2020 Geo Pro 19BH

[jsdalton]

Hi Everyone!

I am new here, so please don't hesitate to let me know if I am not following proper protocol on anything. There is quite a bit of information in this forum and it can all be overwhelming. I have searched extensively for most of the issues listed, but haven't found answers that I understand. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

I am the third owner of a new to me 2020 Geo Pro 19BH. I've taken it out on one short trip and just came back from a 2-week, 6000 mile trip. That gave our family plenty of time to get to know the trailer and I have a list of (mostly minor) issues. Anything to do with electrical, please explain like to a 5th grader because I really do not understand electrical.

- After trying for weeks to figure out why the battery was draining we finally narrowed it down to the factory installed radio. I pulled the fuse, which confoundingly is attached to both the radio and ALL of the lights. We finally disconnected the radio and plan to install a switch for it. My biggest question...Is this a known issue? It doesn't seem to make sense that the backlit clock on the radio would kill the battery from one day to the next and that it was installed this way.

- The bottom support bracket for the panel in front of the refrigerator keeps popping off and that panel falls to the ground. I should be able to fix that, but again it is annoying and I'm wondering if this is a common issue.

- I have discovered I'm missing screws everywhere: the microwave support mount, the burners on the stove, drawer railings. Could all of these components just have been put together shoddily? The trailer had minimal use with the previous two owners.

- The USB ports on the tower by the bed do not work, but the plug does. How do I get those to work?

- What does the inverter do? When would I use it?

- During this last trip, I started having trouble with the toilet leaking. Even after we have emptied both tanks, from one stop to the next the floor would be covered in sewer water. It seems like it's coming from the base of the toilet, but it does not leak when we're set up at camp. Additionally, when connected to water the bowl continuously runs and overflows if we don't turn it off periodically. I'm planning to take it in to the shop for these things, but was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences. I've seen posts and videos where there can be problems with the pipes?

- Is it normal for the tires to look bowed out? Also, what should be the correct tire pressure for the trailer tires?

- How do I raise or lower the accordion shade by the bed? The previous owner showed me once, but I don't remember.

- Ants! We had ants that we couldn't get rid of while we traveled through 18 states. And they were the same ants from state to state, like they are living in the trailer. Is there someplace they could be hiding because I couldn't figure it out!?

- The storage compartment locks stick ALL THE TIME. So much so, that unless I absolutely have to lock them I just leave them unlocked. It takes me at least 5 minutes or longer of wiggling the key back and forth to unlock each compartment. Am I doing something wrong?

[JDR76]

Welcome!


Sorry to hear you are having so many issues. I have a 2021 G20BHS, so very similar to your G19BH, but I haven't experienced these issues. I do have to wonder if the number of issues is why a model year 2020 trailer is already on its third owner. Do you know much about the history?


I can help with a couple of your items, or at least try to.

Originally Posted by jsdalton

- After trying for weeks to figure out why the battery was draining we finally narrowed it down to the factory installed radio. I pulled the fuse, which confoundingly is attached to both the radio and ALL of the lights. We finally disconnected the radio and plan to install a switch for it. My biggest question...Is this a known issue? It doesn't seem to make sense that the backlit clock on the radio would kill the battery from one day to the next and that it was installed this way.

That's how mine is wired (clock backlighting always on) but I don't have any battery drain issues. If I am on battery power, my fridge will drain my battery far before the clock will.

- The bottom support bracket for the panel in front of the refrigerator keeps popping off and that panel falls to the ground. I should be able to fix that, but again it is annoying and I'm wondering if this is a common issue.

I haven't seen this issue come up on here. Can you post a picture?

- I have discovered I'm missing screws everywhere: the microwave support mount, the burners on the stove, drawer railings. Could all of these components just have been put together shoddily? The trailer had minimal use with the previous two owners.

- The USB ports on the tower by the bed do not work, but the plug does. How do I get those to work?

Crazy that you are missing all of those screws. I'd just buy a bunch and start replacing them one by one.


No idea why your USB ports don't work but your outlets do. Not sure if that pop-up tower can be easily replaced.

- What does the inverter do? When would I use it?

