CARBON MONOXIDE, PROPANE, AND SMOKE DETECTORS

  Roadtrek installs detectors to protect you inside the Roadtrek from three dangers - carbon monoxide poisoning, a propane gas leak, and fire by detecting smoke.  Two of these detector units are hardwired to your 12 volt DC house battery(ies). One is powered by a common 9 volt DC battery or with the latest technology in detection devices, a 10 year battery built into the unit - and that is the smoke detector.

There are a few things to be aware of with each of these detectors - and also the history of what detectors Roadtrek has used or is currently using.  We will start with that first and then look at the different detectors. Prior to 2012/2013 Roadtrek used an individual carbon monoxide detector and an individual propane detector. Around 2012/2013 Roadtrek started using a combination carbon monoxide detector and propane detector- both functions in one unit. Roadtrek has and still uses an individual smoke detector. 

THE CO DETECTOR

CO (Carbon Monoxide) Detector alarms will go off when CO gas - engine exhaust, gasoline motor exhaust - either from your Roadtrek or your Roadtrek's generator - OR from another motor home that is running its engine or generator closed to your Roadtrek. CO gas will first cause dizziness, then will knock you out, and then without it being cleared, will kill you,  The CO Detector is hardwired to your house 12 volt battery(ies) as a safety precaution - and should never be replaced with a battery run home detector (for this and another reason). How does the gas come in?  It comes in from an open or partially open window, through the vent over your cargo doors for the A/C unit, from an open ceiling fan,  from a leak in your muffler or exhaust pipe, or from another close by RV with those problems. These units last just five years.  When they are about to expire in one month  (they have expiration dates), they will go off intermittently - without any CO present. This is to warn you that the CO detector must be replaced.  In the last month of its life span, it goes off continually - if it has not been replaced - to tell you that you absolutely MUST replace the unit NOW!  If you do not you will not be protected. If you pull the fuse to stop it - it will go off but you are NOT protected!  There is one other reason why these go off when there is no CO present - they monitor the voltage in your house battery(ies) and if the battery voltage is LOW the CO alarm goes off. This is to warn you that with a low house battery(ies) you are NOT PROTECTED from CO poisoning.  The CO Detector comes on with your Roadtrek battery switch and there will be a green light on the front of the detector indicating it is on and working. There is also a push button test button to push in and sound the alarm for you to test that it is working. The other reason why a CO Detector should not be replaced with a home detector but always with an RV CO Detector is that the operating temperature range of the RV CO detector is much wider a range from a home detector - it will work in much higher temperatures and much lower temperatures (the home detectors are made for inside a house where the temperatures are more controlled and not as hot and not as cold as the inside of an RV can get.

CARBON MONOXIDE IS LIGHTER THAN AIR AND FLOATS TO THE CEILING.

For this reason the CO Detector is installed by Roadtrek near the ceiling of the Roadtrek in the rear (usually on the passenger side). 

 

In this photo you are looking up from the bed to the ceiling - the CO Detector is just above the thermostat panel. 

THE PROPANE DETECTOR 

The Propane detector alarm will go off when propane gas is leaking into the inside of the Roadtrek. For many Roadtreks, your stove, your hot water heater, your three way refrigerator, and your furnace use propane gas that is located in a propane tank under the chassis of your Roadtrek. Any break or crack in a propane pipe, pipe joint, pipe connection, the propane tank - or any one of the appliances that use propane can put Propane gas into your Roadtrek.  Propane is EXPLOSIVE.  A propane fire does not go out until all of the propane gas is burned off. Propane fires have been known to burn an RV to its shell. Propane explosions can level a house. You only have to see a propane fire or a propane explosion once - either in person or in a photo or video to know the massive destruction it can cause. THIS is why you have a propane detector to warn you with enough time to get out and away from the RV.  Like the CO Detector, the propane detector has a five year lifespan and it will do the same thing that the CO Detector does. One month before its expiration date it will intermittently go off to warn you to replace it. In the expiration month it will go off constantly telling you that you were warned to replace it and now you MUST replace it NOW. Also it will go off if the house battery(ies) are low voltage. There are a few other things that will set off the propane alarm - any aerosol can sprayed near the propane detector will set off its alarm. Your dog passing gas next to the propane detector will set off the alarm. (I supposed a person doing the same can have the same result.)  The way to test a propane alarm is to use a cigarette gas lighter. Put the lighter next to the propane detector - close to it - and push down the button that releases the gas from the lighter - Do Not flick the wheel on the lighter - you do not want a flame. The propane detector should go off immediately. There is a light on the front of the propane detector to show you it is working. It is still advisable to do a test with a lighter.

 PROPANE IS HEAVIER THAN AIR AND SINKS TO NEAR THE FLOOR 

For this reason Roadtrek installed the individual propane detector near the floor under the bed to the aisle wall of the passenger side floor cabinet.

This is the propane detector that Roadtrek used before 2012/2013. This company has become a one man operation who is making them in his basement - and my experience with him and the replacement I bought from him was a terrible.

 

 

 

This is the Safe-T-Alert Propane Detector that I got to replace the original after the fiasco with the replacement for the original. 

THE COMBINATION CARBON MONOXIDE AND PROPANE DETECTOR

As said in 2012/2013 Roadtrek started using a combined in a single unit propane and CO detector. It does both jobs and protects you from both. Again - a five year life span with the same alarms going off as with the individual unit when it come to the month before its lifespan expires.  I have seen some Roadtrek photos were this is installed about halfway between the floor and ceiling. I asked for a photo of one of the combination detectors in a Roadtrek and this photo was kindly shared by Susan Howell. Here is a photo of the unit in her 2013 190 Popular Chevy chassis Roadtrek. You will see that is is installed near the floor.  Since this is an early year with the "new" combo detector Roadtrek may have moved it higher in later model years. There are videos showing mounting these mid-way. This is not up for debate - where yours is mounted in your Roadtrek is where it should be.  

