A/C/furnace/hw heater trip PM/parts thoughts

Phil Sikora · 10-01-2021, 02:19 PM

We should be home soon on our five-week GA-AL-MS-TN-OK-TX-NM-CO-UT-AZ-MO-IL-IN-WV-PA-NJ-DE-MD-VA-NC-SC-GA trip (National Parks in CO, UT & AZ). We're thinking of taking another longer trip in two years on a more northerly route.

One of the things I thought about on this trip was when we were in an area that said no services for 100 miles, and there was no cell coverage. Whaddya do then? I may look into a SAT phone.

Continuing along those same, obsessive thought lines, I remember on another trip with another brand 5th wheel, we had to lose some time getting our h/w heater fixed (a board). What I was wondering is if it made sense on a longer trip where dealers and/or parts may be harder to find, is if it would make sense to carry a few parts that tend to be problematic.

I would do this for the a/c (which one of ours is currently not blowing cold), the furnace, and the h/w heater. Thoughts?

Our a/c is a Dometic 15,000 BTU model. The furnace is an Atwood AFMD16 or 20 or 25 or 36 or a 35. The h/w heater is an Atwood model 10-E (10 gal. propane or electric).

TIA,
phil

**creativepart** · 10-01-2021, 03:35 PM

If you do get those replacement items I'll be sure to participate in the Winnie Owner's Forum-wide wager that those will be the items that do not break.

Stuff happens for sure... but not all the time. We just finished a 30-day 2,000 mile trip and nothing broke or failed on our trip. OK, stuff broke 2-weeks before we left. But that doesn't count.

Don't get too paranoid.

Morich · 10-01-2021, 05:37 PM

As I look back at problems we have had while on the road or at home, very few have been the actual parts of most items but the wiring or supporting items!
The boards on any item in the Rv are related in some ways to a computer and if we don't give it the right inputs, it doesn't give us the correct answers, so we need to work double hard on making sure things stay connected on really good, clean, solid connections.
But that is almost impossible when we are dragging them around in water, snow and dirt with lots of bumps along the way to shake our teeth out!

The problem with a lot of the repairs I hear about is that the tech is very quick to jump into replacing the boards and that does often cure the problem but leaves me wondering if just getting new shiny connections was not the real cure!

**macnut** · 10-01-2021, 06:38 PM

I agree that I rarely need the spare parts I have on-hand in the RV when something breaks. Maybe having a spare part is kind of a reverse Murphy's law to ensure it won't break. :-)
The only spare part I've actually used is the thermal cutoff replacement kit for our Atwood water heater.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0837BBQ4R/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_AEE8KQEHB82VN68VQPEH?_encodin g=UTF8&psc=1

Phil Sikora · 10-01-2021, 09:21 PM

Thanks, all. I realize I've been working with a limited data set. I had a sail switch fail. I like the thought about clean connections. I would say we really would want this systems working depending on the trip we're taking. This trip needed everything. Wide temperature range from 100 to 36.

Honestly, tires have been a biggest nemesis. Ok, I get the China bombs the first rig came with so we got the Goodyear endurance on this rig even though the bombs were nearly new. So we got two flats from punctures. RV living, I suppose.

I could go out for another five weeks. SWMBO not so much.

**creativepart** · 10-02-2021, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Sikora

I could go out for another five weeks. SWMBO not so much.

We started with a 16’ TT, then 22’ TT, then 25’ TT, then 31’ Class C. Finally, when we got a 37’ Class A with 1 1/2 baths and washer/dryer my wife is happy to go out on lengthy trips of up to 6-weeks or so. After six weeks she starts to miss the nice house in the country we live in the 8-months a year we’re not out in the RV.