I'm new!! Dumb questions alert... :)

[mebirkle]

Hi there,

I have bought a 2000 Coleman Timberlake yesterday and am camping this weekend. Nothing liking jumping into a lake before you can swim!! And it's my first pop-up / camper! I have had boats and know my way around a bit in terms of calking, electrics, etc., but am definitely in virgin territory. At least the camper is in very good shape with all new canvas and an awning and looks very clean inside. I still need to test all systems in the driveway or at the campsite.

Ok, so here are my dumb questions... Any help would be greatly appreciated as I just need some basics.

1. Electric Hitch / Brakes - I have a 4-blade round on my Honda van. The PO rigged the old 7 blade to work with a 4-blade round so that all lights work. I'm assuming that I won't have electric brakes going until I have a proper 7 blade out of my van to the 7 blade on the camper, correct? I saw a great video on e-trailer with a list of parts I need for the van.

2. Electric water pump - I have been told by the PO that the electric water pump is bad. Is this difficult to replace? Do I just need it if I am going to a site without electric/water?

I'm assuming it's fairly easy but I don't even know where it's located.

3. Battery - The old deep cycle battery was toast and wouldn't take a charge and was severely corroded. I have the new battery from good old walmart and bought their biggest deep cycle boat battery. Q - 2 black wires were going to positive and once white was going to negative. Is this really the way it goes on RV's? One of the blacks goes to the emergency brak chord that goes to your trailer hitch so I'm assuming it's an electrical switch so positive makes sense.

4. Documentation/manual - Would anyone happen to know where I can get a manual for this camper so I don't have to ask all these dumb questions???

Thanks so much for any and all help. I want to pretend that I know what I'm doing when I set the camper up on Friday. Fat chance on that happening! 🙂

Looking forwards to helping someone else out here on this great resource when I know a little more than a doughnut.

Take care, Dave

[davpratt]

opnspaces wrote:
two things on the dead 120v outlets.
1) you must be plugged in to 120v at the campground for the outlets to work. The battery will not power them.

2) Check the entire trailer inside and out for GFCI outlets. Press the test button on each one and it should click. No click means it either has no power (plug trailer in) or it is already tripped. Then press the reset button firmly. Make sure you check the outside compartments like the inside of the refrigerator compartment for a GFCI outlet.

We have the twin to your camper and the reset button on theoutlet was a bit tricky to find because it is a white resessed button on a white background... kinda the proverbial polar bear in a blizzard look. Hope you were able to get it working! -Dave

[mebirkle]

Thanks... I'm at an RV repair place right now and they say it's the whole valve that's bad.

[opnspaces]

I don't know the answer on your water heater, but you might want to start a new thread for it. Otherwise many of the readers might miss it as they recognize the original subject and skip over it because they read it before.
Try posting in the tech issues forum and you'll probably get quite a few replies. Just make sure to let them know the make year and model of trailer and model of the water heater if known.

[mebirkle]

Howdy, another question about the new camper.

I have a suburban SW6P water heater. My burner turns on for 30 seconds or so and then just cuts off without really doing any water heating. The pilot also never stays lit after cut off and has to be relit by hand. I got everything working in the driveway and the burner stayed on until the water was piping hot. Now it just cuts off with no real reason.

I swapped gas tanks with the grill and also blew air threw it. I ordered a brush to try to clean out the burner tube. The flame is fairly blue with some orange tinge on the outside.

Where do I go from here?

Thanks everyone!!

[davpratt]

Oh and on the outlets... ours has one GFi on the outlet on the aisle about half way from the front to the back. Its a white button on a white background so its tricky to see. I found ours when all the outlets lost power at once, but the trailer still had power (main breaker still on). its right in between the two receptacles!
Like others have said we learned lots about our Timberlake the hard way. but I am happly to pass learned lessons on.First thing we learned: In set up swing all the stabilizers out first- and you may have to lower the tongue to be able to swing out the rear stabs. But do not tighten the stabs untill you have popped up. level the trailer side to side then front to back, then crank 'er up. To help with side to side leveling get a BAL leveler, We love ours. If you need help finding one LMK. Just as a reminder I can send you a setup list I worked up a few years back for my DW when she went camping by herself. I put my email addy in the PM. Gotta go Enjoy your Timberlake! -Dave

[davpratt]

Hi Dave & welcome!as a fellow Dave and a 2000 Timberlake owner WELCOME!!;)i SENT YOU A pm, check it out.Hope you enjoy your Timberlake as much as we have ours (for 11 years!!)Post Questions when you have them. this forum is one of the best I've found... very helpful folks here!Best Wishes & God Bless!

[mebirkle]

The issue with the 120v outlet was a bad gfi plug which I replaced. I am now figuring out why my hot water Hester pilot light won't stay lit after heating up the water to temp. Fun stuff... I am loving the camper and the experience. I think I am hooked!

[opnspaces]

.

[opnspaces]

two things on the dead 120v outlets.
1) you must be plugged in to 120v at the campground for the outlets to work. The battery will not power them.

