KZ Owners please look here - Newbie needs help

[cbump]

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum and to RVing. I recently purchased a 2014 KZ Sportsman 280 BHSS but I had to go out of town for work for about 3 weeks after bringing it home. The RV dealer gave me a very quick crash course but I can hardly remember any of it. Anyways, I got home today and we decided to take go camping tomorrow. I did remember the dealer telling me to turn on the fridge a day in advance to get it ready so I just went out to do so and it seems that my battery is dead. So, my first question is - how can I recharge it without having an external charger? I looked every where for an on board charger that I can plug an extension cord in to (like on a boat) but couldn't find one. Is there not a way to not have the battery drawing power when it is just sitting?
Also, I guess I need buy a 30 Amp plug converter so I can plug it in at the house correct? Will power this way run everything? I'm just trying to figure out how I can get the fridge going tonight since the battery is dead. (My plan was to run it off gas but I guess you still have to have a battery to turn it on...)

Finally, as you can see, my RV knowledge is terrible. Is there a generic guide or anything out there that has like a checklist of everything I need to know and do to prep for trip, get going at the campsite, and then what to do to restore it at home?

Please let me know.

Thanks!!

[cbump]

Awesome. Thank you. I do remember now that they told me those were the low point drains during my quick walkaround. Makes sense now. I appreciate it.

[azwildcat]

The on-off switch turns the electricity on to the water heater. It has nothing to do with filling the tank. You probably have a bypass valve located inside on the back of the water heater. This valve must be positioned to fill the tank and set to bypas when winterizing unless you want to fill the tank with anti freeze. No need to empty the tank after each trip unless it is a long time between trips. No not keep your black tank drain open all the time. Allow the tank to fill --at least 2/3-- and then empty. Your blavk tank flush should be located on the outside of the TT somewhere above the drain valve. Looks similar to the city water hookup. The 2 drain valves under the trailer are your low point drains used to drain the system for winterizing or other times when you may want to drain all the lines. They do not drain the water heater--you must remove the plug on the outside of the water heater to completely drain the hot water tank.

[spadoctor]

never seen a Suburban DSI water heater without the hole and clip.

[cbump]

My on off switch outside looks just like this with nothing drilled through it.

[spadoctor]

the switch located outside in the lower left of the W/H turns the element on and off. KZ also has the dual switch inside the trailer allowing all control from inside. The outside switch also has a hole drilled through it and there should be a small clevis pin that goes through the hole to prevent the element from being turned on without water. Most dealers will clip the clip on a wire when it is removers to prevent loss. Also when filling the heater NEVER bleed the air using the pressure relief valve as it will remove too much air and cause the relief valve to drip.

[cmoecmoe]

cbump.,

To fill your Hot water tank, hook up your city water (or turn on your water pump) and open the hot water on one of your facets. When the air is gone and it stops burping, the tank is filled. I believe the switch either turns on the electric element or the propane part of the water heater.

Craig

[cbump]

Thanks spadoctor. Sounds like I flushed correctly. I don't know if I have a connection to flush the blackwater tank but I did use the wand you mentioned.

As far as the water heater, I definitely know I must fill it first, my question was more whether or not the on off switch under the panel outside was what actually initiated the filling.

I appreciate the help.

[spadoctor]

you must ALWAYS fill the water heater BEFORE turning it on as the element will instantly burn out if its not full. Also it will heat much faster on gas then electric and if you are doing back to back showers you can use both for more hot water. Your rig may have a black tank flush installed as many KZ's do. You attach a water hose to it turn the water on and it sprays the inside of the tank to rinse out. If not there is a wand that you can get that attaches to the end of the hose and is inserted down into the tank thru the toilet to do the same thing. I always then put a gallon or two of water in the tank along with chemical. This sloshes around and helps prevent a clog from forming. As for the grey water....maybe a rinse that's all. One thing ...dump the black tank...flush black tank....then dump the grey tank last.

[cbump]

Thanks for the link. Those look awesome.

[rider997]

cbump wrote:

The night before we went camping when I ran to walmart to get the 30-15 adapter, I also picked up one of those orange modular leveling kits. Good thing because our campsite was way unlevel! I am going to pick up 2 or 3 more of the same kit just in case as I saw a few RVs out there with stacks under every stabilizer and wheel so I want to make sure I always have enough. Luckily I had asked a friend a few days before about leveling the trailer as I thought you just used the 4 jacks. I was told the floor wouldn't support that but had forgotten to get levelers until I went to walmart late that night.