 

THE SMOKE DETECTOR - FIRE ALARM  

 

The smoke detector that is in your Roadtrek is a regular house smoke detector. It is not hard wired to house battery(ies). It  is either run by a 9 volt DC put in the back battery or with newer replaced smoke detectors it has a 10 year never needs replacing until it dies in 10 years battery. The smoke detector is located in just about the worst place a smoke detector is to be placed -  in the front of the Roadtrek just across the aisle from the stove. If you buy a new smoke detector for your house it will have in its installation instructions that it should not be placed in a kitchen but at least 20 feet from your stove or cooking appliances. Of course, 20 feet in a Roadtrek in any direction is outside Roadtrek. So as a result the smoke detector will go off when you are cooking on the stove using an electric cooking appliance on the kitchen counter, etc.  Contrary to a belief I have heard from some (I say laughing), the smoke detector is not there to tell you that dinner is done cooking when the smoke alarm goes off. 😀

I have to share that we were heating a can of soup on the Roadtrek stove, the smoke detector went off. There was no smoke - just steam and not further than just above the pot. We tried using a two slice toaster on the kitchen counter and the smoke detector went off.  And to get it to go off we had to take if off the wall and take it outside and wave it around and then had to take the batteries out.  Even the ceiling fan exhausting out the invisible smoke did not shut the smoke alarm off.  It is important to have -  it can be funny at times but an electrical short that starts a fire  and it goes off it can save your life and your Roadtrek. But for this reason when it came time to replace the original in my Roadtrek and I found out that in this state stores are only allowed to sell 10 year smoke detectors - and you cannot take the battery out of it if it will not go off (the way you can with a 9 volt battery operated smoke detector alarm - I waited until we were on a trip in the Roadtrek and bought one in Pennsylvania, where both types can be sold, that uses a 9 volt battery.   With the 9 volt battery detectors - just like at home - if you hear it chirping and that does not stop - it needs a new 9 volt battery. And as is advised every New Year's Day - replace the battery in the 9 volt battery smoke detectors. 

REPLACING THE CO DETECTOR AND THE PROPANE DETECTOR

These two articles have been on this site for a long time. One is how to replace the individual CO Detector and the other is how to replace the individual propane detector.  When I replaced each I made some simple modifications to the wiring to make it easy to replace each when the time came again. The modifications make an easy job even easier! 

REPLACING THE CO DETECTOR 

 

REPLACING THE PROPANE DETECTOR 

(The propane alarm article details what went wrong when I tried to use an exact replacement of the original and what I finally had to do with a different one.) 

 

So that is it. Seems simple - is simple!  Obvious to all?  You might think so - but apparently not...

ALL ABOUT THE HOT WATER HEATER AND HOT WATER TANK

This is an article that is a collection of links of all of our articles to date about the hot water tank.  There are always a lot of questions about how the hot water tank works and what needs to be done involving the hot water tank during a year of using the Roadtrek. The hot water heater is a Suburban 6 gallon propane heated hot water heater and tank.  Some early Roadtreks had electric and propane heating elements. It is installed from the inside and it is accessed outside and inside the van - outside is access to the hot water heater mechanism and tank drain. Inside in a cabinet at the floor is the tank and bypass valves.  The tank is covered in foam insulation. The inside of the tank is glass lined. The battery switch must be turned on when you want hot water as the propane is self-ignited by a 12 volt igniter.




THE ROADTREK HOT WATER HEATER AND THE WATER SYSTEM - HOW IT WORKS

THE HOT WATER HEATER AND PROPANE

HOW TO PUT THE HOT WATER HEATER TANK INTO BYPASS

FLUSHING THE HOT WATER TANK

DON'T LOSE YOUR WATER HEATER DOOR

SANITIZING THE HOT WATER TANK

DRAINING THE HOT WATER TANK

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES ARE HOT WATER HEATER/TANK RELATED:


WINTERIZING - THE DEFINITIVE STEP BY STEP GUIDE

THE DEFINITIVE STEP BY STEP DEWINTERIZING AND SANITIZING

PROPANE

 

This is all fairly complete in what you need to know about the hot water heater and tank in your Roadtrek.

How to Use the Furnace

There are a lot of things that those who have had an RV for awhile just do automatically, but for a first time RV owner there are many things that a good step by step understanding of will help a great deal. I have had several readers email and ask about some of these things and I will try to do some more articles on some of the basics. Since we are now in November and there may still be some who are not ready to set their RV aside for the winter quite yet, I will start with the FURNACE. (If you have a new Roadtrek and don't have a furnace for heat, this does not apply to you.)

The furnace in the Roadtrek and most RVs runs on both PROPANE AND BATTERY. The propane is the fuel used to make the heat. The battery is needed to:

-  Ignite the propane
and
- Run the fan to move the heat out of the furnace and into the RV

I have an article already about propane and you can go there to learn from this two part article about how to turn on your propane and also what to do when you first turn it on to make sure there is propane gas in all of the gas pipes.

So to use your furnace -

TURN YOUR PROPANE ON - Get it into all pipes (see article link above).

TURN YOUR BATTERY SWITCH ON.

The furnace switch is on a control panel. Mine is located at the rear of the cabin on the passenger side on the wall above the bed. I have a mechanical switch with slide switches. The newer Roadtreks have a digital switch with a digital thermostat display. Both do the same functions.

This is what mine looks like. If you have an older Roadtrek yours should look similar.

Here is what the digital switch looks like -

MAKE SURE THE SWITCHES ARE SET AS FOLLOWS:

FAN SET TO AUTO

FAN SPEED SET TO LO OR HIGH

THERMOSTAT SET TO TEMPERATURE WARMER THAN INSIDE YOUR COACH

THEN 

SLIDE THE SWITCH (or push buttons on the digital version) TO FURNACE

What should happen now is you will hear the blower fan inside the furnace turn on. It will be blowing cold air - that is what it is supposed to do right now. After a short time you will hear a CLICK. That CLICK is the battery run ignition lighting the propane.

IF THE FURNACE KEEPS CLICKING it means that the propane did not light. IT WILL ATTEMPT TO LIGHT SEVERAL MORE TIMES. If it does not light turn off the Furnace switch on the wall and check that all setting are as described above, that there is PROPANE in the tank, and it has been run through all the lines as that link above tells you how to do. Once checked, turn on the Furnace switch again.

HOW DO I KNOW IF IT HAS LIT?

There will be no more clicks and in a few minutes when you put your hand in front of the furnace vent inside there will be heat coming out and not cold air.

Your furnace is now in operation!

Set your thermostat lower if it gets too warm or higher if it is not warm enough. What will happen is with the settings on AUTO the furnace will turn off when it reaches the temperature set and turn back on when the temperature gets colder again. This cycling on and off is NORMAL.

OH MY! OH NO! THE SMOKE ALARM IS GOING OFF!!!

DON'T PANIC!

OPEN A WINDOW OR OPEN YOUR CEILING FAN VENT AND TURN ON THE FAN TO EXHAUST.

The first time that a new furnace is turned on, the furnace flame will burn off any packing oil that the furnace parts were coated with. This will result in a lot of smoke and a sharp burning smell. This IS NORMAL!  Once the smoke that this results in clears and is out the window or the fan, you can push the button to stop the smoke detector and it will not go off again. If it does, there is still more to burn off and exhaust out.

