Cold Draught from cab area

I have just spent a few nights at Knaresborough CAMC site in our Autosleepers Broadway FB on Peugeot chassis. It was very cold and windy. Throughout the time here there has been a cold draught coming from the cab area. Despite the heating being cranked up, our feet remained cold. Any suggestions for why this is and how we can stop the draught.

First simple thing is to turn heat distribution to recirculation so no draughts come through the heating vents.


Always nice if new members say hello here

https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/f36-asof-welcome-section-new-members-please-introduce-yourself-here

Nice site Knaresborough with that new shower block and onsite restaurant.

Do you have external silver screens?
The windscreen and side windows, being single thickness glass, are always the coldest points in winter and we found even with cab curtains shut we suffered cold convective draughts. Fitting screens means the whole inside stays toasty so we needn't use the curtains and can benefit from the extra room.

Hi, I have already put the heat distribution in the cab to recirculation. I have also got an external silver screen which was in use. The cold area seems to be low down in the cab area. Just while I'm on the subject, I also have a draught from the bottom of the cabin door area, near the step.

On really windy days ours suffers from draughts from the doors, not around the doors as such but from the actual doors themselves.  If you look there are vents down the 'shut' of the door which feed air into the pockets on the inside of the door, on a windy day if the wind catches it right there is a gale blows through theses  vents.

A small strip of duct tape over the vent solves the problem - easy to remove later

Thanks I'll have a look.

I have also put white duck tape over the 'vent' slots in the closed part of the door and I also added some polystyrene blocks inside the plastic housing where the seat belt feeds from (being careful not to impede the operation of the seat belts, of course) but those measures were to remove draughts whilst driving along. 

I guess if the wind was coming from a certain direction whilst pitched up, cold draughts could be coming from those sources.

minos1427 wrote:I have just spent a few nights at Knaresborough CAMC site in our Autosleepers Broadway FB on Peugeot chassis. It was very cold and windy. Throughout the time here there has been a cold draught coming from the cab area. Despite the heating being cranked up, our feet remained cold. Any suggestions for why this is and how we can stop the draught.

There are a large number of ventilation apertures built into the motorhome as a statutory requirement and they facilitate a constant airflow through the habitation area of the vehicle. In the winter, and particularly in longer vehicles such as the Broadway FB, the low level air currents driven by the cooling caused in the cab area by the lower level of insulation can be confused with a draft. A great number of users use a low power heater, typically 500W oil filled convection heater, placed between the front seats to mitigate this effect.

My wife has made full length curtains between the cab area and the hab area. They are hung on the runners for the luton curtains, which we don't use. These certainly cut down the draughts.

When the wind is in the right direction The draughts on my nuevo come in through the fridge vents  ,and the vent for the microwaves  .

Thanks. Looks like Autosleepers are full of draughts.

It’s just Autosleepers it’s all Motorhomes

Molly3 wrote:When the wind is in the right direction The draughts on my nuevo come in through the fridge vents  ,and the vent for the microwaves  .

If I remove my top vent I can see that the fridge is TOTALLY sealed from the inside - so no draughts!  However, I should insulate the wheel arch.

My nuevo has the winter pack with a heater vent  at the front close to the cab ,so the cab is not particularly  cold.

Yes, unfortunately my Broadway FB has just 3 heating vents that are in the fixed bed at one end. There is nothing near the cab area.

My nuevo has the winter pack with a heater vent  at the front close to the cab ,so the cab is not particularly  cold

Ah! one of my pet hates, in mine the warm air outlet on the drivers side bench is about 6 inches from the fire rather than at the other end of the bench (away from the fire) where it should be - this little ruse saves AS about 3 feet of insulated hose  - it all adds up!

(off topic I know but.... not putting 220V switches with neon indicators  - as described in my handbook - probably saves them another 50p)

Chinaexplorer wrote:My wife has made full length curtains between the cab area and the hab area. They are hung on the runners for the luton curtains, which we don't use. These certainly cut down the draughts.

We had exactly the same set up in our first motor home (Ace Milano) where the cab seats did not rotate so no practical loss of living space when cab was isolated. The three Autosleepers thereafter where the seats  rotated, readily made the cab an essential part of the living space but at the cost of feeling 'the cold front' during winter. Yes the FB has all the blown heating at the rear including the bathroom with the heated double towel rail. Pity some of this comfort is not available up front. I'm not moaning, it's simply an experience in an otherwise very nice van.

Fitting wheel arch covers are part of the winter pack .

I've got wheel arch cobers in the back, not sure about the front.