Before you get more leveling blocks, check out the Andersen camper leveler. You can be leveled (up to 4") in under 30 seconds, taking it slow and easy.


http://www.andersenhitches.com/Products/3604--camper-leveler.aspx

[cbump]

Hey guys, sorry it took so long to respond. Thanks for all the tips. They will definitely all be useful. I will be picking up a 30A to 50A adapter asap as well as a few other things mentioned in the thread.

The night before we went camping when I ran to walmart to get the 30-15 adapter, I also picked up one of those orange modular leveling kits. Good thing because our campsite was way unlevel! I am going to pick up 2 or 3 more of the same kit just in case as I saw a few RVs out there with stacks under every stabilizer and wheel so I want to make sure I always have enough. Luckily I had asked a friend a few days before about leveling the trailer as I thought you just used the 4 jacks. I was told the floor wouldn't support that but had forgotten to get levelers until I went to walmart late that night.

Also, here is something funny. We got to our campsite and got completely spotted, unhooked, leveled, etc and then pulled the electric line out and we were about a foot short! There was no way I was hooking everything back up and re-doing it all just to move a foot so I ran to walmart again and picked up a 30A extension cord. I figured I'll need it in the future as well.

We definitely have a list of things to bring in the future but here are a few questions I had:

Water heater - I couldn't remember the exact sequence but there is an on/off switch outside the trailer on the wh panel. I flipped that to on which I think filled up the heater. Then after I figured it had filled I went to the bathroom and clicked on the water heather electric button. Everything worked out but I want to make sure I did that correctly for the future so I don't burn up an element. Was this correct? Also, does the water heater have a pilot light for running on gas or does it work automatically when I flip the switch to gas inside?
There are three drain valves under the RV. One up near the tongue which is blue. I am assuming this one is for the freshwater tank. There are also two more in the backvery close to one another. One is blue and one is red. Does the red one drain the hot water heater? What does that blue one drain?
The reason I ask is as I was driving home I realized that I had not drained the water heater so when I got hom I opened the red valve but nothing came out. So, how do I drain the hot water heater?

Finally, do you do anything once you've drained the grey/black water tanks? Here is what I did. Please let me know if I should have done something different. I first drained the black water tank completely. Then I ran the waterhose inside and used one of those long pvc toilet nozzles to really spray out the tank good (did this with the valve open to continuosly drain). After I figured that was good, I closed the blackwater tank and drained the grey water. Put the hose away, etc. After that, I put a little water in the black water tank and threw in one of those chemical packets. (I don't know if that was necessary but wanted to be safe). Then leave a little water in the toilet bowl. Sound good or no?

Finally, when hooked up to sewer at and campground do you leave the valves open so everything continuously drains or just open periodically? We left them closed and drained when needed is why I ask...


Thanks!

[hammer21661]

pennysmom09 wrote:
Our RV, shown in signature, has an on/off switch for the battery. Like you, we were overloaded with info during the PDI...remembered very little. We camped 5 miles from home first....good thing. We didn't realize about the on/off switch until we went to use it and the battery was dead dead dead! We took the battery home, bought a charger and it took a long time to recharge it, it was discharging?? Anyway, I suspect there was some damage, but we've been fine now and are constantly reminding each other to shut it off when stored.

As for running things at our house. We don't run the AC, it just kept tripping the breaker. We thought we had used the right extension cord and adapter, but the AC tripped it anyway. We run the frig, that's about all. Our frig cools off in just a few hours, then we can just run it on gas once we take off. Our driveway is very level, so no worries for the frig.

Enjoy your KZ...we love ours, just want a bigger one now! (of course) I envy folks who get it right the first time.

I don't think I know but one person who got it right the first time. the other guy complains but won't break down and get a new one. It took us three of them. Third time is a charm!

[Old-Biscuit]

cbump wrote:
Btw, I opened up the starter kit today that came with it and it had a converter in it. This was after a trip to Walmart at 11 last night. Lol

Converter.......now that's a really nice starter kit :B
I know what you mean (adapter). The 'converter' is what takes that 110V AC power and changes (converts) it to DC power (and charges your battery)

So when at home you can use that 'adapter' to plug in so your 'converter' will keep your battery charged :B:B

Glad you got to go camping and hopefully are having a good time AND playing with ALL the stuff. Turn it ON, push the buttons, try it out.

But more importantly....HAVE FUN!!

[cbump]

Btw, I opened up the starter kit today that came with it and it had a converter in it. This was after a trip to Walmart at 11 last night. Lol