What did you do to your camper today?

[XenoRev]

Originally Posted by revbilly

Today I put the license plate on, it finally came
Installed a different observation/backup camera to replace the one that got water in it on our first trip. Luckily Amazon took it back and credited me toward the new Furrion FOS48TAPK-BL. Smaller monitor but at least I can see something beside fog.
Installed an LED strip light in the bathroom so I can see better to shave and DW can see to put on makeup
Helped the wife install a pet cover on the couch. Pool noodle holds it in the couch and nonslip shelf liner holds it so it doesn't slide.
Installed adjustable LED touch lights as reading lights. The LED above the bed is way too bright for reading.

How did you use the shelf liner. That is. Where did you put it. DW wants to cover the urethane couch, but sheet will slide.
Sounds like you have a fix.

[extremebike]

I finally got the trailer out of indoor storage last weekend and had it out at Sandbanks. The first outing is a work and play event.

I installed a drinking water faucet which is has an inline 12 volt pump (2 liters per minute). Pump was $5.00 from China originally made for a coffee maker.

I made it so I would not have to lift and move the 5 gallon drinking water jug every time my wife wanted water. The cheap double D cell was noisy and finally broke.

I also changed all the exterior marker light over to LED. Much better and brighter.

The final project is the installation of a 12 volt motor speed controller on the kitchen fan so now I can use it without waking the dead.

Golfed, ate and bicycled for fun!

[MaineCampingFan]

Well, I had posted a question in General Tech & Repair asking if anyone has experience is disassembling an Atwood furnace. Turns out I've got a little now.
So, I had mice get into the camper over the winter (first time having stored my campers in my back yard in years), both under the dinette benches. The storage one cleaned up easily. The furnace one, not so much. I had discovered the problem over Memorial Day weekend when turning on the heat. In addition to nest materials coming out of the vents, the vibration from a very inbalanced blower shook the camper as well as quite noisy.

I tore into it this weekend. Disassembly to get the unit out is very easy, in fact I didn't disconnect the wiring harness as the manufacturer had left a long lead in. There actually were 2 nests in the furnace, 1 in the blower wheel and a 2nd one in the area of the heat exchanger. The smell of the decomposing mice was attention getting to say the least. The smell had been contained by the bench seat previously. I removed as much as I could from the blower wheel without actual disassembly.

I next tackled the heat exchanger area which proved to be the difficult one as the spaces between the tubes are close, as little as 1/4 inch. Without a complete disassemble, it's difficult. With a 12 gauge wire bent into a hook, I kept picking at it removing the nest and the rotting mice, as well as all the droppings. Did I mention how bad it smelled?

Now cleaned as best I could, put everything back into place and test fired it. The vibration was now gone, still a little noisey and I succeeded in blowing more nest into the camper as well as spreading the odor.

So, at a minimum, I believe I need to replace the blower but I'm more concerned with the heat exchange tubes that have mouse droppings and decomposed mouses parts stuck on. Once that burner is lit, those tubes will cook whatever is on them. Did I mention the smell?

BTW, there were 6 in total that I removed. Well, 6 I think. Could have been 5 1/2. While I haven't crawled underneath yet, they made their way past the plastic underbelly and crawled in via the 2 inch duct that sends heat to the underbelly. That duct connects directly to the area of the furnace where the exchange tubes are.

Next step for me is to seek out some advice from repair techs, perhaps give Atwood a call for advice too. Entire new unit is somewhere around $570-$600. Not having heat won't impact trips this summer, however after mid-September, early morning can be cool in Maine.

Did it smell? I think I mentioned that

[A32Deuce]

Are you sure it smelled?[emoji3][emoji3][emoji3][emoji3]

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by MaineCampingFan

Well, I had posted a question in General Tech & Repair asking if anyone has experience is disassembling an Atwood furnace. Turns out I've got a little now.
So, I had mice get into the camper over the winter (first time having stored my campers in my back yard in years), both under the dinette benches. The storage one cleaned up easily. The furnace one, not so much. I had discovered the problem over Memorial Day weekend when turning on the heat. In addition to nest materials coming out of the vents, the vibration from a very inbalanced blower shook the camper as well as quite noisy.

