Time for warm feet!

With reference to the article (p134, March) regarding drivers’ cold feet in a Fiat Ducato motorhome. We have a 2023 Elddis Encore 275 Fiat Ducato automatic and modified the heater with a simple fix. There are no floor heater outlets on the driver’s side of our motorhome, needless to say the driver’s feet freeze in the cold weather.

We attached 2in/51mm I.D Neoprene Black Flexible Hot & Cold Air kickproof ducting to the upper floor vent secured with a hose clip on the passenger’s side upper heater floor vent. This was run behind the heater to the driver’s side and fitted with a round swivel vent (either Eberspächer or Webasto will do).

We also removed the blanking plate fitted to the left side of the steering column to allow greater air movement. You may also need to place a partial restriction (I used duct tape as a temporary fix) over the passenger’s lower floor vent to balance out the airflow; once we have done this we will make a permanent restrictor.

Peter & Jennifer Roberts

We had a few letters regarding this subject, and some of them seemed to offer some help for at least some owners, but what Peter and Jennifer have come up with is brilliant.

Not everyone will be able to do this themselves, but they can surely show their chosen workshop what they need them to do.

Although their vehicle is an automatic, this could (I am sure) be safely used in manual transmission vehicles, too. I believe that the reason that the vent was deleted by Fiat was because on right-hand drive vehicles, it pointed straight at the clutch master cylinder. This was not a good thing.

This modification, if installed as shown, will direct the heat to the floor. Do not be tempted to direct this heat outlet any higher in the footwell or direct it upwards from the floor. It could cause problems!

Nick Fisher