Forum Discussion

Bill_and_Marie_'s avatar
Bill_and_Marie_
Explorer
Jun 07, 2015

Upgraded to Class C and first newbie moment

Hi, just upgraded to a Class C after many years with a travel trailer. Setting up and tearing down just got to be too much. We took our shakedown cruise just this past weekend and miracle of miracles everything seemed to be working. However, when we parked the rig in our storage place we noticed the cab radio/camera was not coming on. I thought, oh heck, it was too good to be true. Went home thought about it and decided to go out and try a few things. Then it hit me, the house battery disconnect switch may be in the wrong position (yes, newbie moment)! Set the switch to connect and the radio came on! Did not reallize the radio in the cab is powered by the coach battery, not the chassis battery. Is this common?
Class C

8 Replies

  • BillHoughton's avatar
    BillHoughton
    Explorer II
    Jun 08, 2015
    Vulcan Rider wrote:
    Here's my newbie moment:
    Fired up the generator. No power to anything.
    Checked breakers and fuses.
    It somehow dawned on me to check the power cable which must be plugged into the generator when not on shore power. Yup. Plug just laying there in the compartment. DUH!

    I had exactly the same newbie moment on our first trip in our RV. Nice to know I'm not alone.

    I have a feeling that, if someone started a "What was your newbie moment?" thread, it would rapidly run to 100 pages, and there would be a lot of similar experiences reported.
  • Gonzo42's avatar
    Gonzo42
    Explorer
    Jun 08, 2015
    Our View also has a switch just inside the access door that turns of the DC circuits. Seems to get bumped off once in a while. After the panic, we remember to check it.
  • wbwood's avatar
    wbwood
    Explorer
    Jun 08, 2015
    Our Thor Chateau has the switch just as you enter the coach from the main door. This is common. Also note, you have to have the switch on for the battery to charge.
  • harley-dave's avatar
    harley-dave
    Explorer II
    Jun 08, 2015
    Our Itasca also has the switch. We leave it set to house batteries because it will draw down the chassis battery in a week or 2 just sitting. Always leave it to house battery so when bat switch is off, the radio's OFF. Nothing gets run down.

    Dave
  • Bill_and_Marie_'s avatar
    Bill_and_Marie_
    Explorer
    Jun 08, 2015
    Thank you for the responses, at least I'm not the only one with these kind of issues. Leave it to RV industry not to be consistent on something this simple. Oh well, onwards!
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Jun 08, 2015
    There is no standardization on which battery supplies the dash radio. Mine is like yours (Bill and Marie in TX's) in that it's powered by the house battery only. Some are powered by the chassis battery only, some are switchable to operate from either battery, and there probably are some that are broken and don't power up at all.
  • Vulcan_Rider's avatar
    Vulcan_Rider
    Explorer
    Jun 07, 2015
    Yes my Winnie has a switch like was mentioned.

    Here's my newbie moment:
    Fired up the generator. No power to anything.
    Checked breakers and fuses.
    It somehow dawned on me to check the power cable which must be plugged into the generator when not on shore power. Yup. Plug just laying there in the compartment. DUH!

    Most of the functions on my radio actually don't work at all......but they ALL work from the little remote. One of these days I'll get around to pulling the radio out to check the front panel ribbon cable connections.
  • BillHoughton's avatar
    BillHoughton
    Explorer II
    Jun 07, 2015
    On our Itssca (Mercedes/Sprinter chassis, Winnebago construction), there's a switch on the dash (bottom left corner, in case you've got a similar model) that lets you choose between cab and house radio, presumably so that you can run the radio when camped without running down the battery that powers the starter.

    You're ahead of us! We've owned ours just since April, and been on one shakedown cruise, but I have yet to figure out how to turn on the radio! We forgot to take any CDs along on our first trip, which reduced our motivation to look at it. Fortunately, I always enjoy hearing the love of my life's voice, so I didn't suffer (can't speak for her...).

About Motorhome Group

38,759 PostsLatest Activity: Jul 19, 2018