THIS MAY HAPPEN THE FIRST SEVERAL TIMES YOU LIGHT THE FURNACE - OR NOT.

THIS WILL OFTEN ALSO HAPPEN THE FIRST TIME THE FURNACE IS TURNED ON FOR A NEW SEASON. Dust, etc. collects inside the furnace and this too burns off when the furnace is ignited and will set off the smoke detector. IF it does, just do the same as above to stop it.

TURNING OFF THE FURNACE -

You would think that this is just as simple as moving the switch to OFF - and it IS, BUT...

When you turn the furnace off the flame will go out BUT the furnace fan will run for several minutes to cool off the inside of the furnace. THIS IS NORMAL! But it is very disconcerting. It troubles me when I first use the furnace after awhile and I never have gotten used to this. You hear it keep running. It will stop. Even though, if you are like me, you don't think it will stop - it will stop.

The furnace is VENTED outside. Here is a photo of the vent usually located on a Roadtrek just past the driver's door on the side of the van:

Always keep this vent CLEAR! If you are in the RV in the winter and it has snowed. Clear this off of snow if you are going to put on the furnace. If there has been an ice storm, clear all of the openings of this vent of ice. If you do not DO NOT TURN ON THE FURNACE. There are also special screens made and sold just for this vent to keep bugs out. Bugs can build nests or webs and cause all types of problems for the furnace.

That is it! You now are an expert in using your RV furnace!


 

The Standard Hot Water Heater and the Water System

I have received questions from readers and also have encountered similar questions on regular RV forums from new RV owners about how the hot water tank works. While I have written about that in various other articles usually about something else, I thought that perhaps while we are just about to get started - at least hear in the Northeast - with the RVing season and de-winterizing, it might be good to devote one easy to find article about this. (At the writing of this article I have still not dewinterized. The temperatures are just evening out and sometime this week I hope to be able to do it.) And since the standard RV water system should be looked at as a whole, I will also go into the basics of that as well. Now, I say "standard RV water system and standard hot water heater" as this does not pertain to any of the new innovative hot water systems that Roadtrek is now using on the newest models. This is about the propane fired Suburban Hot Water Heater with its hot water tank.

OK - the water system is basically the same from RV to RV and Travel Trailer. You have a "city water" connection that you can hook up a hose to and have water running in your RV. And you have one or more water tank that will hold clean water for you to use in your RV when you don't want to hook up a hose. First, we will look at using the hose which is referred to in RV language as using "city water". When you connect the hose and turn it on at the outside water spigot water will go through your entire water system including your hot water tank. The hot water tank will fill and at the same time water will fill all of your plumbing in the RV. To use water, you just go inside and turn on a faucet or flush the toilet and water will flow. You do not turn on the water pump.

For those times that you don't want to be bothered with having to hook up a hose to use water in your RV when you are out traveling in it, there is the fresh water tank(s). With the Roadtrek there are various places that Roadtrek has placed a tank fill hole. That hole in many Roadtreks is in the inner door frame that the driver's door closes into. With the Roadtrek there is a plug cap - usually orange - that you pull out and set aside so that you may put a hose up to the hole and fill the tank. One thing to keep in mind is that if water is going to go into the tank, then the air in the tank has to come out - so if you find that the process of doing this causes the water to back up and out the fill hole long before the tank is full, get yourself a water tank fill tube sold in many RV shops. All it is is a clear plastic flexible tube attached to a fresh water hose connection with a shut off valve on it. The end of the tube should be cut at a 45 degree angle. If it is not, cut the angle into it yourself - and sometimes a slightly greater than 45 degree angle works even better. Don't push that tube down into the fill hole. Look into the hole and you will see that it will take a slight bend. Turn on the water to the hose, but at much less than full force. Put the end of the tube just before that bend with the open end of the cut angle facing down into the bend. Turn on the valve on the tube and the water should flow nicely down with plenty of room around the tube for the air to escape at the same time. When the water now backs up and out of the hole, the tank is full. It is helpful to have someone checking the tank's fill progress at the wall panel monitor and tell you when it reaches the top. You will also hear the water coming back up and can tell from the sound when to shut off the valve on the tank fill tube. Your fresh tank is now full. 

When you are going to use the water from your tank(s) and not use "city water" you must turn on your water pump switch. The water pump runs on 12 volt battery power from your coach battery. So you need to turn on the battery switch before you turn on the water pump switch. When the water pump switch is turned on and you open a faucet or flush the toilet you should here the pump start to hum and it is working pumping water. Some are quieter than others. IF the hot water heater tank is empty, it will also start to fill the hot water tank. The Suburban hot water heater tank usually holds six gallons of water. The water pump does not flow as fast as a city water hose connected to a water spigot outside so it will take a little time for the water to fill the hot water tank. How do you know itis full? First, DO NOT TURN ON THE HOT WATER SWITCH! Just turn on a hot water faucet handle. Air will come out first and then water will come out in spurts. When water flows steadily, the hot water tank is full.  NEVER TURN ON THE HOT WATER SWITCH IF THE HOT WATER TANK IS EMPTY. You will burn out the hot water heater!
 
As soon as the hot water tank is full, you can start turning on the necessary switch to ignite the hot water heater and the heater will heat the water in the hot water tank. You don't use any matches to light the hot water heater. It is done electronically. You may be able to hear the flame of the hot water heater ignite with propane inside. You will definitely be able to hear it burning if you go outside to the hot water heater vent. If it is dark enough you will see the flame. You should be able to hear the hiss of the gas burning. This area gets hot so don't touch the vent cover while the hot water heater is on. It also takes some time to heat six gallons of water. At home if you put a pot with six gallons of water on the stove it will take some time to heat - the hot water tank is just a big pot of water on a burner too.

I have not talked about the hot water heater bypass valves and I am not going to go into that here. You MUST make sure that the hot water heater bypass valves are set to ALLOW water to flow into and out of the hot water tank. This article here will tell you about the hot water tank bypass valves and dewinterizing to put them into hot water use mode. Other RVs will have different setups. Some don't have bypass valves at all. Some have bypass valves that were aftermarket installed.

Now to understand how the hot water tank works, you must understand this. Water does not come out of the hot water tank unless you open a hot water faucet at the RV sink. As water comes out of the hot water tank, more water comes into the hot water tank re-filling it. When the hose is connected and water is coming through the hose into the RV the water pressure from the hose is what moves the water inside your RV pipes - and  When using the fresh tank, it is the water pump that moves the water in the pipes and in and out of the hot water tank. 