The inverter will take your 12VDC from the battery and turn it into 120V for your outlets. Otherwise your outlets will not work when on battery power alone. But do keep in mind that running the inverter is a significant draw on the battery. If I use ours, I will just turn it on for an hour or so to charge my phone or whatever it is that I need the power for. Then I turn it back off.

- During this last trip, I started having trouble with the toilet leaking. Even after we have emptied both tanks, from one stop to the next the floor would be covered in sewer water. It seems like it's coming from the base of the toilet, but it does not leak when we're set up at camp. Additionally, when connected to water the bowl continuously runs and overflows if we don't turn it off periodically. I'm planning to take it in to the shop for these things, but was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences. I've seen posts and videos where there can be problems with the pipes?

I haven't had that happen, but I have arrived at my destination with some water on the bathroom floor. It can splash out of the toilet if you drive over a good sized bump/pothole. Could that be what's going on there?

- Is it normal for the tires to look bowed out? Also, what should be the correct tire pressure for the trailer tires?

All I can say on this one is that my tires do not tilt out. I keep mine at 50 psi, which is I believe on the outside payload sticker.

- How do I raise or lower the accordion shade by the bed? The previous owner showed me once, but I don't remember.

You just grab it at it's bottom and pull it down. It's operation is not smooth. To return it up you just grab the bottom and push it up.

- Ants! We had ants that we couldn't get rid of while we traveled through 18 states. And they were the same ants from state to state, like they are living in the trailer. Is there someplace they could be hiding because I couldn't figure it out!?

Those can be tough to get rid of. I assume you are talking about little sugar ants? I'd make sure all food is sealed up, clean/bleach all surfaces, including the floors, and set up some ant traps.

- The storage compartment locks stick ALL THE TIME. So much so, that unless I absolutely have to lock them I just leave them unlocked. It takes me at least 5 minutes or longer of wiggling the key back and forth to unlock each compartment. Am I doing something wrong?

Mine are a bit tough, but it's because they are tight. When I turn the key to lock or unlock them, I have to push in on the door as I turn it. You may need to do the same.


Good luck on getting everything worked out!

[jsdalton]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!

Originally Posted by JDR76

I haven't seen this issue come up on here. Can you post a picture?

I will post a pic the next time I go out to the trailer. It's at the storage lot now. But it's a particleboard inset at the front of the fridge and when that support gives out it just slides down to the floor.

Crazy that you are missing all of those screws. I'd just buy a bunch and start replacing them one by one.

That's what I've been doing!

The inverter will take your 12VDC from the battery and turn it into 120V for your outlets. Otherwise your outlets will not work when on battery power alone. But do keep in mind that running the inverter is a significant draw on the battery. If I use ours, I will just turn it on for an hour or so to charge my phone or whatever it is that I need the power for. Then I turn it back off.

Thanks for an answer I can understand!

I haven't had that happen, but I have arrived at my destination with some water on the bathroom floor. It can splash out of the toilet if you drive over a good sized bump/pothole. Could that be what's going on there?

That was my first thought as well, but it's not water from the toilet bowl. The water on the floor is brownish and foul-smelling--clearly sewer water, while the water in the bowl remains clear and there's no evidence of it splashing out of the bowl.

You just grab it at it's bottom and pull it down. It's operation is not smooth. To return it up you just grab the bottom and push it up.

Thank you again!

Those can be tough to get rid of. I assume you are talking about little sugar ants? I'd make sure all food is sealed up, clean/bleach all surfaces, including the floors, and set up some ant traps.

Not sugar ants. To the best of my knowledge, they are carpenter ants. I have cleaned and cleared out all food, but it is still mystifying that I couldn't get rid of them from state to state.

Mine are a bit tough, but it's because they are tight. When I turn the key to lock or unlock them, I have to push in on the door as I turn it. You may need to do the same.

I do push in on the door, but it's very difficult to get the key itself to even turn. I will likely look into getting the locks replaced.

Good luck on getting everything worked out!

Thank you again, JDR76!

