Old mobile home (trailer house) heating problem!

[bergvw]

If I've posted this improperly I apologize.

I am trying to get a solution to a heating problem in my 1971 mobile home rental. I have had the local(there) propane companys(2)check the problem and they say everything is OK and I paid hefty service charges for those. I am located 110 miles away and the rental is quite a distance from any city and no HVAC contractors are located near there. The mobile home is 14'X 70' and has the typical, for that era, Coleman furnace with the squirrel cage fan mounted to the motor shaft. All of that can be easily removed as a unit from the top of the furnace for repairs and cleaning. The furnace is accessed from the back end of the home and so the ducting is about 65' to the front bedroom. The heat ducts run along the center of the home and return air ducting runs along the outside walls. The home has always been skirted and can't have damage from underneath. For the past 2 winters I have gotten complaints from the tenants that the front bedroom is too cold. Is it possible that at some point in time, someone may have changed the motor size to a different RPM without my knowledge or are these typically all basically the same RPM? Is it possible for a HVAC contractor to check the air flow, temp, etc. and tell me exactly what I need? Would it be better to find a mobile home salvage and repair company to just replace the furnace with something from a larger mobile home?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[MintJulep]

Never say can't have damage until you actually look. Just because it is skirted doesn't mean that some critter hasn't found a way in and decided that the insulation makes are nice nest. Mice can get through some pretty small holes.

Or, there may be dampers in the duct work that have gotten moved over the years. There may be a leak in the duct work. Insulation in the duct work may have fallen and restricted the passage to the front room.

Don't change the furnace to a larger one. It used to be fine. Now its not. Something changed.

 

[imok2]

You are talking about a 30+ year old installation. The best advice I can give you is to get a qualified service tech yo inspect this system. If the insulation has been exposed to the heat and cold of the seasons and its never been inspected then it's a good bet that it's in poor condition

 

[unclesyd]

Being a mobile home I'll bet the what little insulation was in the walls has settled. Most of the duct work is pretty lousy and is held togather with duct tape. This will come apart at the seams. Normally the insulation is laying on top of the belly paper/plastic and this too settles and comes very ineffective.
I’m very surprised that a mobile home has held to gather this long.
This home was built during the time that Aluminum wiring was used and if you have it get rid of it as soon as possible.
As stated above the heater needs a through checkout. Both for leaking and capacity.