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Old 01-07-2013, 05:50 AM   #1
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Basic start up.. first time out questions

We are going to camp this weekend without using the water since it is winterized since it will be in the 60's and we are dying to try it out.We are going to use the porta-potti in the bathroom for the kids and get a spot near the bathrooms.
When we did a walk through the furnace and stuff was on.My question is How do we turn the gas on when we get there?
How long does it take the fridge to cool enough to put food in it?

Camper is a 2013 Passport 3220bh It has 2 tanks up front
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Old 01-07-2013, 06:14 AM   #2
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Sad that sales does not do proper walk-thru upon delivery.

Your owners manual should help.

Open the valves on the tanks, turn on the propane sensor, light stove burner. It may take a while for the gas to get there.
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Old 01-07-2013, 06:21 AM   #3
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Being that it winterized you can take some water with you keep a gal jug in the bathroom and use some water to flush the toilet it's not going to hurt it and not going to mess up the winterize of the unit people do it all the time when they want to use there units in the cold season. You turn the gas on at the tanks two valves on the top of the tanks. the refer if you have it plug in now turn it on it won't take long being it cold out side now but it would normaly take 4 to 6 and sometime 8 hrs to cool down but if you can cool it down before the trip it good to. You can pour some antifreeze back in the toilet when your finished with your trip just to keep the flap from sticking from the cold
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Old 01-07-2013, 06:23 AM   #4
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It sounds like sales did the 5 min walk through with them to show a customer how to work there unit it's a least a hr to walk them through it all
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Old 01-07-2013, 09:07 AM   #5
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I would suggest some type of thing (locks?) to make it hard to turn on the faucets/pumps/etc... so they are not inadvertently pumping out the pretty pink stuff

What part of the country - what temps are you expecting ?

do you need to do this much -> ?
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Old 01-07-2013, 11:58 AM   #6
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He walked us through it over an hr but you cant remember everything they tell you,Just dont want to blow up the camper..lol

So we should turn on both gas tanks? or just one?

then what?

also using the toilet.. you are saying if we flush with the gallon jug water we can use the toilet, dump the sewer and it wont hurt it..(with adding antifreeze to the toilet after)

also we are camping in Pigeon forge for the RV show this weekend and it will be close to 60 both days
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Old 01-07-2013, 12:02 PM   #7
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Egg-xactly why I suggest everyone bring TWO video cameras to PDI...
with two going less likely to miss anything and get it from different angles so u see it all...

We have over 3 hours of video we can watch at anytime


Depends on your setup, but usually you can turn on both, just that until you learn how, u can't tell when either runs out...
So 1st time, make sure everything (water and gas) is turned off inside
turn on one tank, go inside and light your stove top to get gas flowing... and test it...

I can't imagine how much water you have to bring to work for all - but if the cg showers are open, you could always bring back a gallon at a time for emergencies

put the antifreeze into black tank before you use it the first time or it may freeze...

we love winter camping here in da south - just bring a lot of firewood and enjoy story telling (PC name for BS ), smores, etc....
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Old 01-07-2013, 12:10 PM   #8
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I think we may just go with the porta potti and treat it like the popup and empty it into the sewer hole when we leave. There will be 7 of us but we will be near the bathhouse at the campground so mostly will only be used for the kids at night.

I meant to bring my tablet to tape it but forgot it at home and we were 2.5 hrs away, wish they made cds at the dealer to help out.

Is there anything in the console box I have to turn on to use the gas or am I just turning on the gas and lighting the stove. That also will run the furnace right.. just turning on the gas I mean?

Thanks for the help guys. we have so many manuals but they are so hard to follow.. need a camping for dummies book..lol
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Old 01-07-2013, 12:13 PM   #9
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answered the question.. thanks

Quote:
Originally Posted by CampDaven View Post
Sad that sales does not do proper walk-thru upon delivery.

Your owners manual should help.

