There are several Safety Detectors installed in your Living Quarters.

1.) LP Detector will alert you if the LP Detector senses a leak. This Detector can be operated by batteries, usually AA, or it may be hard wired into the 12 volt DC circuit and protected by a fuse in the Converter.

There are normally two types of Detectors, and sense propane is a heavy gas, you'll find the Propane Detector located close to the Floor

** One type just sounds an alert if a Leak is Detected.

** The other type sounds an alert and also automatically turns off the flow of propane into the Living Quarters if a Leak is Detected. This type of Detector has a Switch that has to be in the "ON" position if any propane appliances are to be used. When you first set the switch to "ON", you will hear a chirping sound which is normal while the Detector is warming up. After 30 to 60 seconds or so, the chirping will stop and you'll see a green light blinking on the Detector which means "normal" operation. When you see the Green Light Blinking, you can now operate the propane appliances. If a Leak is Detected, an alarm will sound "AND" the propane will cease to enter your Living Quarters. It's not unusual for the Detector to take more than 60 seconds to warm up.

This Detector is wired to the 12 volt DC circuit in the Living Quarters and is protected by a 12 volt automotive type fuse in the converter. Anytime the 12 Volt DC is turned off or is interrupted, the Detector will start a very rapid chirping sound to alert you of the fact. The Detector would then need to be turned "OFF" and then turned back "ON" to re-set it.

2.) Carbon Monoxide Detector will alert you of the presence of Carbon Monoxide. The Carbon Monoxide Detector does have an expiration date printed on it's face. This Detector can be operated by batteries, usually AA, or it may be hard wired into the 12 volt DC circuit and protected by a fuse in the Converter.

Carbon Monoxide is a light gas so the Detector will normally be located in the Bed area of the Living Quarters, which is more often than not at a higher level in the trailer.

A Generator produces Carbon Monoxide. All on board Generators should be installed so it will exhaust outside the trailer. Do Not set a Portable Generator inside the Horse Compartment. All Portable Generators should be operated in the open air.

Situation: You are sleeping in the nose of the trailer with a window open, and someone pulls in next to you. They get out of their truck to unload the horses but leave their truck running. The exhaust from their truck may start to enter your trailer though the open window. It's a good idea that everyplace in your trailer that has a sleeping quarters, there should be a Carbon Monoxide Detector. (Bunk Beds)

3.) Smoke Alarm is normally located on the Ceiling somewhere and more often than not operates on AA Batteries.

4.) Fire Extinguisher - check it often to make sure it's ready to use.

1.) Propane is a very safe fuel, but there are things you need to know.

The LP Propane Detector is normally located close to the floor. Propane is supposedly a heavy gas, so if there is a leak, the gas will settle close to the floor.

There are Propane Detectors that will sound an alert if a leak is detected, and there are detectors that will sound an alert and also turn off the supply of propane entering your living quarters, if a leak is detected.

If you have a 3 burner cook top, the knobs are probably close to the outside edge. Watch for people leaning back on these knobs and accidentally turn them on. They're real handy also for kids to reach up and play with.

see also, "LP System (Propane)" in this section of FAQ

2.) A Generator produces Carbon Monoxide. All on board Generators should be installed so it will exhaust outside the trailer. DO NOT operate a Portable Generator from inside the Horse Compartment. Portable Generators should be operated in the open air.

see also, "Portable Generator vs On Board Generator" at Generators in FAQ

Situation: You are sleeping in the nose of the trailer with a window open, and someone pulls in next to you. They get out of their truck to unload the horses but leave their truck running. The exhaust from their truck may start to enter your trailer through the open window. It's a good idea that everyplace in your trailer that has a sleeping quarters (Bunk Beds) , there should be a Carbon Monoxide Detector.

1.) Generator is running but there's no power coming in to the Living Quarters.
** Check the Breaker at the Generator.

2.) Refrigerator
** AU Mode - Automatic, 120 volt is the default - fyi
** AC Mode - 120 volt only, Power Cord must be plugged in or Generator Running.
** LP Mode - Propane & Batteries must be "ON".

** Frig won't light on LP - Check to make sure there's no trash blocking the ignitor.

3.) Hot Water Heater, Propane
** Propane & Batteries must be "ON".

4.) Furnace, Propane
** Propane & Batteries must be "ON"

Note: If you have a cook top, light the cook top to see if propane is present.
Note: If you're dry camping, is the Battery Switch "ON" if applicable? and are the batteries low.