[fipntdot]

If its carpenter ants and they stayed the whole time, you definitely have a colony-or satellite colony- in there. They tend to nest in moist or rotten wood, but also will occasionally move into wall cavities. You may have to try to find where they are nesting and destroy the nest. To make matters more difficult, they tend to have satellite colonies in multiple locations. You might also be able to put out bait designed for carpenter ants (although the label often says not to use that bait near food). Look for potential rotten wood near leaks in windows/ceiling/walls.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by jsdalton

After trying for weeks to figure out why the battery was draining we finally narrowed it down to the factory installed radio. I pulled the fuse, which confoundingly is attached to both the radio and ALL of the lights. We finally disconnected the radio and plan to install a switch for it. My biggest question...Is this a known issue? It doesn't seem to make sense that the backlit clock on the radio would kill the battery from one day to the next and that it was installed this way.

That's pretty unusual. The radio backlight does not usually consume a lot of power. The big consumers are the furnace (in the winter, of course), and the 12V refrigerator you likely have.

Here is an easy and inexpensive way to see where the power is going.
Find your fuse panel. The 12V fuses are blade-type fuses and simply plug in and pull out.

• Get a multimeter at Harbor Freight, Home Depot, Lowe's, or any hardware or home improvement store. This $6.99 one is perfectly adequate.
• Plug the red probe into the 10A jack.
• Plug the black probe into the COMmon jack.
• Unplug the first fuse. You will see that each blade socket has two round tubes.
• Put the red probe into one of the tubes.
• Put the black probe into a tube for the other blade. (The multimeter is in place of the fuse.)
• Set the range to 10A.
• Turn the multimeter on.
• Read the multimeter. It will tell you how many amps are being consumed on that circuit. Depending on which probe went where, the reading may be prefaced by a minus sign (-). You can ignore this.
• Write it down.
• Go on to the next fuse. Do all of them EXCEPT the ones labelled Reverse Polarity.

There are also a few fuses that aren't in the panel. They may include the range hood light/fan, power awning, refrigerator, propane detector, etc. These will have an "inline fuse" on the wire leading to the item. See the image below. You would check them the same way.

Check the items in their normal state--for example, you would check the trailer jack when it's NOT in use. The refrigerator cycles on and off. You would make sure it's running when you check it (maybe open the door so it warms up and runs).

Originally Posted by jsdalton

The bottom support bracket for the panel in front of the refrigerator keeps popping off and that panel falls to the ground. I should be able to fix that, but again it is annoying and I'm wondering if this is a common issue.

Gotta have a picture. People with the same trailer can compare theirs and let you know if something is missing. Put the picture in a folder you know on your computer. Click the paperclip icon at the top of this editor. Navigate to the picture, select it, and click "Upload."

Originally Posted by jsdalton

- I have discovered I'm missing screws everywhere: the microwave support mount, the burners on the stove, drawer railings. Could all of these components just have been put together shoddily? The trailer had minimal use with the previous two owners.

Sadly, it's par for the course. It's what you get when workers are paid by piecework with little or no quality control. Other brands are no better.

Originally Posted by jsdalton

The USB ports on the tower by the bed do not work, but the plug does. How do I get those to work?

There are two possibilities:

1. The outlet is only powered by 120 Vac (regular house current) and includes a 120Vac-to-USB (5Vdc) converter for the USB port(the same kind you use in your home). In this case there would only be three wires going to the outlet.
2. The outlet is powered by 120 Vac and the USB port is powered by 12 Vdc. In this case there would be three wires going to the outlet and two more to the USB port, total of five.

Unplug the trailer for safety and unscrew the outlet from the wall. If it only has three wires, the USB port on the outlet is defective. The assembly must be replaced.

If the outlet has five wires, you need to determine whether the port is defective or no 12 Vdc power is getting to it.

• Get your multimeter.
• Plug the black probe into COMmon.
• Plug the red probe into V-Ω-A.
• Set the range to 20 Vdc.
• Touch the probes to the two wires going to the USB port.

If you see 12 V or so, the USB charger built into the outlet is defective.
If you see something close to 0 V, then DC power is not getting to the outlet. Look for a blown fuse. See the image below for good and blown fuses.

Originally Posted by jsdalton

What does the inverter do? When would I use it?

It converts 12 Vdc battery power to line power (household level) in limited amounts. You would use it if you were camping someplace (boondocks) where you couldn't plug the trailer in. You won't be able to run the air conditioner on it. You probably cannot run the microwave on it. You could run a TV, radio, or computer on it.

