CheapHeat, which is UL-certified and RVIA-compliant, gives RV owners the ability to flip a switch to use either electric or gas as a heating source through the RVs central forced heating system.

“If they’re plugged into the electric power at an RV park, the RV owner just has to flip the switch and they’re good to go,” Larry McGaugh, owner of RV Comfort Systems, told RV PRO.

RV Comfort Systems spent six months redesigning the cabinet of the CheapHeat system in order to reduce labor costs and attract RV manufacturers, McGaugh said.

Work to refine the design of the CheapHeat system originally began more than a year ago. RV Comfort Systems first redesigned the unit to reduce the shipping costs.

“Originally we shipped the boxes themselves in large boxes. Then, we said the box is a pain, and it’s costing us a fortune. So we broke the box down into individual flat pieces that the end-user had to just nut and bolt together,” McGaugh said.

However, the refinement of the product didn’t end there.

“From an OEM standpoint, the nut and bolt version wasn’t going to work, because labor is a big issue,” he said. “So six months ago, we created this new snap-together-format, which reduces labor by probably 75 percent. Now, instead of spending 30 minutes to put a box together, the manufacturer can assemble it in less than five minutes.”

McGaugh said it only takes a standard hammer or mallet to “tap the corners together” and assemble the box of the CheapHeat system.

“Once you put it together, it doesn’t come apart,” he said. “For lack of a better term, the edges kind of have a fish hook that makes it so once they slide into place, you can’t get them back out.”

[Click Image to Enlarge]

The above image depicts an RV furnace with RV Comfort System's CheapHeat adapter, electric heater, and ducts installed. The next step would be to run wire connecting the fused disconnect, controller and heater element. RV Comfort Systems designed the CheapHeat cabinet to snap togehter without nuts and bolts to reduce installation time. Click here to view a CheapHeat installation compatibility chart.

“It’s really just a matter of running an extra piece of wire along with two wires that they’re running anyway, which really doesn’t add significant time,” he said.

Two RV manufacturers have already started installing the new snap-together CheapHeat system in their coaches. Due to competitive reason, McGaugh declined to reveal those companies.

RV manufacturers need about 6 inches of clearance space to install the CheapHeat System, McGaugh said.

“This system is attached after the furnace, and goes between the furnace and the duct work. It’s an adaptor that attaches to the end of the furnace,” he said.

The CheapHeat system is available in three different styles of adapter, and it’s compatible with furnaces by Atwood Mobile Products and Suburban Manufacturing.

“From an inventory standpoint, we’ve designed it in such a matter that it takes one controller and one heating element, and it’s just a matter picking the configuration you want and you’re good to go,” McGaugh said.

The CheapHeat system has earned rave reviews from RV dealers and consumers alike, McGaugh said.

“This is a 100 percent system,” he said. “This has the ability to heat your coach to a comfortable temperature when it’s zero degrees outside.”