I recently bought a used 2007 NuWa HitchHiker 5th Wheel which the seller delivered to my house. The next day as I was getting familiar with it I smelled what I thought was holding tank odor, a little later that day the propane alarm sounded. I checked the tanks and found the valves closed but to be safe I removed the tanks from the trailer for a couple of days. About 3 days later I put the tanks back in and connected them but did not turn them on. A week went by with no more alarms sounding. I finally took the trailer for a test ride of about 3 miles at 1pm then parked it and unhooked my truck, at 4am the next morning the alarm began to sound and there was a slight odor in the trailer. I aired it out and have not had a problem for the last 2 days. I have changed the alarm at RV stores recommendation since it was 7 years old. I am baffled by this situation and am wondering if anyone has had a similar problem. Remember the valves on the tanks have not been turned on through any of this.

Holding tank fumes may cause the alarm to go off. Mine did that to. Check to see if your vents are blocked. There should be no odour in your unit.

The odor and alarm only came after the trailer was moved, when. I opened the toilet flush valve and did not detect an odor coming from the holding tank.

The alarm will also come on when the 12volt battery gets low. If it happens again, charge your battery and see if that resolves it.

Moved from Forum Technical Support

TucsonJim wrote:The alarm will also come on when the 12volt battery gets low. If it happens again, charge your battery and see if that resolves it.Yes Jim you are right..good point!

Propane Alarm | Good Sam Community

14 Replies

raywen
Explorer
Nov 23, 2013
Mine would go off like that too- finally just replaced and no issues for the past 4 mo. I had heard some dogs could even cause them to go off with their flatulance.)
flyinjake
Explorer
Nov 21, 2013
I had one of those small Coleman stove propane bottles start a small leak in the valve. I would smell it every once in a while but could not find what it was. After several alarms and finally opening the storage comparment that the bottle was located in before I found what the problem was.

Jake
Showme_5vr
Explorer
Nov 21, 2013
Have a friend who has an older 5th wheel that the propane alarm kept going off and there was an order in the camper. Finally found that the toilet flange was cracked, when the toilet was flushed some of the contents ran down the outside of the 3 inch sewer pipe that goes down into the black tank. You could see the residue on the sides of the pipe in the basement and the odor was much stronger in the basement. Replaced the toilet flange and every thing is fine now.
Paw_Paw_John
Explorer
Nov 21, 2013
You may want to check the water level in your battery, could be low and smelling the battery gases.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Nov 20, 2013
The LP alarm is wired directly to your battery........but if the battery 'disconnect switch' is turned off the converter cannot recharge/maintain battery voltage.

Also under you kitchen sink and bathroom sink are 'air admittance valves'. They are air check valves installed downstream of the 'P' traps so that when you drain your grey tanks the line suction from draining doesn't suck the water out of the 'P' traps (air admittance valves open allowing air into the drain line to grey tank). If they are old (the rubber flapper gets weak/less flexible) they can not properly close and grey tank odors can come inside your trailer.

Any hardware store a will have them......just replaced mine (7 yrs old). $2.50 at Home Depot
1rickw
Explorer
Nov 20, 2013
Dropped a bottle of wine next to mine once and it set it off. I hope I wasn't drinking propane!!!!
mowermech
Explorer
Nov 20, 2013
Please remember that since Freon was outlawed, many spray cans use propane as a propellant (remember when we used to call them "bug bombs"? well, now they ARE bombs!)
The use of ANY spray can in an RV can set off the propane detector!
TucsonJim
Explorer II
Nov 20, 2013
gman421 wrote:
The trailer is connected to shore power which I assume will provide the proper current to the alarm while it is hooked up, is that correct?

It should, but the best bet is to measure your battery output voltage if the alarm comes on. There could be other issues such as a non-functional converter causing your battery to not charge and your alarm to sound.

Also, certain cleaners can cause issues. For example - I used some Resolve carpet cleaner on a spot near my alarm, and it set the alarm off.
gman421
Explorer
Nov 20, 2013
The trailer is connected to shore power which I assume will provide the proper current to the alarm while it is hooked up, is that correct?
SWD
Explorer
Nov 20, 2013
TucsonJim wrote:
The alarm will also come on when the 12volt battery gets low. If it happens again, charge your battery and see if that resolves it.

Yes Jim you are right..good point!