Originally Posted by jsdalton

- During this last trip, I started having trouble with the toilet leaking. Even after we have emptied both tanks, from one stop to the next the floor would be covered in sewer water. It seems like it's coming from the base of the toilet, but it does not leak when we're set up at camp. Additionally, when connected to water the bowl continuously runs and overflows if we don't turn it off periodically. I'm planning to take it in to the shop for these things, but was wondering if anyone had any similar experiences. I've seen posts and videos where there can be problems with the pipes?

The outlet pipe at the bottom of the toilet is SUPPOSED to have a thick sponge rubber ring around it. This prevents "black water" (and also bad odors) from coming up from the tank immediately below the toilet. Yours may have been omitted. You would:

• Unscrew the pipe feeding the toilet.
• Unscrew the toilet from the floor and set it aside.
• Get a replacement sponge ring. Do NOT get a wax ring. Those are for houses, not RVs.
• Put on the toilet outlet.
• Put the toilet back in place.
• Screw it down.
• Reattach the water.
• Turn water on and check for water leaks.

Originally Posted by jsdalton

Is it normal for the tires to look bowed out? Also, what should be the correct tire pressure for the trailer tires?

Not normal. Could be a result of lifting the entire axle with one jack in the center, instead of at the outer edge like you're supposed to. Could be from overloading. You may need a new axle. Not too expensive, fortunately.

Set tires to the pressure listed on the trailer label. If you are lightly loaded, you could run a lower pressure.

Originally Posted by jsdalton

How do I raise or lower the accordion shade by the bed? The previous owner showed me once, but I don't remember.

Tug hard.

Originally Posted by jsdalton

Ants! We had ants that we couldn't get rid of while we traveled through 18 states. And they were the same ants from state to state, like they are living in the trailer. Is there someplace they could be hiding because I couldn't figure it out!?

I would get a "bug bomb", close all windows and doors, release it in the trailer, and leave it for a week.

Originally Posted by jsdalton

The storage compartment locks stick ALL THE TIME. So much so, that unless I absolutely have to lock them I just leave them unlocked. It takes me at least 5 minutes or longer of wiggling the key back and forth to unlock each compartment. Am I doing something wrong?

Put some lubrication on the lock bolt--the piece on the back that rotates--so it slides easier when rotating. It often helps to push in on the door with one hand while turning the key with the other. You don't want it any looser than this--being tight keeps the water out.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Welcome to the forum. Looks like you've had all your questions answered.

One thing I've found with ants.... they hate Lysol. I've used it on countertops, cupboard, floors and ant mounds and they all leave. But in your case, a bug bomb might work better or a spray specifically for carpenter ants.

[jsdalton]

Thank you @Larry-NC for all of your advice and information!

[bsinc1962]

For your battery draw make sure to shut off the inverter when you don't need to use any AC outlets. The radio and TV will run on DC power. Usually there is a switch (mine is under one of the dinette seats) that allows you to shut it off. If the inverter is running you'll hear a fan running, locate it and the switch won't be far away. Mine was drawing down the battery heavily until I shut it off when I didn't need it.

[Chewman]

Depending on the care and use your batteries have had they may be at the end of their useful life as a trailer battery. I have a 2020 G19FD and this year I have been experiencing what I thought was battery drain. My trailer sits next to my house, and I have not had a cover on it until recently. The solar panel has always kept the battery fully charged but since the solar panel was no longer exposed to the sun my batteries were draining down to 12.5 volts in a few days, not running anything. I have 2 12-volt Interstate Deep cycle marine batteries (parallel connection), 70-amp hour rating (total of 140-amp hours) and a 1-year warranty. I tried turning the "key" off and still experienced battery drain. I disconnected the batteries, charged them fully and let them sit for 24 hours and the voltage has continued to drop slowly.
My expectation was the batteries would last a few years, like they do in a car. It is now my understanding that if you don't have Lithium batteries or 2 6 volt golf cart batteries (connected in series) you don't have batteries that can take a long term drain and survive much more than a year or 2. Mine are 28 months old and are being replaced today.

Sorry to hear you are having so many issues, Good Luck!