It is simple - for water to move out of the hot water tank and into your faucet and into your sink, water must go into the hot water tank to push the water out from the hot water tank. 

You cannot drain your hot water tank empty through a sink or shower. The hot water tank will ALWAYS be full. If your hot water stops coming out with the faucet open and the water pump on it means that your fresh tank is empty. The hot water tank is still full. Why? Because there is no water to push the water out of the full hot water tank. This is not easy at first to get. Think about it for a moment. 

If  you want to empty your hot water tank you must drain it by opening the hex head of the anode rod OUTSIDE where the hot water heater is. This rod is also the drain plug. This is the only way to drain and empty the hot water tank.

As long as you are using the RV though the season and you don't mind the water sitting in the hot water tank between trips you can just leave it there. It will be heated every time that you use it and that should kill any bacteria that might form in the water - and generally you are not drinking hot water from the tap, but that is up to you to decide. You could certainly go out and drain it after a trip. We don't.  

It is all just water goes in for water to come out of the hot water tank. When you fill your fresh tank and the hot water tank then fills, you are losing six gallons of fresh water from your fresh tank. So if you have a 24 gallon or more fresh tank, subtract from that capacity the capacity of your hot water tank which will always hold that water. Go back and fill the fresh tank again with the hot tank full and you regain that water to use.

Yes, it is confusing. There are many RVers who don't understand it or just don't know this. 

Do you need to leave your hot water switch on all of the time when you are in the RV? We don't. I only put it on when I need to use hot water. The hot water switch only turns on the heater. (I also only turn on my water pump switch when we need to use the water - though we keep it on overnight.) Once heated that day, the water will maintain a hot or at least warm temperature as the tank which is inside is heavily encased in insulating foam and holds heat in. If the water is just warm or has gone cold just flip the switch on and wait a minute or two for it to heat back up. If you are taking a shower remember that six gallons can come out faster than your think and water replacing it has to heat so you may find you are taking a cold shower toward the end. 

That is the basic course in standard RV water systems. It is actually no different from the water system in a house. In a house we don't think about these things until something is wrong. We just turn on the faucet and expect water and turn on the hot and expect not water. Not very different in an RV - it just needs more hands on to get it there. 

After Winterizing

Once you have winterized your Roadtrek, then what? You can still travel in your Roadtrek with it winterized and we will have an article about that coming soon. For some, once they have winterized they are putting their Roadtrek "away" until the seasons pass and the warm weather comes again. But can you just winterize and walk away?

The answer is no. There are things that you need to do all winter regarding your Roadtrek. This article will detail winter maintenance.

Check your propane level when you have finally decided that it is time to give the Roadtrek a rest for the rest of the winter. A full propane tank is best during the cold weather. Take it to be filled if it is not full. 

If you have a built in generator, whether gas or propane, that generator needs to be exercised every month. While Roadtrek only recommends 45 minutes of generator "exercise", the company that manufacturers and warranties the generator, Onan Cummings, says that the generator needs to be exercised for two hours a month. The total time that the generator runs from the time it is installed is recorded on the dial that appears on the wall of the Roadtrek with the generator on and off switch. These hours and minutes are reported to Onan Cummings when warranty work is required. I have been told by our service center that if the time on the meter does not equal or exceed the minimum of hours that amount to two hours a month since installation, warranty payment may be refused. So there is more than one reason to exercise the generator properly. And the most important reason is not to make the company happy, but to keep the generator operating properly. Generators work better if they are run often and not allowed to sit without use. This is why "exercising" the generator is required.

During the winter I exercise the Roadtrek generator two hours a month. It is necessary to power at least half of the generator's load capacity when exercising the generator. During the warm months I use the A/C to put this load on the generator, but what should you use when it is cold? If you generator has a 2800 watt capacity, half of that is 1500 watts. Most electric heaters are 1500 watts. I bring a household ceramic electric heater into the Roadtrek during the winter when I am exercising the generator, start the generator, plug in the electric heater and turn it up the thermostat on the heater to high. If it seems that it will get too warm or hot inside the Roadtrek I open the ceiling vent to let some of the heat out as the heater runs. After two hours, all is turned off and the heater comes back into the house until the next month.

Cold weather causes batteries to discharge more quickly. It is important to regularly check the charge level of your coach battery(ies). If the level on the batteries on the wall LED meter shows less than G, it is necessary to charge the batteries. You can do this one of two ways. Drive the Roadtrek for two hours at highway speeds OR plug the Roadtrek into "shore power" at your house for 12 hours. Both will charge both your coach and vehicle batteries. Do not leave your Battery Switch ON when you are not using your Roadtrek. This will drain the batteries in the best weather quickly.

I plug the Roadtrek into shore power for a period of 12 hours on schedule once each month throughout the year. In the winter I check weekly to make sure the batteries have not drained between scheduled charges. 

Some will leave the Roadtrek plugged in to shore power throughout the winter and this is possible as long as you have a Roadtrek with a "smart" charger component (for newer Roadtreks this is part of the 3-way inverter unit). The "smart" charger will charge the batteries until full and then drop back to a "float" charge which will monitor the battery levels and charge when the level drops. AGM maintenance free batteries used by Roadtrek since 2011 are safely charged this way, but wet cell batteries should be checked regularly if left plugged in this way to be sure that the fluid level is not evaporated or boiled away. While Roadtrek states that the engine battery - which is not an AGM battery - will charge without problem this way, if that battery has fluid levels that can be checked they should also be checked regularly. It is better safe by taking a few moments to check the fluid levels, than to be sorry later. (If you have AGM batteries DO NOT open them to check fluid levels.)

As with any motor vehicle it is best not to let it sit for long periods of time without starting the engine. Go out every one or two weeks and start the engine. If you can, take it for a drive.

If you drive the Roadtrek in the winter on roads that have been salted for ice and/or snow, the road salt will do damage to the underside of the van. If you can rinse off the under-chassis with fresh water using a hose. Sometimes, the weather just won't allow this. In that case, as soon as the weather starts to get warm enough to do this, do it. I have seen one Class B owner who places a lawn sprinkler that moves the water back and forth under the van to wash off the salt. After doing one area, he moves the sprinkler back to do the rest.

This is a good time to get to any of the little repairs or modifications that you have been thinking about inside the Roadtrek. You are not going anywhere, it is sitting out there, and you can spend some time inside and get an "RV" fix while you do those things you have been putting off inside the Roadtrek (as long as they are not water related).