Open the valves on the tanks, turn on the propane sensor, light stove burner. It may take a while for the gas to get there.
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Old 01-07-2013, 12:49 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ehstrojette View Post
My question is How do we turn the gas on when we get there?
I would turn it on before you leave home. First, be certain the water heater and range and oven are turned off. The valves are right near the propane tanks. Turn on one of them, then go in the trailer and light the gas range. There may be air in the lines, so it may take a while for gas to reach the burner. (hint: a Bar-B-Q lighter is great for this chore). But don't give up until one burner is burning good, then turn on all the burners for a few seconds. Then you can turn off the range, knowing that most of the air is now out of the gas lines.

Quote:
How long does it take the fridge to cool enough to put food in it?
No need to wait until you get to the campground to turn on the fridge. It uses very little gas or elec to keep the fridge cold. If the trailer is plugged into elec at your parking place, then turn on the gas and set the reefer to automatic. Fill the ice trays with water and they should be ice by the next morning. "Automatic" means it will run on either gas or battery 12 volt. If plugged in, then it will run on 12 volt without discharging the battery.

If you're not plugged in at home, assuming you have a two-way or three-way gas/electric reefer, after the gas is turned on and the air has been bled out of the lines by firing up the rangetop, then turn on the reefer, set to run on gas. Add about a half-tray of water to one or more of the ice trays in the freezer. (Before you hit the road, change he reefer to automatic.) By the time you get to the campground, the water will have turned to ice and the reefer will be cold enough to load with food.

Thee are very few places where you must turn off the propane on the RV. One is the tunnels that go under water in Baltimore. But that's the only place in my 100,000+ miles of RV towing that I have had to turn off the propane. So my reefer is turned on, and working, from a few days before we hit he road until we get back.
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Old 01-07-2013, 05:18 PM   #11
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does the furnace run from the gas or electric?
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Old 01-07-2013, 06:34 PM   #12
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The furnace uses electricity if you are hooked to shore power, otherwise you are using your batteries. The heat comes from the propane. I have to disagree with opening the valves on both propane tanks, if you run out of propane on one tank you still have the other tank to use. Now you have an idea how much propane you are using and how long it takes to empty a tank. If both tanks are open, you may run out of propane and will be without heat, hot water, unable to use the stove for cooking or cooling for the refrigerator. If you are dry camping this could be a big thing.

I do not have to be really concerned about winterizing my trailer as it seldom gets that cold around here, but I have done it as a precaution. I would use my RV for what it was made for and not skimp on using the toilet. I would take the advise of those who have been in the situation you describe. That being said, we take grandsons dry camping and when we do we watch the use of the toilet very carefully, during the day everyone (except the wife) uses the campground facilities. If you hook up to a sewer connection then there is no problem.
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Old 01-07-2013, 06:53 PM   #13
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Just a thought, if you have one of those small electric heaters that you use at your house you could always use it in lieu of the furnace, they will warm your TT like nobody's business and you wont use any of your propane.

My 2 cents.
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Old 01-07-2013, 07:25 PM   #14
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We always turn on both propane tanks, but we have one of those automatic valves that draws from one tank until that is empty, leaving the other tank full. Then it switches to the other tank. I just wish I could see the indicator without taking off the tank cover.

If turning on the fridge at home while connected to 15 A service, be sure the TT is level. An ammonia fridge can be damaged if operated while it is not level.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I have never worried about the black tank freezing. Since it is not pure water, it will freeze below 32 F. Even if it does freeze, I think it will not damage anything since there is room for expansion unless it is full - I worry about the shut off valve especially if you try to open it while frozen. The pipe to the valve concerns me, but I have not had a problem and it went down to 17 one night. I think the only downside to letting it freeze is that you will have a brownsickle until it thaws. Using antifreeze is a tough proposition since it is already diluted and adding to the black tank will dilute it further. Am I wrong on this?

Be careful to not pour water down the shower or sinks since that will wash out the antifreeze in your traps.
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