2) Check the entire trailer inside and out for GFCI outlets. Press the test button on each one and it should click. No click means it either has no power (plug trailer in) or it is already tripped. Then press the reset button firmly. Make sure you check the outside compartments like the inside of the refrigerator compartment for a GFCI outlet.

[bondebond]

Welcome to the forum and PUP ownership. Sorry I'm late joining the discussion. There's lots of good advice above and you'll find more as you ask additional questions.

For your PUP's manual, go to this link at Popupportal.com. You'll have to create an account to view the manual but also a site full of good advice and information.

This link is to the 2000 Coleman Repair Parts catalog with description and part numbers. It can be very helpful as a troubleshooting reference as well.

Here's a link to Coleman's 2000 Accessories manual. Nice to know what an option was or if you want to add something "original".

The rest of the manuals you might need are going to come from the manufacturer of that component. The lift system will have a manual, if ever needed but the appliances all came from other manufacturers, such as Suburban, Atwood, Shurflo, etc. Do specific searches for them as needed.

A couple of thoughts on the Centurion converter in your PUP. First, it is not a three stage "smart" charger for your battery. Second, every time I hear people mention Centurion, it is usually in reference to having to replace it because it has partially or fully failed. My suggestion is to be prepared at some point in the future to replace it and certainly be on the lookout for any abhorrent electrical behavior.

Welcome aboard and good luck this weekend. Come back and tell us if you had any opportunities to learn something new, either the hard way or the easy way 😉 Most of what I learned came via the hard way.

[mebirkle]

Tomorrow is the first camping / RV trip for me and my family ever! Thanks everyone for getting me this far. i feel as ready as I'll ever be. Now it's time to learn from hopoefully minimal mistakes. 🙂

The camper is loaded and I think I have everything figured out but the toilet (just need to read the manual) and why a 120 v recepticle doesn't work in the front of the new rig; Those can wait until next week or later.

I'll start a new thread regarding my first trip and fhe stories that will come with it.

[opnspaces]

I love these kinds of question posts. Welcome to the forum. 🙂

mebirkle wrote:
Electric Hitch / Brakes - I have a 4-blade round on my Honda van. The PO rigged the old 7 blade to work with a 4-blade round so that all lights work. I'm assuming that I won't have electric brakes going until I have a proper 7 blade out of my van to the 7 blade on the camper, correct?

Yes correct. You will need a 7 blade socket mounted to your tow vehicle (TV) and an electric brake controller installed in the Honda before the brakes will work.

mebirkle wrote:
Electric water pump - I have been told by the PO that the electric water pump is bad. Is this difficult to replace? Do I just need it if I am going to a site without electric/water?

Yes it's easy to replace. If the site you are going to has water hookups, you won't need the pump. But you should at least buy a cheap water pressure regulator from the RV section at Walmart. Link

mebirkle wrote:
Battery - The old deep cycle battery was toast and wouldn't take a charge and was severely corroded. I have the new battery from good old walmart and bought their biggest deep cycle boat battery. Q - 2 black wires were going to positive and once white was going to negative. Is this really the way it goes on RV's? One of the blacks goes to the emergency brak chord that goes to your trailer hitch so I'm assuming it's an electrical switch so positive makes sense.

Probably correct. Everyone will tell you that white is usually ground and black is positive on the battery. But nobody wants to come out and say that is correct in case you have that one in a million that is wired in reverse. I don't think I've ever heard of that though unless it's obvious that the previous owner was doing some rewiring.

mebirkle wrote:

4. Documentation/manual - Would anyone happen to know where I can get a manual for this camper so I don't have to ask all these dumb questions???

Try popupportal.com. They have a large owners manual section available for download.

Also the AC drains right onto the roof. You have to pull the top cover to verify if the drains are clear.

Here's some unsolicited advice.

Block the wheels before unhitching and the safety chains come off last. I have read more than one post on here of someones trailer rolling away toward the lake as it came off the ball.

Disconnect the battery in storage so it doesn't drain.

The refrigerator takes overnight to cool down. Avoid the 12 volt setting if it has one or you'll have a dead battery in no time.

The 120v household outlets don't work unless you have electrical hookups. Water pump, heater, and refrigerator will work fine on battery.

Stow the awning at night so a gust of wind doesn't tear it off.

If it's going to rain drop one end of the awning down or water will pool and ruin the fabric.

Make sure you put down the rear stabilizers before crawling onto the rear bed. Forget this and you'll have a trailer popping a wheelie for the entire campground to see. :B

It sounds like a great buy, get out to the five mile away campsite and have a good time. Oh and take pictures and give us a trip report when you get back.

[JordanH]

I wouldn't worry about towing the pop up without breaks, Ive been towing my 25 foot TT without any break controller hooked up since I got it last year. But I did just get my new P3 controller today

[mebirkle]

awesome... just found the centurion converter manual and realized i had one. Lot's of discoveries lately. Nothing like flying by the seat of my pants.

I tested the a/c and it works well. I couldn't find where it condenses/drains. Where would a rooftop unit drain out to? I want to make sure it's not clogged.