Can't get stuff to work!

[sharibartling]

We are getting frustrated with our RV. We have only used it for short distances. We had many problems with CW and are now getting a little apprehensive about leaving for a 1300 mile trip to PNW Oregon/WA.

Now our latest dilemma is: 1. The filtered water faucet works BUT the main water does NOT.
2. My husband came out to start the refrigerator so it would run about 8 hrs to get it cold but in 4 hrs it drained the house battery.

Any suggestions?
Thanks

[CG_Dawson]

Remove the aereator located on the faucet outlet, it's likely clogged up with sediment. Clean it and put back on.

[azrving]

Most of the manuals should be on line for download and copy. (frig, furnace, water heater, slides, ac, converter). CW probably didn't do anything wrong, its just the nature of seasonal use and the cheesy nature of RV's in general. There is always something to do so its best to not get to excited as its not going away. Not being smart alec just saying. CW or the best guy on here could spend 2 days massaging and tweaking your rig and something else could go wrong. Strange that we love them so much. 🙂

[Executive45]

More questions...

1. How old are the batteries? Date code should be stamped somewhere on the top.
2. If you have your batteries tested, do so under load. That is, don't remove them from the rig. Almost any auto parts store can test them for you but they should be tested while trying to run something.
3. How is your drinking faucet hooked up? Is it tied into the cold water side of the faucet line or does it get it's water from somewhere else?
4. Easy test for your faucet. Turn off all water to the coach. Make sure you have about a half tank of on board fresh water. Remove the cold water line from the kitchen faucet. Briefly turn on the water pump. If water flows, replace the faucet. If it doesn't, trace the water line back toward the pump. You have a valve in the line that's still closed.....Dennis

[WILDEBILL]

sharibartling wrote:
We are getting frustrated with our RV. We have only used it for short distances. We had many problems with CW and are now getting a little apprehensive about leaving for a 1300 mile trip to PNW Oregon/WA.

Now our latest dilemma is: 1. The filtered water faucet works BUT the main water does NOT.
2. My husband came out to start the refrigerator so it would run about 8 hrs to get it cold but in 4 hrs it drained the house battery.

Any suggestions?
Thanks

Help us help you. Put your coach and pertinent information in your post and it is a good idea to put the basics in your signature.Read some of the other signatures for examples.
item 1) Do the other faucets work, in the bathroom etc? Is your water pump on? Do you have water in your freshwater tank? Did CW work on the water system may be de winterising? If you can't figure out what is wrong tell CW to fix it or show what they did to it.

2) You don't have a 12 volt option on your refrigerator. you only have gas or electric. The only thing that could have run the battery's down that fast would be having it locked on electric and trying to use the inverter to power the fridge. You can leave the setting on auto and it will switch to what is the best source available. The house batteries should run the fridge on gas for about a week. Also if the batteries are dead you now need to plug it in or run the generator to get the batteries charged for the refrigerator to work. You need 12 volt power for the control board in the refrigerator
Bill

[Groover]

I frequently ran my fridge on propane even when plugged in if the power supply was limited. For example, if I had to plug into a standard outlet while visiting someone's home. The two amps that the fridge drew seemed to make a difference on how well the circuit handled the AC.

[sharibartling]

We have done that, we went last year 250 miles. It's just a lot of new problems since we had it "serviced' this year at CW, there are things wrong now that were fine last year.
Thanks for your help though

[wallynm]

Not sure make and model of you right. If refrigeration is 12 volts and /or gas. Make sure propane is turned on. Hook up external power to use refrigerator on electric. Is water pump turned on.

[Pogoil]

The best advice I can give you is, take the RV. close to home about 50 miles away and get used to how it operates. Keep doing this till all the kinks are worked out. Taking a long trip away from home when you may not understand how stuff works will make for a miserable trip. You will be very unhappy.

Good Luck.

Pogoil.

[sharibartling]

About the water, the filtered drinking faucet works but the other faucet at the sink does not.

[et2]

Not really understanding the water issue. What is filtered water vs main? Is it a whole house filter or just at the sink?

If you want to cool your fridge and it's a residential you should run your generator a few hours with the generator before heading down the road. As mentioned, if not you will drain your batteries in short time.

[sharibartling]

oldchief7155 Thank you! We will do that too.

[2gypsies1]

If you're not plugged in to electricity, run the refrigerator on propane. It won't use very much in 8 hours.

The water problem? Not sure what you mean by the 'main water' not working. Please explain.

There's a learning curve to RVs so don't give up. You'll do just fine and remember that if you have problems in a campground seek out help from others. They'll be glad to show off their expertise. 🙂 Have a great trip!

[sharibartling]

Also, We bought the RV used and discovered all of the manuals evidently fell in a lake or something because they are completely ruined and stink but husband is thumbing through them since that is all we have 🙂

[oldchief7155]

Check the screen at the end of the faucet. Probably clogged.

Run the fridge on propane. If you're plugged in run it on electricity. Just put it on "auto" mode and it will do the rest. How much else was running on battery.

How old is the battery? Sounds like it would be worth checking. Any garage can test it. Just jerk it out and take it in. If new one is needed replace only with a deep cycle, not a dual purpose battery.

List your equipment you're asking questions about. Norcold fridge, Sureflo pump, etc.

Many or most manuals are on line. Go to manufacturer of the specific item and surf.