What is this switch for?

[KidVid]

Hello everyone! My wife and I have recently purchased a 2008 Forest River Sierra Travel trailer. The question I have is what is the switch for in the bottom right corner? It lights up when switched but I can't seem to figure it out. Thanks for the help and sorry if it has been answered somewhere else but I couldn't find it anywhere else. And sorry if this is not the right spot to post this question!
Thanks Eric

Not sure why it flipped my picture. It is the single switch

[Crutter]

It could be for your water pump or your water heater if it is dual fuel.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Crutter

It could be for your water pump or your water heater if it is dual fuel.

The water pump switch is the lit red one on the white panel. The unlit red one next to it, is for the propane side of the WH. So the one the OP is asking about, is neither of those.

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[bob213]

If it's the switch directly below the tank indicators (with the red lens) I would guess it to be for the gas side of the water heater. The red will glow as a fault indicator. What brand of water heater do you have? Suburban usually has the electric switch on the outside of the Rv on the bottom left of the heater.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by KidVid

Hello everyone! My wife and I have recently purchased a 2008 Forest River Sierra Travel trailer. The question I have is what is the switch for in the bottom right corner? It lights up when switched but I can't seem to figure it out. Thanks for the help and sorry if it has been answered somewhere else but I couldn't find it anywhere else. And sorry if this is not the right spot to post this question!
Thanks Eric

Not sure why it flipped my picture. It is the single switch

I think this is the switch the OP is talking about when the pic is oriented correctly. See arrow in pic

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by wmtire

I think this is the switch the OP is talking about when the pic is oriented correctly. See arrow in pic

Probably for the water heater. It turns on the propane to the water heater. Ours lit when there was a fault after lighting and it went out after the water heater lit properly on propane. Of course, you had to push the top to light the propane. (At least I think that's the way it worked. It's been a few years.)

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Probably for the water heater. It turns on the propane to the water heater. Ours lit when there was a fault after lighting and it went out after the water heater lit properly on propane. Of course, you had to push the top to light the propane. (At least I think that's the way it worked. It's been a few years.)

The DSI/propane switch to the water heater is in the panel above the single switch the arrow is pointing to.



Here is a closeup of that type panel where the water heater/HTR switch with small red fault lamp to the right of, pump switch, and battery/tank level indicators are all located.

[lazyjj]

Originally Posted by KidVid

Hello everyone! My wife and I have recently purchased a 2008 Forest River Sierra Travel trailer. The question I have is what is the switch for in the bottom right corner? It lights up when switched but I can't seem to figure it out. Thanks for the help and sorry if it has been answered somewhere else but I couldn't find it anywhere else. And sorry if this is not the right spot to post this question!
Thanks Eric

Not sure why it flipped my picture. It is the single switch

Do you know or can you view your waste tanks to see if they have heaters on them. This switch could be for those heating pads.

[wmtire]

The more I look at that switch, with the screws exposed, on the rear of it, I'm leaning to believe it was maybe added after the fact, by the previous owner. It could be to all sorts of things. It may even be as said above, where the previous owner made an inside switch to control the electric heating element (if equipped) to the water heater.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by wmtire

The more I look at that switch, with the screws exposed, on the rear of it, I'm leaning to believe it was maybe added after the fact, by the previous owner. It could be to all sorts of things. It may even be as said above, where the previous owner made an inside switch to control the electric heating element (if equipped) to the water heater.

Ahhh... The joys of buying a previously owned trailer.
I would have thought the switch on the panel turned on the electric to the water heater and the second switch controlled the propane to the water heater. That's the way our first tt was set up. Then again it could be heating pads, a fan, a light, awning lights......
I hope if they find out, they'll share the solution.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Ahhh... The joys of buying a previously owned trailer.

I would have thought the switch on the panel turned on the electric to the water heater and the second switch controlled the propane to the water heater. That's the way our first tt was set up. Then again it could be heating pads, a fan, a light, awning lights......

I hope if they find out, they'll share the solution.

I had the same white panel on my 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS.

Left red rocker switch- WH propane side.
Right red rocker switch- Water Pump.

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[KidVid]

Thanks for everyone trying to help me out! Thanks for flipping my picture and pointing to the switch for me wmtire! It is a suburban water heater and like wmtire showed on the holding tank switch panel my pump and propane for the water heater is there. When I flip the switch on the outside of the water heater the element comes on and that inside switch doesn't effect it when checked with a volt meter. The screws are out of it since I had to order a new switch since I broke one of the blades of the back trying to figure it out. I will check to see if there are holding tank heaters like lazyjj suggested thus week when we go camping.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by bikendan

I had the same white panel on my 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS.

Left red rocker switch- WH propane side.
Right red rocker switch- Water Pump.

Ok. I have a dumb question. If that panel switch controls the propane on the water heater, does that mean that you can't operate the electric and propane at the same time? Is the water heater on all the time if you're plugged into shore power with no way to turn it off? I'm just curious.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Ok. I have a dumb question. If that panel switch controls the propane on the water heater, does that mean that you can't operate the electric and propane at the same time? Is the water heater on all the time if you're plugged into shore power with no way to turn it off? I'm just curious.

................................ If there's no switch on the inside to turn on the electric water heater element, the switch is on the face of the water heater behind the outside heater door. I'm guessing there are at least 1426 posts on this subject every year. Both sources of power can be used concurrently.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

................................ If there's no switch on the inside to turn on the electric water heater element, the switch is on the face of the water heater behind the outside heater door. I'm guessing there are at least 1426 posts on this subject every year. Both sources of power can be used concurrently.

Ok. Thanks. I have read that, but didn't retain the information about turning the electric on and off only at the water heater. I thought there was a switch inside the rig to turn if off and on once the electricity was 'on' at the heater itself. Not a fan of having the water heater always on. Not a problem for us now with an 'on demand' wh. I'll try to retain the information for the future... but no guarantees.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Ok. I have a dumb question. If that panel switch controls the propane on the water heater, does that mean that you can't operate the electric and propane at the same time? Is the water heater on all the time if you're plugged into shore power with no way to turn it off? I'm just curious.

The electric side of that year Suburban WH, is only controlled from the black rocker switch, that's accessed through the outside WH hatch door. You can run both sides simultaneously.


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[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by bikendan

The electric side of that year Suburban WH, is only controlled from the black rocker switch, that's accessed through the outside WH hatch door. You can run both sides simultaneously.

I believe both of you. It just seems like a bad design....having to go outside to turn the electric on and off. Hopefully they've changed it.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

I believe both of you. It just seems like a bad design....having to go outside to turn the electric on and off. Hopefully they've changed it.

Suburban did come up with a new model with an inside switch for the electric side but I believe that the outside switch still has to be on. But there are still new ones with just the outside electric switch.

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[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by wmtire

The more I look at that switch, with the screws exposed, on the rear of it, I'm leaning to believe it was maybe added after the fact, by the previous owner. It could be to all sorts of things. It may even be as said above, where the previous owner made an inside switch to control the electric heating element (if equipped) to the water heater.

X2. That's what I was thinking too.

The Cherokee 38P has the same multi-switch unit as Illustrated (tank/battery gauges+DSI water HeaTeR+water pump.

[Mattmo]

I have that same switch in my 2007 travel trailer, an All American Sport (Forest River). Mine is for the tank heaters.