BlackJeep22's Concord 300 DS Newbee Questions

[BlackJeep22]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Working all over God's Green Earth!

We got a long weekend in April, then MIL had to have a heart valve replaced, that wiped out May and June. Went for a week in July and it was way too hot, we decided we won't be doing that again. I currently am covering close to a dozen projects in 8 states, so camping time is hard to come by. I took this past week off to do an emergency bathroom repair, the floor under the tub let go. And I am not impressed with most of the handy man repair types in this area. I can do it myself and it will be done right... Heading back out on the road Monday morning for a two week run, I will be in MD, NY, PA, VA, KY, TN, GA and SC before I get home. We are toying with the idea of heading to the Outer Banks of NC the first week of December if I can get the time off. We did take the camper to our local Highland Games for a single night. So that is the closest I have gotten to camping since July.

Aaron

Very good. At least you're getting out Aaron.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by chief5631

Sure hope I'm not interrupting any convo here...I have and love the concord and haven't made any mods yet since I spend so much time repairing that cheap ass venthood switch lol. Any way, my main question is I plan on taking a trip from Arkansas to California over Christmas and am a n=bit worried about the cold temps and what do I need to do to prepare the concord? Thanks for the help. As you all know my tanks have heat pads on them, and in the lower states it hopefully won't get down to below freezing too much hopefully. Thanks.

Make sure you have a full LP tank for the furnace! Put water in your onboard fresh water tank (it is above the floor), make sure to close the gray valve on the right hand side so the tank heaters are effective. From what I have seen they are good down to the upper 20's after that it becomes a crap shoot.

The alternative is to go ahead and purge the water system and just don't use it if you are going to be below freezing.

The heat pump in the roof air is good to around 40°, then you will need to use the LP furnace. We do use ours while running down the road in very cold weather.

Aaron

[chief5631]

Thanks, I thought I posted thanks after you answered my question...I apologize just didn't go through. I did what you said and ALL worked out perfect, thanks again. That brings up another question though: I am fairly new to RVing and this is my first winter. I am waiting until it stays above 32 degrees at night to start camping again, but in the meantime I keep my RV plugged in as I had a connection installed on my house. Sometimes I disconnect it when bad weather etc comes in. I had it unplugged for about a week only to return to the coach and the coach batteries were completely dead? I'm not sure what drained them? the only thing I can think of is possibly the fridge or the carbon monoxide monitor? Should I have this switch turned to OFF when not using? Will this keep the batteries from draining? Thanks for all the help.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by chief5631

Thanks, I thought I posted thanks after you answered my question...I apologize just didn't go through. I did what you said and ALL worked out perfect, thanks again. That brings up another question though: I am fairly new to RVing and this is my first winter. I am waiting until it stays above 32 degrees at night to start camping again, but in the meantime I keep my RV plugged in as I had a connection installed on my house. Sometimes I disconnect it when bad weather etc comes in. I had it unplugged for about a week only to return to the coach and the coach batteries were completely dead? I'm not sure what drained them? the only thing I can think of is possibly the fridge or the carbon monoxide monitor? Should I have this switch turned to OFF when not using? Will this keep the batteries from draining? Thanks for all the help.

That will help. I am not sure exactly what is and is not connected through the disconnect switch. Eventually I will check and see. I do know it will disconnect things like the radio, the tv antenna booster and the fridge control board. Typically life safety things like LP detectors are not wired through it.

My long range plans include roof top solar which will make staying plugged up not as necessary unless I want AC or plug up an electric space heater. I dry camped in mine for 3-4 nights at the end of January for work. I did not add water, just used the fridge and furnace. I did not have an onboard volt meter to keep track of the battery charge, but ran the generator for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening before going to bed and it kept my batteries topped up. I now have a cheap plug in meter that I put in the TV outlet in the right side top cabinet so I can tell at a glance what the SOC (State Of Charge) is on my batteries. When I do the solar I will go with a better quality meter like a Victron BM-702.

Hope to get out again in the next couple of weeks when things slow down a bit at work. Our first "planned" vacation trip is coming up the end of April.

Aaron

[BlackJeep22]

Originally Posted by chief5631

Thanks, I thought I posted thanks after you answered my question...I apologize just didn't go through. I did what you said and ALL worked out perfect, thanks again. That brings up another question though: I am fairly new to RVing and this is my first winter. I am waiting until it stays above 32 degrees at night to start camping again, but in the meantime I keep my RV plugged in as I had a connection installed on my house. Sometimes I disconnect it when bad weather etc comes in. I had it unplugged for about a week only to return to the coach and the coach batteries were completely dead? I'm not sure what drained them? the only thing I can think of is possibly the fridge or the carbon monoxide monitor? Should I have this switch turned to OFF when not using? Will this keep the batteries from draining? Thanks for all the help.

The disconnect switch should be turned OFF, regardless of how things are "exactly" wired. It won't hurt. Also... you might want to check the water level in the batteries. Nice to see you Concordians are still helping each other. Took this shot a couple of nights ago in So. Cal. Loving the Phaeton.

[chief5631]

thanks for the reply, so if I'm going to unplug ac and turn disconnect switch off then I need to defrost the fridge first and leave open? Does the fridge require battery power at all when operating from propane?

[SeaDog]

Yes the frig requires 12V when operating on propane.

[chief5631]

Thanks for the info

[chief5631]

Does any one with a Concord or that type RV think it’s an all weather camper? Are the only the black and gray tank plumbing exposed to the outside? What about the regular plumbing, shower, sinks, etc. I’d like to go to Rhode Island in March but the weather will certainly be in the 20s/teens at night? What about a low of 26 or above only at night time and warming up to 40/50/60s during the day?

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by chief5631

Does any one with a Concord or that type RV think it’s an all weather camper? Are the only the black and gray tank plumbing exposed to the outside? What about the regular plumbing, shower, sinks, etc. I’d like to go to Rhode Island in March but the weather will certainly be in the 20s/teens at night? What about a low of 26 or above only at night time and warming up to 40/50/60s during the day?

Define "all weather"...

Mid to upper 20's are doable, teens not so much.

The fresh water is all above the floor including the tank. So as long as it is warm inside you are good. My SOP for twenty degree nights is to make sure the holding tanks are empty, then dump a quart or so of RV antifreeze in each one, turn the heat pads on (need to be plugged up for these!) Also on the 300DS version of the Concord (and I believe on the 300TS) there is a third gray valve on the right hand side, the handle is up behind the wheel if memory serves me. Close that valve, that keeps the water out of the cross pipe which could freeze and burst.

Another thing to consider is LP consumption. If I were planning any longer term stays in that cold weather I would install the extend-a-stay LP kit so I could use extra cylinders versus sucking the onboard tank dry in a few short days. I have one, just haven't installed it yet.

Aaron