I tore into it this weekend. Disassembly to get the unit out is very easy, in fact I didn't disconnect the wiring harness as the manufacturer had left a long lead in. There actually were 2 nests in the furnace, 1 in the blower wheel and a 2nd one in the area of the heat exchanger. The smell of the decomposing mice was attention getting to say the least. The smell had been contained by the bench seat previously. I removed as much as I could from the blower wheel without actual disassembly.

I next tackled the heat exchanger area which proved to be the difficult one as the spaces between the tubes are close, as little as 1/4 inch. Without a complete disassemble, it's difficult. With a 12 gauge wire bent into a hook, I kept picking at it removing the nest and the rotting mice, as well as all the droppings. Did I mention how bad it smelled?

Now cleaned as best I could, put everything back into place and test fired it. The vibration was now gone, still a little noisey and I succeeded in blowing more nest into the camper as well as spreading the odor.

So, at a minimum, I believe I need to replace the blower but I'm more concerned with the heat exchange tubes that have mouse droppings and decomposed mouses parts stuck on. Once that burner is lit, those tubes will cook whatever is on them. Did I mention the smell?

BTW, there were 6 in total that I removed. Well, 6 I think. Could have been 5 1/2. While I haven't crawled underneath yet, they made their way past the plastic underbelly and crawled in via the 2 inch duct that sends heat to the underbelly. That duct connects directly to the area of the furnace where the exchange tubes are.

Next step for me is to seek out some advice from repair techs, perhaps give Atwood a call for advice too. Entire new unit is somewhere around $570-$600. Not having heat won't impact trips this summer, however after mid-September, early morning can be cool in Maine.

Did it smell? I think I mentioned that

Do you have compressed air available? If so, blow gun with a small, long, tube attached to it is a great tool to remove the remaining residue from the heat exchanger.

If you can remove the blower wheels without damaging them wash them well in a solution of dish soap and some bleach. Rinse well and finish job by blowing dry.

When reassembled run the furnace continuously for an hour or so.


For the smell, rub some Vicks or Mentholatum inside a dust mask and wear it while working on the unit or burning off the remaining particles.

A cheap cigar helps too.

[pbandrb]

Originally Posted by MaineCampingFan

Well, I had posted a question in General Tech & Repair asking if anyone has experience is disassembling an Atwood furnace. Turns out I've got a little now.

So, I had mice get into the camper over the winter (first time having stored my campers in my back yard in years), both under the dinette benches. The storage one cleaned up easily. The furnace one, not so much. I had discovered the problem over Memorial Day weekend when turning on the heat. In addition to nest materials coming out of the vents, the vibration from a very inbalanced blower shook the camper as well as quite noisy.



I tore into it this weekend. Disassembly to get the unit out is very easy, in fact I didn't disconnect the wiring harness as the manufacturer had left a long lead in. There actually were 2 nests in the furnace, 1 in the blower wheel and a 2nd one in the area of the heat exchanger. The smell of the decomposing mice was attention getting to say the least. The smell had been contained by the bench seat previously. I removed as much as I could from the blower wheel without actual disassembly.



I next tackled the heat exchanger area which proved to be the difficult one as the spaces between the tubes are close, as little as 1/4 inch. Without a complete disassemble, it's difficult. With a 12 gauge wire bent into a hook, I kept picking at it removing the nest and the rotting mice, as well as all the droppings. Did I mention how bad it smelled?



Now cleaned as best I could, put everything back into place and test fired it. The vibration was now gone, still a little noisey and I succeeded in blowing more nest into the camper as well as spreading the odor.



So, at a minimum, I believe I need to replace the blower but I'm more concerned with the heat exchange tubes that have mouse droppings and decomposed mouses parts stuck on. Once that burner is lit, those tubes will cook whatever is on them. Did I mention the smell?



BTW, there were 6 in total that I removed. Well, 6 I think. Could have been 5 1/2. While I haven't crawled underneath yet, they made their way past the plastic underbelly and crawled in via the 2 inch duct that sends heat to the underbelly. That duct connects directly to the area of the furnace where the exchange tubes are.



Next step for me is to seek out some advice from repair techs, perhaps give Atwood a call for advice too. Entire new unit is somewhere around $570-$600. Not having heat won't impact trips this summer, however after mid-September, early morning can be cool in Maine.