How do you remember to do all of this? I do it on a schedule and that schedule is set into my computer's calendar software with reminder alarms. I have an "appointment" with my Roadtrek on the 15th of every month to charge the generator. I have an "appointment" with my Roadtrek on the 28th of every month to plug into shore power. Why the 28th? Not all months have 31 days and February only has 28 unless it is leap year. So, the 28th works for all months. On those days when I turn on the computer, an alarm goes off from the calendar that tells me its Roadtrek Day. With computer calendars easy to sync with smartphones, the reminder comes up on my phone on those days as well.

With all of this your Roadtrek will be ready for you to get going without difficulties in the Spring!

Our Most Recent Roadtrek Trip

I have not written about our trips in the Roadtrek for awhile. We have taken three trips since our Fourth of July week trip that I chronicled in 8 parts and perhaps the length of that article has been a factor in why I have stayed away from trip articles - and perhaps because the how to articles are much more popular. Since Fourth of July, we took a trip of 16 days in August, a trip of three days in September, and our most recent trip was for my wife's birthday at the end of August which we almost did not take (and perhaps shouldn't have).

This last trip was planned for months. We were going to Lancaster, PA which is our home away from home. We have been going to Lancaster for our birthdays since we got married so many years ago. Because of when my birthday falls, we can't take the Roadtrek as it is still winterized and while we could go "waterless", we just do a car trip for the day and back.  We don't travel overnight any other way than with the Roadtrek. Meryl's birthday is Halloween - and that is the reason why our birthday trips started. Meryl hates that her birthday is Halloween. When other kids had birthday parties with colorful balloons and festive decorations, Meryl's birthday was filled with orange and black, witches and goblins, and a party that involved trick or treating. I can't blame her for not liking this and it was never her idea to do this but something her parents decided would be "nice" - every year. Yes, there are somethings that one can honestly blame the parents for. (They meant well, but just didn't ask or hear when displeasure was expressed about the annual "celebration".) Anyway, since we have been together I have tried to provide Meryl with a birthday without Halloween and that has not been easy. When we were first together, I would take Meryl out for dinner on her birthday and no matter how nice or fine a restaurant I picked, inevitably we would walk in and a witch would take our coats and a zombie would come over to be our waiter. I recall one such dinner in what at the time was considered a "very fine" restaurant that our waiter had body pieces hanging from him and was well covered in stage blood. That was it for trying to find a place to go for her birthday around here. One thing that has been almost certain (though in recent years this as not been as certain as it once was) in Lancaster is that this Amish/Mennonite religious community downplays Halloween - and we both enjoy just being there no matter what time of the year it is. We have to date never encountered a restaurant among the many local restaurants that we go to there with any employee in costume or decorated beyond a Fall theme for Halloween. So this is where we spend Meryl's birthday. Last year this trip was cancelled thanks to Tropical Storm Sandy which hit our area hard and prevented travel anywhere from here.

This year there was a different type of problem. I got sick a few weeks before we were scheduled to go and then Meryl caught it and she was sick just before we were supposed to go. She was hacking and coughing so bad and was so congested that I knew we should not be going on the trip - and she agreed. We decided that since we could cancel the campground reservation right to the day before, we would wait and see how she.. and I... were feeling. As usual with our trips the weather was not cooperating and the end of the week that we were to be away it was going to rain. That added another complication - and I certainly not want either of us outside at the end of the trip having to do all that we need to do to dump the tanks,  etc in the pouring rain. It was looking pretty much that we were not going. It was Monday, Meryl was still congested and hacking and coughing - and I was not too much better myself - and we were to leave in two days. We talked about it again. The next three days were supposed to be good weather. The trip was set from Wednesday through Saturday. Friday and possibly Saturday there was to be heavy rain. Meryl suggested that we call the campground right away and ask if we could arrive a day earlier - Tuesday, the very next day. We would then leave on Thursday which was Meryl's birthday and spend the day there before driving home after dinner that night. Unfortunately, this idea did not come up until 4 pm that day. We called the campground and got the answering machine saying the office was closes at 5 p (but it was just after 4). We called several times and then just left a message asking that someone would call us back. We went out at 5 pm and started to do what we need to do before we can leave on a trip - fill the water tanks, make the bed, and pack the cabinets with what we will need that comes from the house. And we would do this with both of not wanting to get the other one sicker. It was a joint effort with Meryl avoiding breathing on whatever I would use. I thought to myself, what was the difference since for the next three days we would be in very tight quarters inside the Roadtrek breathing on each other with the temperatures cold outside. It took a few hours but we were ready to leave in the morning - providing we could then reach the campground to be sure there would a place for us a day early.

It may seem odd to some for us to wonder why a campground would be crowded at the end of October in Pennsylvania, but Halloween is a big campground day all over. When I made the reservation our usual favorite site was booked and I made the reservation months in advanced. No, Halloween week and day is not a day to just expect to drive into any campground that is open - and that is another key - many campgrounds in the North East and Middle Atlantic close for the season in October - some right after Columbus Day and some the day after Halloween. This campground stays open until January. Most others there are closed or will be closed the next week.

We got a call back from the campground the next morning. There was no one in our assigned site that day and we could come on down. Leaving two days early would be no problem. We grabbed our clothes that we packed in clean laundry bags to bring out at the last minute, along with a bag full of cough and flu medications, and were off still hacking and coughing.

The temperatures outside were colder than they had been all month but not below 40 degrees. We had our Fall coats on that convert to winter coats with a lining and we were prepared for the rain if it should come early. We had little traffic driving out off Long Island, out of New York and into New Jersey. It was a delight to see that gasoline in New Jersey on the Turnpike was $3.17 a gallon which was 40 cents less than it was at home. We stopped and filled up as we were not sure what we would find for gas prices in PA which are usually somewhere between the price per gallon in New Jersey and New York (they turned out to be $3.29 - still nice). Anyway, we were on our way despite how we both were physically feeling.

I would love to say that when we reached Pennsylvania and all through the stay we felt wonderful. We probably both got a little worse while we were away. We were out in the cold night air that we would not have been in at home where we had no need to be outside at night. There were pollen alerts in Lancaster (while at home and for some time the pollen counts were zero) and that did not help me any. But despite how we felt we made the best of it - and enjoyed ourselves between the hacking and the coughing.

The Roadtrek gets nice and warm inside with the heat pump (the air conditioner is also a heat pump) and that works as long as the outside temperatures are over 40 degrees F. When we settled in at the campground each night, I put the heat pump on and it warmed down the inside of the Roadtrek fairly quickly. In fact, I had to adjust the thermostat several times to keep the heat off more than it was on because it was getting too hot inside to be comfortable. We rarely turn on the propane, but for the end of October I always turn on the propane when we get settled for the night at the campground. If the temperatures should drop below 40 outside, it will be needed for the furnace, and while we don't need hot water in the summer when the temperature is near 100 and the water in the fresh water tanks get close to that temperature on its won.  we do want hot water in the hot water tank when it is cold outside and the water coming from the sink feels it.

