Got a Question?
Do you just need a little advice on a problem you’re having with your RV?
Or maybe you just want to make a Comment?
Well, leave your questions here and I will respond with advice and Tips on your problem.
Do you just need a little advice on a problem you’re having with your RV?
Or maybe you just want to make a Comment?
RV and CAMPER Info 
Don! I just read your article on Camping with teenagers! What an awesome amount of valuable info! We are new to this RVing thing and need all the help we can get! I’ll be reading all your articles! My question is: We bought a 3 year old RV that seemed to be in excellent condition. We plugged it into a 50 amp hook up before purchasing and everything worked. Both ACs all appliances! The perfect glamping Camper!!! We love it. Unfortunately, my husband plugged it in at home to a 50 amp that he hooked up himself. Immediately it only had half power. Only one AC unit worked, half the appliances. I did some research and we tried the GFCI in the bathroom, to no avail! 😦 So, he started messing around, He’s an electrical engineer, 😦 sigh….and now we have no power at all except for 12V coming from the batteries of course. He’s got an appointment to take it in to a local RV dealer to have it looked at. I’m so disappointed and just wondering if you have any ideas. Thanks so much Jane and Dennis
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Jane Johnson – Your RV requires 220-VAC. With that said, and from your symptoms it sounds like you wired your home source connector improperly.
A lot of RV owners will do this improperly when they add a power connector to their home for use while there.
That 50-Amp power cable only has 4 wires, but they must be connected properly at your house.
Considering your symptom of only having half of your 110-Volt electrical equipment operating at first, my assumption is that one of your 110VAC lines was not wired to the house connector properly.
I first suggest that you go to a RV supply store, and purchase two NECESSARY accessories that you will end up needing at time while traveling. Just as your main power cable is designed and wired to handle that 50-Amp power load, you will at time need a standard 30-Amp to 50-Amp adapter, and at times a 20-Amp to 30-Amp adapter. These adapters are often used for a campground connection to a 30-AMp service when that is all there is, and the 20-to-30-AMp on is handy when you are somewhere there is no higher current source than a house receptacle.
If you had these STANDARD adapters, you could actually use them to see if you have any power to your RV from a standard house receptacle.
Good Luck, and let me know how it goes.
DON
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I have a 2017 Crossroads Z-1 and we live in Upstate NY close to the Candian border where the temps are – 40 a below zero. We have keep our camper door closed and locked but the door keep coming open?? We can’t figure out why??? Please help?????
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Mary Gregory – First of all, I looked for this problem on the web and found nothing.
Until you find a solution, I assume your door also has a dead bolt lock? If so, it should be a better latch mechanism.
Regardless, you should contact the Customer service people for Crossroads with this problem.
And, I highly recommend that you join IRV2.com. Its a great site for RV owners to get help from each other. You might get advice from a fellow Crossroad RV user there.
Finally, of course, check the fit of your door to the door frame and that the insulation isn’t blocking the door from closing properly?
Good luck,
DON
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I have 2 Norcold Refrigerators Model N811FRT in our 5th wheel trailer. I will be leaving the trailer unhooked for 10 days in mid- December in Florida.
The refrigs use 1.2 amps / 14 watts (what is on the door label). I have 2 new Interstate Model 27 Deep cell batteries that are 660CCA / 740 MCA amps.
Do I have enough batteries to run the refrigs on propane (30 lb tank) while the RV is parked with no electric? The refrigerators will not be opened during this time,
Thanks Please email me your response.
Roger
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Roger Kopp – First of all, that current rating is for the fridge when it is operating on AC-Voltage.
The control circuit board, which controls the fridge operation draws very little current when the fridge is in the propane mode.
I would worry more about having two fridge units using up your propane, if you are going to be away for two weeks or more, especially in the heat of Florida.
Good luck,
DON
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I have a 30′ camper. my question is, I removed the ac unit (rusted and sagging roof) and put a vent in it’s place. i capped off all the wires and turned off the breaker to it, but now i have no heat. my thermostat just clicks when i turn on heat. what can i do. do i need to buy a heat only thermostat?
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Christopher – I don’t know the model of your camper, but let’s assume its one using standard wiring and controls. With that said, You should know that your AC runs (ran?) on 220-VAC, and the controller (thermostat) operates on your 12-VDC from your battery. So, first, check that you have a good, fully charged, 12-VDC battery in your camper.
If you do, then the thermostat should control your propane furnace properly.
Let me know what you find.
DON
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This is Jody.
we left our 2006 monaco cayman yesterday to go into town. as the steps retracted, there was a loud pop. now the steps don’t work nor do the jacks. hubby Tommy thinks he’s missing a fuse box bc all fuses he’s checked are okay. any suggestions?
signed:
stepless and very unlevel in Livingston TX
(aka Jody)
Thanks for help.
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Jody – First of all, I would get my owner’s manual out and check for the location of all of your 12VDC fuse panels. You should have one that is for your “chassis” equipment, which should include your Jacks and your steps. And you should have another fuse panel for “coach’ items, such as interior lights, etc.
