1996 fleetwood wilderness 37'

Since you are newbies to RV's it may help to locate a local club that may a have a member willing to help you become familiar with the ins & outs of RVing and your RV. Alternatively, perhaps someone on this forum lives close to you and can help. A mobile RV tech might also be a resource you could hire to get familiar with your RV. There's a lot to learn and then the fun begins! Other resources might be a local dealer or the host at a local campground.

Thank yall so much!! I will convey all this to my husband and go from there. Thanks again!

Very few RV manufacturers ever release wiring diagrams and a 96 model yr RV highly doubtful that the manufacturer even has the original "booklet" that came with the unit anymore.

The booklet that came with the unit is typically highly generic to cover all models that yr, not much more than a marketing sales brochure and the manufacturer simply includes the separate manuals from the appliances..

As far as wiring goes, your lights are 12V DC, there should be a 120V AC to 12V DC powersupply (in RVs it is called a "converter" since it converts 120V AC to 12V DC) in or near your 120V/12V breaker/fuse panel.

In the breaker/fuse panel you may have a breaker labeled as "CONV", make sure that breaker is on. On the fuse panel side, there should be several high amperage fuses (20A-40A or so), those should be the fuses for the converter.

Additionally, you will need a 12V battery eventually as it will also power your lights when not connected to the grid plus if your trailer is equipped with electric brakes it serves as the battery for the emergency breakaway system.

For better clarity of what converter you have, get the model number of the breaker/fuse panel and post it here. This may also be important to figure out why your lights do not have power since older converters need a battery attached to work correctly and a 96 model yr just might put yours in that time frame.

The owners manual is useless. Look at the appliances and get model numbers and go to the site of the company that makes each appliance. You will never find a wiring diagram because they do not exist for the consumer. A 26 year old camper has probably had many modifications to it. As much as I think there is a lot of misinformation on it, Youtube is good for some things. Start from the top down and look for things like how to inspect sealant on the roof and windows, inspecting for leaks inside and checking running gear and tires. Some manufacturers have videos on how to check and maintain their products. Just don't expect much support from the original trailer manufacturer
On edit: Include the power center as an appliance. Make sure you have no 120 coming into the trailer before you pull the unit out to check the model number.

Have you checked all fuses?

The lights are 12 volt, you need a charged battery or a operating converter for the 12 V to work. The frig may need 12 V also. The outlets and the microwave are 120 V, if you're plugged in they should have power. You need to read up about the differences between the 12 V side and the 120 V side and how they operate.