What I did find with the hot water heater on, is that the water in the tank gets VERY hot and the hot water tank is very well insulated. The water about twenty minutes after starting the hot water heater was so hot that it could not be turned on unless mixed with cold water without feeling burned. When I found that, I shut the hot water heater switch off - and the water stayed hot in the tank all night. I suppose that has we used a lot of hot water at one time, then the cold water replenishing it would have needed the hot water heater switch on to reheat it, but every night of this trip we did fine putting the hot water heater switch on for twenty minutes and then shutting it off and the hot water stayed very hot all night and the next morning.

We were able to prop up the pillows enough for both of us to keep the congestion down while we slept. The king bed in the 190 as we have it made up is very comfortable and keeps the warmth in. It is also large enough for us to sleep without breathing on each other. Not an issue when all is well, but we were both still sick. We had an extra blanket for each of us if we needed them but they were not needed. The heat pump stays set to on all night and turns on and off keeping the inside of the Roadtrek nicely warm.

I will not get into what we did and where we went because you have heard most of that about this area before from us. We have a routine that we enjoy when we are here and we go out to all of the places that we enjoy spending time at. The original trip was to include Green Dragon Farmer's Market on Friday and since we would not be in PA on Friday now, and we arrived on Tuesday, we went to Root's Farmers Market, enjoying that instead. I did head into some farm roads, encountered horse and buggies always going up a hill blind to traffic coming up over the other side, and even found a road to get lost on and hoped that I would not encounter anything that the Roadtrek was too large to handle (close but we were fine).

As occurs more often than we would like, this trip was not without a problem with the Roadtrek. On the last night of the trip, I heard the water pump start running very briefly for no apparent reason. I thought perhaps it was topping off the hot water tank as there were no faucets open. A little while later I heard it again and I started to investigate checking that the sink faucet was completely off and that the toilet was not running. Then I reached around the back of the toilet where the valve connects to the water pipe and it was wet. The pipe connection was screwed tight. I then felt on the floor behind the toilet and it was wet. We had some things stored on the sides of the toilet and I moved those to find that on one side of the toilet they were wet on the bottom and seemed to have been wet for some time. I then saw the water coming out from under the edge of the toilet where the base meets the floor. This has happened to us once before we we had first gotten the Roadtrek and that time it happened in early October when we had the heat on inside and the hot water heater on as well - same conditions as this. At that time it was a bad toilet valve that needed to be replaced. This time, I started to wonder if it could be condensation but the water pump would not run from condensation. No, very likely the toilet valve was leaking again and would need to be replaced again. I shut down the water pump, mopped up the floor around the toilet that turned out was a lot more water than I had first realized and we spent that last night turning the water pump on only when we needed water and then right off again. What to do about this was the question. We were an hour and a half away from dealer/service and it would be a lot easier to go the next day if they could take us to fix this than to make the whole trip to PA again - in the Spring because as the weather was turning colder I needed to winterize within the next week or so. But the next day was Meryl's birthday and I was not going to have her spend her birthday in the service center waiting room - and besides, the weather report now was changing it was to rain on Thursday as well as Friday now - so this was no time to be outside around dealer/service if this took all day while we were both still sick. We would go home with the leak, winterize, and next Spring make the trip to have the toilet valve replaced - again.  We had had the opposite problem with the toilet valve during our trip in August. The night we arrived the toilet had no water pressure to flush. The toilet valve was clogged and was like that for almost eight days until the clog seemed to work its way through and clear. Another unexpected and unpleasant surprise on what is supposed to be relaxing. We are on a first name basis with the people at the service center. They are wonderful but I really would rather not see them as often as we seem to have to do.

Anyway, Meryl spent her birthday in Lancaster. We went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants there - Shady Maple Smorgasbord - which on your birthday gives you a free dinner. After dinner we drove through the rain home. All through the trip we had thought that if the weather report had changed we might stay over one additional day on Friday and go to Green Dragon, but all reports were heavier rain on Friday until the mid-afternoon. On Thursday before we left the campground and while the rain had not yet started, we dumped the tanks, filled with water in case we needed water before we got home, and the left for a last day in Lancaster and dinner that night. The rain did not start until almost 4 pm - right on schedule as predicted by weather.com.  Traveling in the Roadtrek when sick is not really that bad but not something that I want to make a regular thing... And when we arrived home, the entire interior of the Roadtrek got a good spraying with Lysol disinfectant.

PROPANE Part 2

READ PART ONE OF THIS ARTICLE ONE WEEK BACK BEFORE READING THIS ARTICLE...
 

HOT WATER HEATER


To operate your hot water heater you must have both the propane turned on and also the battery switch inside your Roadtrek turned on. With the propane on and flowing, turn on the hot water switch on the wall of your Roadtrek (near the monitor panel). There will be a red indicator light on the switch to show you that it is ON. Turning on that switch will ignite the burner that heats the water in the hot water tank. (This does not apply to a Roadtrek Ranger that has an electric hot water heater.)  

NEVER TURN ON THE HOT WATER HEATER SWITCH UNLESS THERE IS WATER IN THE HOT WATER TANK.

NEVER TURN ON THE HOT WATER HEATER SWITCH IF YOU HOT WATER TANK IS IN BYPASS MODE.

ALWAYS FILL YOUR WATER TANKS AND THEN TURN ON YOUR WATER PUMP - AND OPEN THE HOT WATER FAUCET TO DRAW WATER INTO THE HOT WATER TANK BEFORE TURNING ON THE HOT WATER SWITCH. SEE WATER FLOWING THROUGH THE HOT WATER TANK AND INTO THE FAUCET AT FULL FORCE FIRST.

IF ONLY USING CITY WATER, OPEN THE HOT WATER FAUCET TO DRAW WATER INTO THE HOT WATER TANK BEFORE TURNING ON THE HOT WATER SWITCH. SEE WATER FLOWING THROUGH THE HOT WATER TANK AND INTO THE FAUCET AT FULL FORCE FIRST.

IF YOU TURN ON THE HOT WATER SWITCH WITH A DRY HOT WATER TANK YOU WILL DAMAGE THE TANK AND THE HOT WATER HEATER!

The hot water tank holds six gallons of water. It takes some time to fill six gallons with the water pump. It will fill faster on city water. Be patient no matter how you are filling it.

