check the furnace unit to see if it is blowing well. Perhaps there is some build-up or something from the previous owner is blocking. Oh...you might even get a mirror look down into the vents. Again..something might be in the vent. Using the mirror, you might see if the duct has a opening and some of the heat is going under the Outback and not in the vents.


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## Chabbie1 (Dec 3, 2006)

Congratulations on a wonderful model. You are going to love it. We love ours!


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## TitanFlyer (Feb 5, 2009)

Chabbie1 said:


> Congratulations on a wonderful model. You are going to love it. We love ours!


During my PDI I noticed the same thing and we opened up the area under the sofa. We found one of the tubes was completely ripped all the way around and was warming up the inside of the sofa very nicely. Easy fix. After that we had to quickly turn the furnace down as it was getting uncomfortably hot in the trailer. Just something to check.

James


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## Ostenhouse (Feb 6, 2009)

I took a mirror and looked down the ducts. The duct closest to the slide was almost pinched closed, it had a bout a half inch of clearance for air. The other two looked o.k. I pulled the vent and felt around the heater and felt a lot of air blowing out of seams. I am going to pick up a roll of alluminum duct tape tonight and seal it off as much as possible. I was not impressed with the craftsmanship of the person who built the plennum and duct work but whatever.

Gary


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## Fanatical1 (Jan 9, 2006)

Ostenhouse said:


> I took a mirror and looked down the ducts. The duct closest to the slide was almost pinched closed, it had a bout a half inch of clearance for air. The other two looked o.k. I pulled the vent and felt around the heater and felt a lot of air blowing out of seams. I am going to pick up a roll of alluminum duct tape tonight and seal it off as much as possible. I was not impressed with the craftsmanship of the person who built the plennum and duct work but whatever.
> 
> Gary


Glad you found the problem. After reading your original post yesterday, I suspected a leak or obstructed duct based on the good air volume
I have from all three of my vents. I would suggest cleaning the area to be taped very well to insure good adhesion with the aluminum duct
tape. Duct work often has some residual oil left on the surface of the HDG steel from the factory (to avoid white rust) and using a strong cleaner,
or even solvent, will help to remove any oil or dirt to make sure your tape stays on with the heat from the furnace and air movement from the blower.

Mark


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Ostenhouse said:


> I took a mirror and looked down the ducts. The duct closest to the slide was almost pinched closed, it had a bout a half inch of clearance for air. The other two looked o.k. I pulled the vent and felt around the heater and felt a lot of air blowing out of seams. I am going to pick up a roll of alluminum duct tape tonight and seal it off as much as possible. I was not impressed with the craftsmanship of the person who built the plennum and duct work but whatever.
> 
> Gary


Question...will this be the first time you use Duct Tape on an actual duct?

Funny thing is I've used duct tape for YEARS, but never once have I used it on any ducts.

....just thought that was funny.


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## 'Ohana (May 20, 2007)

Ostenhouse said:


> I took a mirror and looked down the ducts. The duct closest to the slide was almost pinched closed, it had a bout a half inch of clearance for air. The other two looked o.k. I pulled the vent and felt around the heater and felt a lot of air blowing out of seams. I am going to pick up a roll of alluminum duct tape tonight and seal it off as much as possible. I was not impressed with the craftsmanship of the person who built the plennum and duct work but whatever.
> 
> Gary


I'm thinking that this issue is something for the dealer should take care of under warranty









Ed


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## Ostenhouse (Feb 6, 2009)

Thank You to everyone for the great tips!!
We our looking forward to a lot of camping this year starting with Wurstfest http://www.hermannmissouri.com/

Gary


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## Ostenhouse (Feb 6, 2009)

Oregon_Camper said:


> I took a mirror and looked down the ducts. The duct closest to the slide was almost pinched closed, it had a bout a half inch of clearance for air. The other two looked o.k. I pulled the vent and felt around the heater and felt a lot of air blowing out of seams. I am going to pick up a roll of alluminum duct tape tonight and seal it off as much as possible. I was not impressed with the craftsmanship of the person who built the plennum and duct work but whatever.
> 
> Gary


Question...will this be the first time you use Duct Tape on an actual duct?

Funny thing is I've used duct tape for YEARS, but never once have I used it on any ducts.

....just thought that was funny.








[/quote]

I have also used duct tape for years. Several years back I had a leaky duct at my house and was wondering what would work good. I ended up using duct tape, I felt bad because I thought i was fixing it poorly and then it hit me that I was using it correctly for the first time in my life!!!


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