# Completed first camping trip



## Ronnie T (Apr 17, 2014)

Only a couple of issues with the new, used, Outback 26 foot trailer.

AC worked fine.  

Furnace has an issue with the thermostat I believe.  From time to time the furnace does not come back on when the trailer begins to cool off.  Have to turn off system at thermostat, then turn back on.(did that off and on all night long).

I've found a soft spot on the roof beside a sun roof panel.  Not sure what to do with that due to the rubber roof material.

The outside stove compartment is a plus.  We did all our cooking outside.

There's one light switch that has a poor connection.  When the switch gets hot, the light goes out.  No big deal to repair.

I have two weeks reserved each month for the next three months at lake Seminole (Three River State Park).


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## T-N-T (Apr 17, 2014)

Ronnie-  Congrats on getting camping!  Bummer about getting up to turn on heat though.  Look carefully all around the soft area in roof.  They make a special sealant to patch the rubber roof.  (lost for a name right now)  But, silicone WONT stick long term...
Hope it all straightens out.


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## Gadestroyer74 (Apr 17, 2014)

It's called elastometric rubber roof coating. Kool seal makes some which I would use first. Make sure the roof is clean and warm to the touch not hot do not apply if rain is near. If it's leaking around your sky light I have caulked where it met the two and then applied the roof coating. I used a paint roller and handle and roll it on like painting a wall it needs two coats apply first coat one way second coat the opposite stroke. You can get into some serious money repairing a roof if it's soft.. I personally wouldn't  repair that if it's just soft just make sure and stop the leak. The heat could have a leak and not igniting back it sounds like to me maybe the automatic starter maybe missing or not engaging when it turns out to light the gas. Just some thought I came across


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## Boondocks (Apr 17, 2014)

Check your voltage on the battery and make shure it is charged or charging.


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## Ronnie T (Apr 17, 2014)

Boondocks said:


> Check your voltage on the battery and make shure it is charged or charging.



Does that make any difference even if I'm connected to external power supply?


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## Ronnie T (Apr 17, 2014)

Gadestroyer74 said:


> It's called elastometric rubber roof coating. Kool seal makes some which I would use first. Make sure the roof is clean and warm to the touch not hot do not apply if rain is near. If it's leaking around your sky light I have caulked where it met the two and then applied the roof coating. I used a paint roller and handle and roll it on like painting a wall it needs two coats apply first coat one way second coat the opposite stroke. You can get into some serious money repairing a roof if it's soft.. I personally wouldn't  repair that if it's just soft just make sure and stop the leak. The heat could have a leak and not igniting back it sounds like to me maybe the automatic starter maybe missing or not engaging when it turns out to light the gas. Just some thought I came across



Really?  Don't repair it, just stop the leak.  Sounds good to me.

Automatic starter?  I'll do some learning on that.

Will my furnace run on gas or electric?  If so, how can I make it electric only?


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## Gadestroyer74 (Apr 17, 2014)

From my knowledge there gas only. The only electric part would be the fan. I'm not sure with the newer campers if they have am electric option on the furnace. I gave had a couple campers had a camper dealer tell me this. Do your Maintenance keep the roof costed every couple years keep them caulked around all lights and everything water could go through. He said it doesn't matter how much they cost or what brand they are all gonna leak at some point I have yet to see one that didn't. You will break your self trying to repair all the soft spots. If it isn't a structure deal where the roof is gonna fall in its basicly cosmetic to you.  Stop the leak keep it sealed. Now if it's new and you have insurance and want it fixed go for it. When I say automatic you don't have to light a pilot light it has a thing the provides spark and lights. Otherwise every time you run outta propane you gotta light the pilot light. You change the bottle and turn the furnace on it does the rest. If it didn't light turn it off and back on and it would light once the air got out of the lines. That's why I wander if you have a leak or the auto deal isn't working properly my guess I'm no expert just what I have learned through experience


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## Gadestroyer74 (Apr 17, 2014)

Ronnie T said:


> Does that make any difference even if I'm connected to external power supply?



If your connected to power the battery doesn't matter also when your towing your truck will charge your battery on camper.


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## Ronnie T (Apr 17, 2014)

Sky lights are nothing but a leak waiting to happen.


