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Birdie123's avatar
Birdie123
Explorer
Oct 17, 2014

House LP/CO/SMOKE Detector in my RV?

I want to get a LP/CO and Smoke Detector for my Motorhome. Can I use a house one instead of the very high price of the RV ones. I understand that the house ones can't withstand the vibrations of the RV travel very well. Has anyone had any experience using the house ones and could share please and thank you.
  • answerswillvary wrote:
    Moved from Roads and Routes to Class A


    I may be wrong but I think the OPs rig is a Class C
  • I just went through this whole process. Because of age, I needed to replace all the detectors. I had a smoke detector in the front and a CO detector in the bedroom. I replaced the CO detector in the bedroom with a smoke detector, and put in two CO detectors. Now I have both a smoke and CO detector in the front and the bedroom. We also purchased a plug in propane detector that will work when we have AC power.

    You need a dual smoke detector but you can any one you want. Same with the CO detectors. Here are the ones I used:

    Kidde Model Pi9010 Dual Sensor, Battery Operated Photoelectric / Ionization Smoke Alarm

    Kidde KN-COPP-B-LPM Battery-Operated Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Digital Display

    Family Safety Products 8910012 Safety Siren Combustible Gas (Propane Methane) Detector
  • What is needed is a dual chamber detector that will detect CO and smoke from a slow smoldering fire such as may start in a R/V because of electrical fires and fast burning smokeless fires.

    After a lot of research.

    This is what I found.
    A Kidde KN-COSM-XTR-B Nighthawk
    That seemed to be best suited for this kind of application.

    Like This

    They now can be bought at Home Depot, also At Amazon.

    Amazon

    I suggest you read all the info and make your decision on this but I replaced the ones in my Class C with this one.They are rated for 7 years
    and most are only rated for 5,If your RV is older than 5 years old and they haven't been changed they are most likely no good. Mine needed to be replaced so this was a good deal for me.

    Just a reminder,a first line of defense is always the best. Check those smoke detectors and replace them if needed,all have a date on them and how long they are good for. If they don't, toss them.

    While it is important to know all of your emergency exits it is also
    important to be warned early,especially if you are older or have mobility issues or have small children.

    I hope that this helps,It is better to be safe than sorry and it is a small price to pay for security and peace of mind.
  • darsben wrote:
    I have one in my MH. No problems at all.


    Me too.


    One of them I bought said in its manual that it was not recommended for RV use.
    So I call the manufacturer and they told me the only reason they say that is because they simply have not tested one in a RV.