5.) Do the 120 Volt Plugs not work? One of the plugs has a GFI (Ground Fault Indicator) that may have tripped and needs to be reset.

Note: TV, Frig and Microwave will not work on 120 Volt AC if a GFI plug has tripped. Hair Dryers can overload and trip a circuit.

** Below is photo of a GFI 120 Volt Plug. You should find at least one of these somewhere inside the Living Quarters. In the center there is a button, when tripped it will be out. Push in to Reset.

Attachment: 

Below is a list of items that require 12 Volt DC to run.

** Water Pump for the Fresh Water Tank

** A Propane Hot Water Heater also requires 12 Volt DC.

** A Frig that operates on Propane also needs 12 Volt DC

** Furnace that operates on Propane also need 12 Volt DC

** Interior Lights. More often than not, all Interior lights run on 12 Volt DC

** Monitor Panel

** Ducted Roof Air Conditioner uses 120 Volt AC & 12 volt DC

** Thermostat

** Carbon Monoxide Detector if it's not battery operated.

** Radios and CD Players

** LP Detector

** Power Vents like in the Bathroom

** Electric and Hydraulic Jacks

** Some Slide Outs

** Some Awnings

Below is a list of appliances that require 120 Volts AC.

** Roof Air Conditioner

** Heat Strip in the AC

** Microwave

** TV - a TV may also run on 12 volt DC

** Refrigerators - some operate on LP Gas (Propane) and/or both.

** Converter requires 120 Volt AC

** Hot Water Heater - more popular is LP Gas (Propane), but it can also be both.

** DVD and VCR's

If you have an Electric Awning or sometimes called a 1 Step Awning, do not rely on the wind sensor to work every time. If you think there might be a problem, you can disable the Wind Sensor if so equipped and use the main switch every time you want the awning in or out. If you don't know how to disable the awning, ask your dealer.

If your 2-Step awning does not roll up like you think it should.

1.) If it's fairly new or it hasn't been used that much, an RV Dealer can tighten the Spring which will make it roll up without any help.

2.) If it's been used a lot, the spring may need to be replaced by an RV Dealer.

3.) If you do not hear the clicking sound when your rolling up the awning, it's possible the awning could come open going down the road. So until you can get it to an RV Dealer for service, when the awning is out - take a small hammer, butt end of a screw driver of something, and tap on the end of the awning where the switch is, which if your facing the awning, the switch is on the end to your right. Try rolling it up and listen for the clicking sound. If you don't hear it, tap on it some more and try it again. Normally if you keep trying, you'll free it up and you should hear the clicking as the awning goes all the way in.

If you will look

Patching a Hole in a Holding Tank is fairly easy, unless the hole is much larger than a 50 cent piece. Cracks are no problem either.

The Dometic Microwave Model COM W12B made by LG is very popular in Living Quarter Trailers.

Go to this link to order a Glass Plate for any Microwave. If they don't show the one you're looking for , email 'em or give 'em a call, they will have it.

web site www.martinmicrowave.com

877-894-0035

or email martinmicrowave@comcast.net

If the Holding Tanks or Fresh Water Tank is empty, there should only be one light showing. If there is more than one light showing when you know the tanks are empty, try this:

1. On the Black Holding Tank which services the Toilet - There are normally 4 small probes attached to the holding tank. If you look at one end of the Holding Tank, you'll see a small fitting with a very small wire attached. There should be approx 4 of these at different levels on the tank. As the water level increase inside the tank, the water reaches a probe, that completes the circuit and another light is visible at the monitor panel. Toilet Paper or whatever can hang up on the probes after the water has been drained, which can cause the Monitor panel to display inaccurately. That's why it's a good idea to use Biodegradable Toilet Paper. To fix this, put a water hose through the Toilet and fill the Holding Tank up as much as possible. Give it 30 min. or so and then drain the water. Check the Monitor Panel to see if the lights are working properly. If not, do it again. Normally two times is plenty. (Note: Most RV Dealers carry a Sprayer that you hook up to a garden hose and is made for cleaning out a Holding Tank. Inexpensive Tool.)

2. You might try this also, just before you leave out with the trailer, dump a couple of bags of Ice through the Toilet. The Ice will slosh around inside the tank cleaning the walls and loosening stuff up. When it melts, it will all drain out.

3. To check out the wiring Circuit. Take a length of automotive wire (10 gauge to 24 gauge ) whatever you can find and just about anything will work, - Strip 1/2" of insulation off each end. Put one end of the wire on the bare metal part of the lowest probe, where the small wire is attached. Put the other end on any part of the metallic Trailer frame. Check the Monitor panel and see if it's reading correctly. What you're doing, is checking for a good Ground. A Bad Ground is a popular problem.