I have on’06 Bounder and my steps are not functional tight now. I went over to the local walmert and bought a small 2-step fold-out ladder. We have been using it for a months now, until I can order a replacement motor for my step.You probably have the same step assembly as I do, (Kwik_set??? or something like that).
But as to your Jacks? well, the steps should not have affected your Jack power, as they are both on different fuses. So, first of all, sheck that your 12VDC is OK and your charger is putting out the right voltage. This should be at least 12.5 VDC up to maybe 14.5 VDC but no higher.
Then, if the voltage is oK, and the Jack fuse is OK, go online and download the trouble-shoot and setup instructions for the manufacturer of your power jack control panel. Mine has a complicated set of instructions for resetting your control panel so that your jacks work properly. Personally, with two DC items going bad at the same time, I would suspect your voltage. PS. You do have water in your “coach” batteries? Right? Dry (or bad) batteries can cause your charger to put out a very high voltage level when it is trying to charge your batteries. Let me know?
Ramblingdon
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Well , we’re stumped. Husband is convinced it’s in ignition switch/relay. We appreciate your input. Take care and again thanks.
Sent from my iPhone
>
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Jody – BTW – Your Ignition switchh must be on AND your EMERGENCY BRAKE must be activated for your; slides, and Jacks to work. DON
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Hello Don,
We have a 2013 lacrosse RES328. We are on a permanent site. Recently the 12v lighter in the master and wardrobe slide quit working. All other 12v seem to work normally. I checked the and it seems 2 15A fuses may not have any power. When I remove a fuse the indicator light lights except those 2. Any idea?
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Marc – First of all, before you go down the wrong path, make sure those fuses are actually used by your camper. Often a manufacturer will use a standard panel for a number of different models, and at times some of the fuses are not used in one or another models.
That indicator light is in the input side going to the fuse and if there is no current drawn through the fuse, it turns on the light. So, I would take a multimeter, remove the fuse and see of there is 12-VDC at the input pin (socket?) of the fuse holder.
If there is 12V there, then your problem is in the wiring to the slides. If there is no voltage there, then obviously there is no power coming to that particular fuse.
Also, I am not familiar with your particular camper, but most will have one or two fuses only for the lights throughout your camper, and if you have some lights working, then my suspicions are that there is a wiring problem (loose connector, broken wire, etc) coming off of the 12-Vdc panel to the slides for lights.
Keep me posted,
DON
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Don,
I am new to the RV world. We have been staying on family member’s property in a 2002 5th wheel Fleetwood temporarily while we are building our house. We have the camper plugged directly into an outlet in the main house on its own breaker. We noticed that the camper was going through automotive bulbs very quickly. One bulb even melted the plastic cover on light fixture after being on for just a few seconds. Thinking this was just too much voltage on a 12V bulb filament we went and got some LED bulbs. This seemed to have done the trick. Until we left one on by accident, and came back three hours later to find the entire led bulb melted. There were about 12 individual leds on the bulb and 2 were working but the rest of the bulb melted leaving plastic smell throughout the camper. At that point we decided we are done with using the lights. Camper functions fine other than that. Fridge works, AC works, all outlets. It was fine for a day or two until the breaker in the main house tripped, with hardly anything running. I had just turned the AC off and a minute or two later the breaker tripped. Went in and turned the breaker back on and it has been fine since then. It has been about 24 hours. We have been in the camper for about 6 weeks with really no other issues. I think it will function fine without the lights, however the breaker tripping for no reason kind of worries me. What do you think.
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Tim – First of all, as you know, those camper lights run on 12-VDC. And the incandescent ones operate for thousands of hours while the LED ones operate for many, many times those. LED lights DO NOT get hot, while the incandescent ones do run a little hot.
Your lights get their power from your 12-VDC distribution/fuse panel, which is in turn powered by your battery, which is charged by your Inverter which is powered by your 120-VAC input.
So, simply put, your 12-VDC is, at times rising to a much higher voltage, high enough to force your lamps to draw so much current that they burn out.
This leaves you with only a few possible options as to the cause, in order of probability;
1- your Inverter is at times generating an unregulated output voltage, much higher than the standard 12-VDC.
2- your wiring in your RV has a loose connection and at times you are losing your common connection and running things on 220-VAC rather than 120-VAC.
3- or your wiring at the house at either the receptacle or at the house power panel is not done properly.
First check your camper battery and make sure it has water in it. Second make sure it takes a charge and operates lights and other 12-VDC equipment properly for several hours.
Then, that leaves getting your Inverter checked, but this really looks like a bad ground connection somewhere between the house power panel and your camper power panel.
My brother had a similar problem and we fixed it by running another wire between the house ground and the camper ground. BUT, be careful, if this is the problem, you don’t want to put yourself between the two grounds. Be very careful.