 (You can also know if it is full by going outside, opening the side panel of the van for the hot water heater, open the pressure relief valve on the top (it is on what looks like a faucet pipe) by pulling the silver handle gently towards you and stand back when you do this. IF water is in the top of the tank it will start pouring out. Close the valve right away or you will lose all that water. The pump will come on and refill what you let out. Close the side of the hatch outside the van.)

With water in the tank you are now ready to turn on the hot water heater switch on the wall. It takes time to heat that much water. Give it time. It will start to feel warm in five to ten minutes. It can take fifteen minutes or longer to start to feel that the water is hot. If you are concerned that the water is not getting hot, you can check that the hot water heater is working by checking on it outside the van. If you go to the hot water heater cover/vent in the rear driver's side of the Roadtrek you will not only hear the gas flowing but you will also feel heat coming from the vent. Be careful as the hot water heater outside gets hot.

While you are with the Roadtrek in a campground or campsite you can leave the hot water heater switch on. As the water in the tank cools down, it will automatically turn on again and heat the water back up to temperature BUT the hot water tank is very well insulated and is inside your Roadtrek and under most conditions the water will stay hot for a long time before it needs to be reheated. We get hot water for a whole night in November by just leaving the hot water heater switch on for 15 minutes to a half hour and then turning it off. The water stays so hot that it needs to be mixed with cold to use it. Turn off the switch and conserve your propane when the water is hot. Of course, if you use a lot of hot water at one time it will be replenished in the tank with cold water which will need the hot water switch on to heat up. If you leave the Roadtrek for the day or are driving, turn off the hot water heater switch.


FURNACE


The furnace heats with propane but needs the battery switch ON for two functions - one to start the furnace by igniting the burner inside and two to run the electric fan inside the furnace that circulates the hot air around the Roadtrek. To start the furnace, have the propane on, turn on the battery switch, and then turn on the Furnace switch that is a setting on the air conditioner/thermostat panel on the wall.

Be sure the put the thermostat setting to a setting warmer than the temperature inside the Roadtrek to the temperature that you want it to be inside. You will hear the furnace igniting and the fan will start. You will feel the heat coming out rather quickly. Adjust the temperature with the thermostat. The air conditioner/heat pump and the furnace share the same thermostat. Do not put anything in front of the furnace vent on the floor of the Roadtrek. That space will get hot and you want it open and clear to allow the heat to get around the rest of the Roadtrek.

Be aware that if you are moving the selection switch on this panel, it happens occasionally that when shutting down the air conditioner you will move the switch down one more notch than you intend as OFF is between COOL and FURNACE. The furnace will start. If the propane is on it will ignite and the furnace will come on. If the propane is OFF, the furnace will attempt to ignite and with the absence of propane the system will continue to try to spark the propane (that is not there to ignite). You will hear the system "clicking" to do this. Just move the switch to OFF and it will eventually stop - but it does not stop immediately.


PROPANE DETECTOR


The propane detector does not run on propane but is an alarm system to warn you if there is propane gas leaking into the Roadtrek cabin. It is generally located near the floor. If the propane detector goes off, turn OFF the propane valve immediately!


TURNING OFF THE PROPANE

You turn off the propane just the way that you turned it on. Turn the grey valve knob inside the compartment over the bumper clockwise (to the right) to turn it off. I have read a recommendation that when the propane is shut off at the valve, one should again go to the stove and try to light it - with the propane off. If it does light it will just stay lit for several seconds burning off any gas that remains in the line. This is done for safety by purging all of the gas out of the gas lines in the Roadtrek.

THE PROPANE SYSTEM AS SEEN ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE ROADTREK

The components inside of your Roadtrek that use propane are all vented on the outside of the Roadtrek. It is important that these vents remain clear and not clogged with road debris, bugs, webs, or bird's nests. You can open and check and clean each one - EXCEPT the furnace vent.

Hot water heater vent ->

Open this vent by turning the ring so that it is in line with the slot that it passes through. Then pull the vent out from the edges.

Refrigerator Vent ->

Open this vent by turning the small knobs at the bottom. Turn and pull out from the bottom and lift out from the top.

Furnace Vent ->

This vent DOES NOT OPEN.

Be aware that the actual flame and burner for the furnace is just behind this vent in the wall of the van which is behind the furnace unit heating vent that you see inside the Roadtrek. 

Again ALWAYS keep these vents clear. If you happen to be in the Roadtrek in a snow storm and you are going to use the propane, go outside and clear all snow and ice away from these vent opening.

 +++++++

Talking about propane with RVers is one of those topics that elicits extreme responses. It is one of those things that 50 will tell you one thing and another 50 will tell you the opposite. Propane is something that if one uses common sense is safe. If one does not use common sense and wants to "prove a point", propane can be extremely dangerous. I am not inviting a debate. I am providing basic things to know.

A common question is "should the propane be on when driving?"  Many, many will say no. Many will say yes. Roadtrek officially says "NO" and that is the best advice I can give anyone as well. The only reason one might keep the propane on while driving is to run the 3 way refrigerator on propane. There really is no reason for this as it will run just as well on battery while driving. But so many insist on driving with the propane on for the refrigerator. IF you do this, NEVER PULL INTO A GAS STATION WITH THE PROPANE STILL ON. Pull over before reaching the gas station and turn the propane off at the rear valve. The reason for this as this will turn off the burning igniter and pilot light flame that keeps the burner lit with flame on the fridge. If that burner is lit and any gasoline vapor should waft into the vents on the side of the Roadtrek (which just happen to be on the same side as the gasoline fill) there will be an explosion of a magnitude that you never want to experience (and may not survive to experience again). I have seen the power of propane explosions. They result in a huge ball of flame and destructive force. I take propane very seriously. Some RVers don't and that puts everyone in jeopardy around them.

When you are traveling you need to be aware of propane restrictions on some bridges, tunnels, and roads. This will generally be posted at the entrance but when routing your trip you want to be aware of these well in advance so that you will not need to find an alternative route at the last minute. This is not common all over the country but is in some parts of the country. I know several places in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic where there are propane restrictions on major routes. When we are traveling we need to make a route around Baltimore as no propane is permitted in the tunnels going into and out of Baltimore.