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## Gadestroyer74 (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah I know i never even use mine wish they would leave them out. I have just spent the last weekend caulking every light window seal and coating the roof replaced ac gasket. It cost me 375 to have someone else to this samething couple of years ago. So I did it myself I used black caulk around the door windows and windows used almond around the rest if the camper 2 tubes 1 black one 5 gallon bucket of Henry's elastometric white rubber roofing 85$ the kook seal is better but double the price. It should take about 1.5 gallons to do your roof the better deal is the 5 gallons takes about 15 mins to do the roof the caulking took awhile


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## Milkman (Apr 17, 2014)

Ronnie T said:


> Only a couple of issues with the new, used, Outback 26 foot trailer.
> 
> AC worked fine.
> 
> ...



Ronnie,
The AC fan works on 120 volts, the furnace fan on 12 volts. Make sure you have a good 12 volt supply and a good battery. That may take care of the furnace and lighting issue since all the camper lights are 12 volts as well.  A poor battery makes things act crazy in a camper.

That roofing material is called TPO. It is an abbreviation for a long chemical sounding word.  Google it and be sure to use only products designed for use with tpo.  You may not find this stuff at the local Ace hardware.  May have to go to a camper place or commercial roofing supply place. You can walk on that roof unless you weigh 300 lbs like I do. 

That outdoor drop down kitchen shelf thingy will work for a tv stand and a crock pot stand also. It is neat isnt it.


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## Milkman (Apr 17, 2014)

Ronnie T said:


> Sky lights are nothing but a leak waiting to happen.




Nay, they are an "engineered leak"


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## Gadestroyer74 (Apr 17, 2014)

Ronnie T said:


> Really?  Don't repair it, just stop the leak.  Sounds good to me.
> 
> Automatic starter?  I'll do some learning on that.
> 
> Will my furnace run on gas or electric?  If so, how can I make it electric only?



This should help you a primer then a topcoat 

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/...gn=partsfeed&gclid=CLugtLGE6b0CFWZo7AodYHcA1Q


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## bigelow (Apr 18, 2014)

Cool sounds like you are just about there b


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## Ronnie T (Apr 18, 2014)

Tonight I learned that if you disconnect the battery everything in the trailer will operate off 120 power supply.


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## Gadestroyer74 (Apr 18, 2014)

Haha ..I never had to do that it always used the 120 Man U gots one them high roller campers !


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## Ronnie T (Apr 18, 2014)

Gadestroyer74 said:


> Haha ..I never had to do that it always used the 120 Man U gots one them high roller campers !



  I'm a very slow learner though.  lol


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## Milkman (Apr 19, 2014)

Ronnie T said:


> Tonight I learned that if you disconnect the battery everything in the trailer will operate off 120 power supply.



Sounds like you have a good transformer/inverter on your unit. That is what keeps your battery charged too. Having your camper plugged in for long periods of time sometime has a tendency to evaporate all the liquid from the battery.

Your furnace, gas water heater, water pump, and lights will all operate without 120 volt if you have a good battery. When using the unit without a water hookup you need the water tank to have water in it.


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## Boondocks (Apr 19, 2014)

Everything works off of 12 v in a camper but your a/c .You have to have 12v to run lights ,circuit boards and the sparkers to light the gas appliances . That is why the invertor converts 110 to 12v . That is why a good charged battery is important . A weak or dead battery will burn up your inverter.


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## Ronnie T (Apr 19, 2014)

Now I'm confused.

If I disconnect my battery my inverter will convert 110v to 12v for all the trailer's 12v needs.  Correct?

If I keep the battery connected, but also connect to a 110v source, the 110v source will maintain the battery and the battery will provide all 12v needs.   Correct?

When connected to a tow vehicle, the tow vehicle will keep the 12v battery charged.  Correct?

If the trailer is powered from the 12v battery only, it's most likely going to use up the battery within 24 hours.  So the battery cannot be depended on for very long.


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## Ronnie T (Apr 19, 2014)

Milkman said:


> Sounds like you have a good transformer/inverter on your unit. That is what keeps your battery charged too. Having your camper plugged in for long periods of time sometime has a tendency to evaporate all the liquid from the battery.
> 
> Your furnace, gas water heater, water pump, and lights will all operate without 120 volt if you have a good battery. When using the unit without a water hookup you need the water tank to have water in it.



Can I turn the water heater off???????


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## Boondocks (Apr 19, 2014)

Yes,Yes,Yes,Yes,and yes you have a switch to turn off water heater.