Did it smell? I think I mentioned that

Thanks for posting this will be handy

[Buck1032]

Towed it home from camping. Had a fun time and not all that happy to be home.

[MaineCampingFan]

Originally Posted by A32Deuce

Are you sure it smelled?[emoji3][emoji3][emoji3][emoji3]

I swear....that smell stayed in my nose even after I went to bed!

[MaineCampingFan]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Do you have compressed air available? If so, blow gun with a small, long, tube attached to it is a great tool to remove the remaining residue from the heat exchanger.

If you can remove the blower wheels without damaging them wash them well in a solution of dish soap and some bleach. Rinse well and finish job by blowing dry.

When reassembled run the furnace continuously for an hour or so.


For the smell, rub some Vicks or Mentholatum inside a dust mask and wear it while working on the unit or burning off the remaining particles.

A cheap cigar helps too.

Good suggestions, thanks. Except the cigar.....

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by MaineCampingFan

I swear....that smell stayed in my nose even after I went to bed!

Next time, open the BBQ sauce jar and breathe in its smell deeply for a bit.

[A32Deuce]

BBQ mice![emoji24][emoji24][emoji24][emoji24][emoji24]

[ependydad]

Not today, but found that my heater doesn't work again. I can only assume it's a continuation of the water intrusion issue.

Which means, the many hundreds of dollars I spent in Branson were wasted.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Not today, but found that my heater doesn't work again. I can only assume it's a continuation of the water intrusion issue.

Which means, the many hundreds of dollars I spent in Branson were wasted.

Can't speak directly to your heater problem but it sounds similar to one I had many years back on what was then a new TT.

Was driving it across I-90 from Wisconsin and it seemed like I was being followed by one huge rainstorm. When the wife and I stopped for the night the furnace wouldn't light off. Due to the failure to light fault the fan kept running until I turned the furnace off. First night wasn't too cold so we just added blankets and put the dog in the middle

By the second night we were in Wyoming and the temp at night was almost freezing. Not enough blankets so we ended up sleeping in our clothes under what we had for blankets, again with the dog in the middle

Next night brought us to Montana and I knew it was going to be cold so I bought a heater at a small town hardware store. Also decided to open up the furnace and see what might be obvious. When I removed the igniter circuit board it had moisture on it. On the odd chance it would work if I dried it off I spent an hour doing so with my wife's hair dryer. Reinstalled it and BINGO, heat. Seems that all the rain was migrating in past a panel the factory installed to prevent water from being blown in. Next day was wet too and again when I tried the furnace it wouldn't light. Hair dryer on igniter circuit board and heat for the night.

When I reached home I scheduled time at the Dealer. After a day they called me and told me to come pick it up. Looking at what they had done, the panel/shield inside the outer cover was totally glued in place with silicone sealer and for the igniter Circuit board to get wet the trailer would have to be under water. They even added a bead of silicone around the outside of the outer cover so when latched in place with the two screws the silicone formed a gasket to keep water that runs down the side of the trailer from entering. The furnace was, I believe, an Atwood.

One thing certain, when high voltage for the igniter can find another path to ground other than the spark gap at the burner, it usually will and any water will certainly provide that path.

My new trailer has a suburban furnace and it doesn't seem to be affected by rain or "splash". We get plenty of both here in the NW.

[ard58]

Have outdoor kitchen with not near enough storage space. (imagine that)
DW said to build shelf and make it out of old barn wood. DW likes it!

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Can't speak directly to your heater problem but it sounds similar to one I had many years back on what was then a new TT.

Was driving it across I-90 from Wisconsin and it seemed like I was being followed by one huge rainstorm. When the wife and I stopped for the night the furnace wouldn't light off. Due to the failure to light fault the fan kept running until I turned the furnace off. First night wasn't too cold so we just added blankets and put the dog in the middle

By the second night we were in Wyoming and the temp at night was almost freezing. Not enough blankets so we ended up sleeping in our clothes under what we had for blankets, again with the dog in the middle

Next night brought us to Montana and I knew it was going to be cold so I bought a heater at a small town hardware store. Also decided to open up the furnace and see what might be obvious. When I removed the igniter circuit board it had moisture on it. On the odd chance it would work if I dried it off I spent an hour doing so with my wife's hair dryer. Reinstalled it and BINGO, heat. Seems that all the rain was migrating in past a panel the factory installed to prevent water from being blown in. Next day was wet too and again when I tried the furnace it wouldn't light. Hair dryer on igniter circuit board and heat for the night.

