New Member with Used Camper

[Coastalflyer]

Hi all
Just recently purchased my first camper, a 2013 Palomino 6601 from a private party. I have it on a 2019 F250 w/ 8 ft bed. Trouble is, the camper didn't come with any documentation and the previous owner isn't responding to my questions, which has me a little worried.

The camper is a nice size and seems to be in pretty good shape, but I can't get the Suburban furnace or the Atwood water heater to work. The previous owner had winterized the camper when I bought it, so not sure if there's something special I need to do, like fill the water heater (I put water in the fresh tank). The gas stove works so I know that propane is flowing. The water heater gets warm on the outside vent and I can hear the unit working and see a flame when I look from outside the camper, but it doesn't heat the water. The furnace doesn't do much of anything.

Appreciate any advice or suggestions.

[Bert_the_Welder]

Congrats on the self fixing!
As a suggestion, based on my own self-awareness, I drew a diagram of my winterize valves. What they look like in both in-use mode and winterize mode. I'm really dyslexic and once mildly frustrated, it's down hill form there. I did a web search when I got our TC and collected all the info/manuals I could find on all the 'stuff" in our TC. Printed it all out and it lives in a drawer in the TC, with my valve drawing and a list of procedures for start-up and storing. Just makes life easier. Lists are good.
AND..... when draining the HW tank for winter, remember to open the bleed off valve BEFORE unscrewing the tank drain plug/anode rod.....Trust me.... If you don't, you'd best wear a diaper and goalie equipment and ear plugs......

[Grit_dog]

Good work!
It's very satisfying when you not only repair something, but when it ends up not being costly!

[Coastalflyer]

Actually, all that fixed was to enable the blower; the furnace wasn't putting out any heat, which probably explains why the previous owner disconnected the thermostat. But after doing some Internet searching, I discovered a fix for that; repositioning the igniter to make it a little closer to the gas inlets. Now it's working.

[specta]

Coastalflyer wrote:
Got the furnace working. Turns out one of the wires to the thermostat was disconnected.

I love it when it ends up being a simple fix.

[Coastalflyer]

Got the furnace working. Turns out one of the wires to the thermostat was disconnected.

[Coastalflyer]

Yes, I have shore power. I'll try to diagnose the electrical circuits if I can.
Thanks for the responses.

[joerg68]

Electric switch not heating the water. May have killed the heating element. How hard is that to replace?

You are plugged into shore power, right?
The element should be easy to replace. As far as I know it is accessible from the outside. But as others have said - don't start replacing things unless you are reasonably sure they are broken.

[Kayteg1]

Coastalflyer wrote:
Electric switch not heating the water. May have killed the heating element. How hard is that to replace?

Before you replace - inspect.
HF was giving multi-meters for free (I collected 5 of them) and even with no coupon, they are about $5, so no excuse to not own 1.
Sounds like you burned the element running it with no water, but still you have switches, thermostat worth testing.
Than check what element you have. They are not that cheap and in case add-on element, you will have to buy whole system to get new heater.

[jimh406]

My water heater has a push button breaker as well. You might want to look for that and make sure there is water in it and the bypass is off so water can go into the water heater.

[Coastalflyer]

Electric switch not heating the water. May have killed the heating element. How hard is that to replace?

[K_Mac]

Next time you dewinterize Make sure you have water in hot water tank BEFORE firing it up, and welcome.
, if it"s a metal tank you could cause some harm. Good luck with your new toy

[mbloof]

Coastalflyer wrote:
Okay, so the water heater was indeed bypassed. (Had to unscrew an access panel to see the other side of the unit.) Turned the gas heater on and water was getting warmer after a few minutes. Now trying the electric. Hope I didn't burn out the element previously. Just curious, what's the default mode if both switches are on?

If both switches are on, BOTH modes are on (Gas/Electric). Some folks do that while plugged into shore power for faster recovery (multiple showers comes to mind)

Normally you'd only have one of the two switches on.


- Mark0.

[Coastalflyer]

Okay, so the water heater was indeed bypassed. (Had to unscrew an access panel to see the other side of the unit.) Turned the gas heater on and water was getting warmer after a few minutes. Now trying the electric. Hope I didn't burn out the element previously. Just curious, what's the default mode if both switches are on?

[Yosemite_Sam1]

Check if the valve to the water heater is open. The previous owner must have closed it when he winterized.