4. If the Fresh Water Tank is not reading correctly, normally a Bad Ground is the problem. There are normally 4 small probes attached to the tank. If you look at one end of the Tank, you'll see a small fitting with a very small wire attached. There should be approx 4 of these at different levels on the tank. As the water level increase inside the tank, the water reaches a probe, which completes the circuit and another light is visible at the monitor panel. To check for a Bad Ground, take a length of automotive wire (10 gauge to 24 gauge ) whatever you can find and just about anything will work, - Strip 1/2" of insulation off each end. Put one end of the wire on the bare metal part of the lowest probe where the small wire is attached. Put the other end on any part of the metallic Trailer frame. Check the Monitor panel and see if it's reading correctly. What you're doing, is checking for a good Ground and you can do all this with your bare hands because your working with 12 volt (auto voltage).

4. It is not uncommon for a new trailer to have a faulty Monitor Panel

If you have 2 Propane Bottles, more often than not, the Regulator is a "Changeover Regulator."

This is how it works:

Assuming both propane bottles have propane in them, - TURN BOTH BOTTLES ON.

Rotate the Black Lever towards one of the bottles, doesn't make any difference which one. Some Changeover Regulators have a Slide switch, if so - slide it towards one of the bottles.

Which ever bottle the lever is pointing towards will now be the "Service" bottle and the other bottle, Reserve.
Note: Turning the Lever straight up is not a correct, it should point to one of the bottles.

The Indicator on top of the Regulator will be Green, and will stay Green as long as the Service bottle has propane in it.

When the Service bottle is empty, the Indicator will turn RED telling you it's out of propane, - but the regulator will have automatically switched to the Reserve bottle to give you an uninterrupted flow of propane. This is a really nice feature at 2:00 AM when it's 20 degrees outside, because your wife is not going to get out of bed to turn the other bottle on.

The next morning when you see the Indicator is now RED, turn the Switch to the other bottle (which now becomes the Service bottle) and the Indicator will turn GREEN again.

Turn the empty bottle off, and at your convenience, get the empty bottle filled.

The process then repeats itself.

You can run down the road with the Frig set on LP (Propane) and it'll keep your food cold.
see also, (I have never owned a Living Quarters, What do I do?) in FAQ.

Outside the trailer, take off the lower vented panel at the Refrigerator so you can see the back of it. The vertical metal 3" diameter tube in the photo should be hot to the touch if the Frig is working properly on the LP Gas setting or the Electric setting. If it's running on LP there is a flame burning at the base of the metal tube. If it's running on electric there's a heating element a little higher on the tube. It's easy to find, just follow the wires to it.

It doesn't make any difference if it's a small or large frig, this metal tube will normally be in the same place, on the right hand side of the Frig

Now, this doesn't mean your Frig is cooling. But if there is a problem with the cooling, more often than not this is the problem area. Either the Flame is out or the Heating Element is not working.

The Heating Element is easy and cheap to change out. If there is no Flame in the Gas Mode, it could be several things.

Fault Codes for Norcold Models ( N64X, N64X-IM, N84X-IM )

For 6.0 Refrigerators and larger.

** Remember, It takes 8 hrs or so for an initial cool down. The Freezer will be your first indication if the Frig is cooling down.
** Make sure the Propane Bottles are ON, and if you're not sure about the regulator, make sure the lever is pointed towards the bottle with the propane.
** If you have an LP Detector that operates a Safety Solenoid, make sure the Green Light is Blinking. Note: some trailers have a basic LP Detector and then some have the Detector with a built in Safety Switch that if the Detector sniffs propane, the Detector with automatically shut the flow of propane off allowing no propane to enter the Living Quarters. A Standard LP Detector will not interfere with the operation of LP Appliances. The LP Detector is located inside the Living Quarters. The Safety Solenoid is normally under the trailer right behind the Propane Bottles. Locate the Propane Line leaving the Propane Regulator, - look for a gadget with wires. (see LP Detectors for photo)
** Check your Monitor Panel if you have one to see how hot your batteries are. There must be good 12 volt present.
** If you have recently changed out the propane bottles or if it's been awhile since you last used the Frig., the air may need to be purged from the gas line. Which means you need to turn the Frig On, wait for it to go through a lighting cycle, if it does not light, turn the Frig Off then back on again. Repeating these steps 6 to 10 times will usually purge all the air out of the propane line.