When I reached home I scheduled time at the Dealer. After a day they called me and told me to come pick it up. Looking at what they had done, the panel/shield inside the outer cover was totally glued in place with silicone sealer and for the igniter Circuit board to get wet the trailer would have to be under water. They even added a bead of silicone around the outside of the outer cover so when latched in place with the two screws the silicone formed a gasket to keep water that runs down the side of the trailer from entering. The furnace was, I believe, an Atwood.

One thing certain, when high voltage for the igniter can find another path to ground other than the spark gap at the burner, it usually will and any water will certainly provide that path.

My new trailer has a suburban furnace and it doesn't seem to be affected by rain or "splash". We get plenty of both here in the NW.

It's definitely water getting in. The first time this happened, the fan would kick on but it would never ignite.

This time, it doesn't seem to respond to the thermostat whatsoever.

I'll break out a hair dryer.. if my wife has one! If not, I'll borrow one from the in-laws.

I'm trying to figure out what you mean by "the panel/shield inside the outer cover was totally glued in place with silicone sealer". Do you just mean the removable panel was totally siliconed in place?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by ependydad

It's definitely water getting in. The first time this happened, the fan would kick on but it would never ignite.

This time, it doesn't seem to respond to the thermostat whatsoever.

I'll break out a hair dryer.. if my wife has one! If not, I'll borrow one from the in-laws.

I'm trying to figure out what you mean by "the panel/shield inside the outer cover was totally glued in place with silicone sealer". Do you just mean the removable panel was totally siliconed in place?

On my furnace the panel that was siliconed in the one that is between the outer panel and the rest of the assembly right under the #22. When you open the outer door the piece I'm talking about has to be removed to access the circuit board. When you open the outer panel it's just a piece of ABS plastic.

FWIW, in the past I've found that some circuit boards can be flushed with just plain hot water and then well dried afterward in order to stop any leakage across the surface caused by conductive contamination. You can also spring for an aerosol can of CRC Electrical Contact Cleaner. Just be sure to use a hair dryer, not compressed air which can under the right circumstances generate enough static electricity to "fry" sensitive solid state devices.

If the unit is totally unresponsive to the thermostat it's probably tripped a safety circuit breaker in the unit. Look for a reset button inside.

Last note: in my unit I found a lot of dog hair that had accumulated on the grille that allows inside air to enter the furnace (a cold air return if you prefer). Was actually a mix of dog and human hair (my wife had super long hair) as well as the usual dust. Everything worked much better when I cleaned that out. Insufficient return air can trip an over temp limit that might need manual reset.

[Johnfort]

Noticed that my 1/2 full water tank on my 10 month old Rockwood 2304KS TT was bulging out between the frame rails after the last trip and decided to brace it from the underside. Solid as a rock now.

Going to try to attach a pdf with drawings.

[SKSpokane]

A couple weeks after bringing our 2608SB home, about 750 miles, I checked tire pressures. All we're down a few pounds, but 3 we're consistent with ambient temperature. When I brought all to 65# I could hear a small leak form the 4th valve stem. The core was not tight. In order to get the air to stop the core was too low to add air.

I had our local tire shop install metal stems with Aligator valve caps. The manager stated that rubber stems are marginal at 65#. Just returned from a 200 mile camping trip and all are at 65#.

[revbilly]

We bought 18" non slip shelf liner. We put a piece across the sofe seat and another draped over the back of the couch. We covered the couch with the dog proof couch cover. Then we shoved a star shaped pool noodle down between the back and seat (ours is a jack knife sofa). It took a little effort to get it in there but that couch cover isn't going anywhere and we no longer slide off the couch. Here's the link to the liner.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[RFishstick]

I pulled the access panels in the cargo compartment to vacuum the factory left over sawdust and foam bits. In doing so I found a broken plastic conduit strap. I replaced the strap and added a stack of washers to reduce the strain on the new strap.