Let me know what you find,
DON
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Thanks Don! That was really thorough. Ive finally had a chance to go through the entire camper. Here is what i found-
First thing i did was pull the access panel and test the converter output. It was 30 volts. So way too much. I then went out to the battery and found only the positive terminal hooked up. Negative laying on the side disconnected. Possibly grounding itself out? I hooked the terminal back up and got 13.8 volts. Came back inside tested converter and 13.8 output from converter. I am going to test the lights now while we will be home and see if it works
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Tim – Good job. Your problems are probably solved.
Just a note, whoever removed that ground cable made your camper very dangerous because without that return path for your converter, touching a “hot wire” would have put your body into the current flow path.
Goo Luck,
DON
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Don,
I have a 2009 Dutchman Denali. I am experiencing an electrical problem. My lights were dimming then my LPProtector alarm began a low voltage Chirp. The lights then began to flicker. No issues with any appliances including refrigerator. I am using shore power and I checked and have full power from campground. I connected my truck with the seven prong wire and ran it for fifteen minutes at about 2000 rpm thinking my battery was low. The next night same problems–and when my wife attempted to use a stick vacuum cleaner all lights began to flicker. I turned off all power at source and disconnected battery. The battery is about 1 year old and measured about 13 on the multimeter. It dawned on me that I had not heard the power converter running at all this trip (it is quite quiet normally anyway). I checked main switches all seemed ok. I did not check fuses because I did not see one labeled that I thought could be the culprit. I pulled the electric panel and all connections are clean and tight. I have a WFCO 75 Amp Power Converter. There are two 40 Amp (orange) fuses on the converter and I checked and they are good. I am thinking it is the converter but asking for your thoughts.
Best,
Dave from Pittsburgh
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Dave from Pittsburg –
First of all, this is a 12Vdc problem and the first thing for you to do is check the fluid level in the battery. If that is Ok then that 13 volt reading is low and should have turned your converter On.
BTW- your 7-pin is not for charging, but 4 lights only. If you want to charge your battery old fashioned jumper cables are what you need 2 use.
Your 75-amp converter is too small to fast charge your battery, only a trickle charge which could take hours. OK when plugged in for days at a campsite, but that’s it.
Remember, if you store your camper for very long and do not turn OFF ALL DC loads, your battery could need a good charging before you hit the road,
Good Luck and let me know what you find.
Ramblingdon
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I’ve been invaded by rats. Motor home was stored. There is evidence everywhere, no food or water is available. They are living in the subfloor that leads in all different directions in the slotted air hatch behind fridge. There’s quite a catacoom of places to go. I saw one run from furnace duct to under bed in bed room and behind the dresser cabinets and EVERY drawer & cabinet, top ones they’ve been in, day 5, I’ve used traps, poison, mothballs and now cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil. I can still hear them chewing on wood or plastic. They’ve been having fun in the towel cabinet, 2, l have turned nothing on except shore power lights. They need EVICTING. ALSO when I was putting the assorted baits and stinks around I found the 2 aluminum locks that hold the spare cover on are seized up. How do I get those to work without busting the key? It’s a pity, it’s a good coach . I’m not taking these freeloaders to the Lake this summer!
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Dawglover – I know it must be horrible to find you have mice in your Rv and even worse when you can hear them at night. Getting rid of them requires that you do 2 things.
1- Find and close their access points to your Rig. I know, that sounds simplistic, but if they can’t get in and out, they can’t get food or water. Check points such as; where your shore power cord comes in, it that an access point for them. Check that all of your storage cabinet are closed and then check any other places they may use for access. With a motorhome, it should be sealed pretty good normally, but keep looking and you will find how they get in.
2- Food, put all of your food into containers that they cannot gnaw their way into. I have found that bags of chips, boxes of crackers, boxes of coffee creamers are great sources of food for them. And, leave no leftovers or snacks sitting around, of course. When ther is no food, they will die off, poison or no poison.
I know they are a nuisance, but pay attention to sealing access points and limiting access to foods and you will get the job done within a week to a week and a half.
Good Luck, Don
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I have an old Ford Class “C” M/H which is parked outside. Over the past number of years I’ve had a problem with rats or squirrels chewing holes in the plastic tanks under the hood i.e. the coolant overflow tank and the windshield washer reservoir. I’ve placed rat poison in the area and it’s regularly consumed, but the problem persists. Do you know of a repellent spray or other solution I could try?
They do not go inside at all.
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Peter Mitchell – Well, this is na new one for me. I have never heard of rats eating into the chemical reservoirs of an RV of automobile for that matter. That’s mostly because they hold chemicals that repel mice and other animals.
OF course, I have read often about mice eating into plastic storage containers on RV’s but these always had read food in them.
Also, I have read about snakes getting into plastic containers, but they were able to get in through an existing opening, a loose lid, or whatever. So, I doubt it was snakes.
What this leads me to think, seeing as you have tried poisons and repellants already, is that you have some other relatively small, wild critter, such as a raccoon (or your squirrels?) that you will need to set a real trap for.
I would suggest that you go to your county “Fish and Game” office and ask them what your problem might be.
Whatever it is, please share it with me and my readers.
Ramblingdon
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