6.0 Frig & Larger - for Norcold models N64X, N64X-IM, N84X-IM. Some of this general information would apply to other Refrigerators as well.

** Remember, It takes 8 hrs or so for an initial cool down. The Freezer will be your first indication if the Frig is cooling down.

** The best Mode Setting is Automatic, which means if the Frig is in the Automatic Mode and if both 120 volt AC and LP Gas are present, the Frig will run on 120 volt AC first, which is the Default. If 120 volt AC is not present, the Frig will automatically start on LP Gas as long as LP Gas is available.

1. If you think 120 volt AC is present, and the Frig wants to just run on LP Gas, take the outside Vent Cover off exposing the rear of the Frig and check the 120 volt AC receptacle the Frig is plugged into to see if it's hot. Plug a hair Dryer or something like that in. If you find out the receptacle is dead, find the 120 volt AC Receptacle inside the Living Quarter that is equipped with a GFI ( Ground Fault Indicator ) it may need to be reset.

2. A Bus type Fuse in the Control Board might have blown. The Control Board is mounted to the back wall of the Frig and it will have wires going to it. (see photo) take the cover off the control board normally with a 1/4" nut driver and you'll see the fuse.

3. If all the above is working and seems normal but the Frig still will not run on AC, it probably needs a new Control Board.

4. Make sure the Propane Bottles are ON, and if you're not sure about the regulator, make sure the lever is pointed towards the propane bottle, lever pointing straight up is not correct. ( see Propane Bottle Regulator, this section ).

5. If you have an LP Detector that operates a Safety Solenoid, make sure the Green Light is Blinking on the LP Detector, which is normal. Note: some trailers have a basic LP Detector, and then some have the Detector with a built in Safety Switch which means if the Detector sniffs propane, the Detector will automatically shut the flow of propane off allowing no propane to enter the Living Quarters. A Standard LP Detector will not interfere with the operation of LP Appliances. The LP Detector is located inside the Living Quarters. The Safety Solenoid is normally under the trailer right behind the Propane Bottles. Locate the Propane Line leaving the Propane Regulator, - look for a gadget with wires. (see LP Detectors for photo)

6. Check your Monitor Panel if you have one, to see how full your batteries are. There must be good 12 volt present for the LP Mode.

7. If you have recently changed out the propane bottles or if it's been awhile since you last used the Frig., the air may need to be purged from the gas line. Which means you need to turn the Frig On and wait for it to go through a lighting cycle. If it does not light, turn the Frig OFF then back ON again. Repeating these steps, sometimes as many as 6 to 10 times will usually purge all the air out of the propane line.

8. If the Display Panel on the Frig says it's working, but the Frig is not getting cold, more than likely it's a faulty Control Board. The Control Board on some Large Refrigerators can be reset. Might try this before buying a new board. A good RV Tech will know how to reset the power board on the Frig., it's very simple and fast. Installing a new power board is very fast as well.

9. If the Frig does not start on LP, see if you can hear the ignitor clicking. Best heard at the vent panel behind the Frig outside the trailer. If is nice and quite, you should hear it clicking from inside the trailer. If it's not trying to light/clicking, check to see it your batteries are ON.

10, If the Frig lights and works for a few minutes or a couple of hours and quits, - more often than not, the gap setting on the ignitor is not set to the proper gap. The Electrode tip-to-burner air gap, should be 1/8 to 3/16 inch. This is an easy fix for an RV Tech and can be a problem on a new Frig.

11. If the Frig does not work on either AC or LP more often than not the Control Board needs to be reset or a New Control Board.

The Mode Switch on a 6.0 or the Dial on a 3.0

OK

Your Satellite system is either Dish Network or Direct TV.

If you have Direct TV, check to see if there is a card in the Receiver. If not, and you can't find the card, from what I understand you have to get a new receiver that comes with a card.

If you have Dish, there's a place for a card but a card is not always required for Satellite service.

To Set Up:

1. Turn on the Receiver and the TV.
2. Turn on the Satellite. The Satellite on top will start searching for a signal. It may take several minutes, but once it's locked on and you have a picture, turn the Satellite off.
3. Call Direct TV (800) 347-3288 or Dish Network (800) 333-3474 - to set up your account.
4. Be sure to tell them that it's in an RV and you want the status to always be active. If you only use the satellite a couple of times a month, you don't want them shutting it off for lack of use.

More about Solar Panels

You start by draining all the Water.