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## Ronnie T (Apr 19, 2014)

Boondocks said:


> Yes,Yes,Yes,Yes,and yes you have a switch to turn off water heater.



Thanks.

I'm gonna need some 3X5 cards.  shew!


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## Milkman (Apr 19, 2014)

Ronnie,

Since you and I have basically the same camper I will assume the controls are in the same spot.  

Just inside the door on the right there is the tv cabinet, correct?   On this cabinet you have the slide control and the controls for electric water heater, gas water heater and tank level indicator

For hot water you will have to engage one of the water heater switches.  You may turn them off and on as needed. 

I have heard others say your plug to the truck will charge your battery.  I am not sure about that. I dont think the trailer towing marker lights, blinkers, brakes, etc are tied into the campers 12 volt system on your model. 

If you are "dry camping" without power and water hookups you will probably need to figure on a small generator of some sort to plug the camper in to charge the battery occasionally. I have one of the "hand truck" style that is 2000 watts. It will run the microwave, coffee maker, etc too. 
 You will also need to pour water into the tank.   As you already know the tank and generator aren't needed when you have water and power hookups.


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## T-N-T (Apr 19, 2014)

I am with milkman,  I have heard your truck charges the battery.  I have also heard it does not.... 
I do know that my dads battery was Dead as can be when he bought his last camper.  - things didnt work well at all.  He had to buy a new one and voila!  
My Outback is an '03 25 foot and the water heater and holding tank buttons are beside the stove in the kitchen.  
Also,  Milkman and Ronnie,  you two have a remote controlled A/C?  I do, and think that it is the best thing in the world when I am in bed!  I now want one in my house for those spring and fall nights where it is 80 outside at supper time.  Then as night falls so does the temp.  And when you wake up in the morning its freezing in your house...
Sounds like you are getting it all figured out Ronnie,  just keep fidgeting with stuff till you learn it all


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## Boondocks (Apr 19, 2014)

Some new trucks do not have the fuse in the fuse box under the hood.That fuse if installed will make one of the connections on the 7 pin plug hot so it will charge the battery and run your 12v.If you leave it plugged into the truck be careful and not run the truck battery dead ,it is better to unplug from truck if you are going to use 110v.


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## T-N-T (Apr 19, 2014)

Boondocks said:


> Some new trucks do not have the fuse in the fuse box under the hood.That fuse if installed will make one of the connections on the 7 pin plug hot so it will charge the battery and run your 12v.If you leave it plugged into the truck be careful and not run the truck battery dead ,it is better to unplug from truck if you are going to use 110v.



Thanks for that.  Now we have a good understanding of what we have been told.  Some people right and some people wrong...  depending on what truck you have.


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## Gadestroyer74 (Apr 19, 2014)

That's why I said  it wouldn't it did in my coachman on my silverado if the battery died on camper we could plug up truck and it would power it. Like you mentioned it will kill your battery over time. I usually used a generator and didn't need the battery we bought two battery's and ran them together it wouldn't make it a weekend when it was cold in hunting season


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## Ronnie T (Apr 19, 2014)

My ford truck came "trailer ready".  Part of that package was a metal cases objected that had to be plugged into the fuse panel.  It's my understanding that it allows the truck to charge through the hitch wiring.  But I just don't know for certain.


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## Milkman (Apr 19, 2014)

TopherAndTick said:


> I am with milkman,  I have heard your truck charges the battery.  I have also heard it does not....
> I do know that my dads battery was Dead as can be when he bought his last camper.  - things didnt work well at all.  He had to buy a new one and voila!
> My Outback is an '03 25 foot and the water heater and holding tank buttons are beside the stove in the kitchen.
> Also,  Milkman and Ronnie,  you two have a remote controlled A/C?  I do, and think that it is the best thing in the world when I am in bed!  I now want one in my house for those spring and fall nights where it is 80 outside at supper time.  Then as night falls so does the temp.  And when you wake up in the morning its freezing in your house...
> Sounds like you are getting it all figured out Ronnie,  just keep fidgeting with stuff till you learn it all



My 2006 model Outback has the wireless remote control for the furnace and heater.  I really like it too.  You can get a generic Outback owners manual for free on the web. It isnt model or size specific, kinda just random facts about the Outback model and lots of good safety info.


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