Propane will run your systems for a good amount of time. When the LEDs on your monitor panel indicate that you will be needing propane soon, go to a propane station where a trained and certified individual will put it into your Roadtrek. They should know exactly what to do and once shown where the propane connection (where the valve is in the back) is, they should take it from there. If they are uncertain, stop them and leave and go to some place that knows what they are doing. The first thing the person filling the propane will do is open the relief valve - this is normal. They will then connect your tank to their filling tank and fill your propane tank to 80% and no more. This is the proper way to fill a propane tank. It is never filled to 100%. At 80% your monitor panel will show full. Most campgrounds have propane for sale and at a campground you can be pretty sure that they have filled an RV before and know exactly what they are doing.  Many places sell propane - just be sure they know what they are doing. I know someone who sells propane at their business and I asked what the training involved. I was rather disturbed to hear that "some guy from the propane distributor comes and shows us a couple of times how to put it in". I had hoped that "certified" meant something much more than that. After hearing that, I am more inclined to go to an RV shop or campground to have propane properly put into my Roadtrek. I have to wonder if they actually complies with this testing program, but they are selling propane.

I am sure the technicians and engineers out there will tell you that there is a lot more to know about propane but with what is in this article you will be able to get though just about anything "propane" in your Roadtrek. 


One more thing -

Here is the cover that you take off to access the propane valve. This cover is VERY, VERY EASY to lose.

See in the photo that my cover is hanging in front of the bumper. The cover does not come so that it will hang there. I put a small hole in the corner of the cover, attached some heavy weight fishing line through the hole and tied the other end inside the compartment in a safe spot. When the cover is put back the fishing line just hangs down out of the way inside. When the cover is taken off, it will not get lost. This is simple to do and saves having to order and purchase a new cover should if it got lost. There is also a way to make a new cover easily but it must be done BEFORE you lose the old cover. I will talk about that in a future article.

PROPANE Part 1

Unless you have one of the new all-electric Roadtreks, you have a propane tank installed on your Roadtrek. The propane is used for heating your hot water, heating your Roadtrek with your furnace, running your refrigerator if you have a three way standard Roadtrek Dometic fridge, and cooking on your stove. If you have a Sprinter Roadtrek your electric generator is also powered by propane. This article will give you some basics about the propane system in your Roadtrek.

First I will share some very basic knowledge about propane. Propane is also called LP Gas. The L P is simply Liquid Propane. When propane is compressed it condenses into a liquid form. It is a property of propane that when uncompressed it changes into a gas. This is what makes it possible for propane to be carried in a tank. Natural gas cannot do this. So - basic number one - the propane in your propane tank is a LIQUID UNDER PRESSURE.

The propane tank in all Roadtreks that I am aware of is located in the rear, under the van chassis, behind the rear bumper.  A reader has shared that in older Roadtreks the propane tank is under the driver's seat floor with access to the fill and gauge is under the flip up step. At some point in change of year, Roadtrek moved the tank and access to the back of the van. To turn on the propane there is a valve located behind a cover right in the middle over the bumper. The valve that you see is a grey knob and like most valves is turned to the right to turn off and to the left to open. Clockwise to turn OFF. Counterclockwise to turn ON. In the compartment behind that cover there will be other components of the system - other than the on/off knob and a connection on a flexible hose to allow you to attach a portable gas grill to the Roadtrek's propane tank for outside barbecuing, don't touch anything else that is there. You will see an analog dial meter that will tell you how much gas is in the tank - though you can also find this out inside your Roadtrek on your monitor panel on the wall. There will be a place for a certified propane person to fill the tank and a pressure relief valve used when filling the tank. Propane is highly combustible. This is not something to fool with.

Let's take a tour of the propane system.

Here is where to look for the propane valve ->

 It is behind this cover ->

Open the cover by turning the white tab on each side to clear the cutout on the cover.
Here is everything "propane" for your Roadtrek ->

What you are looking at above is where to turn on the propane to use it in your Roadtrek and where a certified propane distributor will fill your propane tank for you. The yellow cap is the connection for the propane fill - DO NOT TOUCH THIS.  The red ring to the middle right is the overflow pressure relief valve for the propane. DO NOT TOUCH THIS. The grey it all goes into is the propane tank. What is not seen in this photo is the auxiliary barbecue connection hose which is to the left side and in this photo is tucked down behind the bumper. THE VALVE THAT YOU TURN IS IN THE VERY MIDDLE WITH THE BLUE LABEL.

Here is the ON/OFF VALVE that you will turn ->

Let's get to the systems that you have on your Roadtrek that use propane and what you need to do to get them to operate.

The first thing that you are going to do whenever you first turn on your propane is to light the stove to make sure that the propane is actually flowing through the system. You always want to do this so that you know that the propane has filled all of the gas lines. It is only at the stove that you can actually see the result of this first hand. So we will start with the stove.

STOVE

The stove is the only appliance without a self-lighting pilot light. You must light the stove with a flame that you produce with a match or a lighter. The best thing to get to light the stove is one of the extended reach butane lighters used for barbecues. This lets you get close without getting too close.

Open the glass cover that is over the two gas stove burners. Each has a knob. Look around the edge of each burner and you will see a small, thin brass tube coming up. This tube will be the pilot that will ignite the burner.  With the propane valve on in the rear of the Roadtrek, light the lighter in your hand. You only want a small flame. Turn on either one of the burners by turning and pushing its knob. Bring the flame to where that brass tube is (you will probably hear and smell gas flowing) and the gas should ignite. Adjust the knob to a low flame and let go. The burner is lit. Let it burn for a few seconds and then shut it off. Light the other burner the same way. Your propane is flowing through all of the propane system in your Roadtrek. Turn off the stove. Of course, if you are planning to cook right then and there, your stove is lit and ready to cook. In any case, when you are ready to cook on the stove, do the same thing to light it.

Let me just repeat again why this is done each time you turn on the propane. If you do not do this and go to start your hot water heater or start your 3 way fridge on propane, you cannot see the burner that lights with the burning propane. If the water does not get hot or the refrigerator does not start to cool (most likely with an ignition trouble light on the fridge control panel) you will not know why. By lighting the stove first you eliminate the problem that the propane may not be flowing. Once the stove lights you can be sure that there are no clogs along the propane line. Do be aware that this tells you nothing about leaks.

REFRIGERATOR

Most Roadtreks come with a Dometic three way absorption refrigerator. These work using propane, 12 volt battery power, or 110 volt shore power. Since I do not have this type of refrigerator I can not tell you any details about its operation. A detailed manual should have been included with your Roadtrek just for the refrigerator. I can tell you that this refrigerator does not work like your fridge at home which is a condenser system. An absorption refrigerator has ammonia running through it that must be heated and one of the ways it is heated is with a propane flame burner. To ignite that flame you need to have battery power and you should put your battery switch on before trying to turn on the fridge even when using propane. Do read the manual for your refrigerator. If you don't have one, you can download one for your model fridge on the Dometic website.


END OF PART 1
PART 2 NEXT WEEK