Neighbor

[campersam9]

For the last week my neighbor and a friend has been working on his furnace. It’s a fairly new 5th week. The start pulling wires then plugging them back in. This has us a little concerned because we are very close. We have a hybrid trailer. Little chance ours could go up in flames with his. The guy next to us asked if we want there fire extinguishers as a joke.
There is an on sire repair truck. There is an RV repair center next to the campground. Why are people so cheap? With gas it’s not worth it. Thinking about moving it’s a shame we reserved this site last year. Never in all the years have we experienced anything like this!

[Woodworker]

Plugging an unplugging wires wouldn't bother me. It's when one of em says "Hey watch this". That's when I'd get concerned.

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by Woodworker

Plugging an unplugging wires wouldn't bother me. It's when one of em says "Hey watch this". That's when I'd get concerned.

I agree! But why is it taking them a week?

[bansai]

For the other perspective...
My best friend views every little thing that goes wrong with our camper as an excuse to come over, drink beer, and 'fix' whatever it is ourselves. DIY'ing is really common with RV's.

A lot of us have learned the hard way to make repairs ourselves. Sometimes there's no choice, other times you realize that your local service options are sub-par and regardless of cost I wouldn't trust Camping World to touch my camper, ever. They fix something only to have the same item break again, or worse.

When the front cap on my camper started separating from the rest of the unit, I had a major, potential water problem in my future. I screwed and glued the offending sheet metal back down with 100% stainless, self-tapping screws and waterproof washers and ran a bead of 30 year weatherproofing caulk along the seam. Camping World would have just re-hung the sheet metal, which likely would have re-separated again within a couple years... and at great financial cost. My fix is 100% solid and cost me less than 20 dollars.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of threads on here about people having *horrible* experiences with not just initial build quality, but with repairs too. I have resolved 100% of the issues that I've run into myself. Even when the camper was still under warranty, I simply didn't trust the techs that were available to me. The furnace isn't rocket science, i'd probably be working on it myself too You could always walk over and ask them what they are up to. I'd be curious, but not overly nosy.

[Woodworker]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

I agree! But why is it taking them a week?

Cold beers?????

[campersam9]

When we were permanent campers a few years ago a trailer caught fire. Thank God they. Got out. The trailer went up in minutes. Trailers on each side were totaled. To see this happen it makes you cautious about propane. The leak San in the refrigerator.
The rv shop is not camping world. They work on coaches worth thousands. We have replaced roofs , water heaters ,windows, added electricity outlets, floors ,awning , air conditioning , cabinets , wheel bearings and seals. We do most of our repairs but when you and your friend try and try to fix something and you can’t with propane time to get the repair truck.

[ALJO]

Everyone is able to learn, special with assistance of the WEB. But learn to do it safely with regulations in place. Many people can't afford the high cost of Labor and still like to go out and enjoy camping life.

[bansai]

The modern furnaces have so many safety features built-in, if you don't hook it up perfectly it won't even turn on anyway. The scary, propane part is a regulated low-pressure system and not much more complex than a barbeque grill. If it's leaking, they will smell it before it becomes a hazard. I wouldn't lose much sleep over it but most camping spots we stay at also have rules against doing your own on-site repairs. I'm not even supposed to work on my camper when it's at the storage lot, sometimes I have to though.

[campersam9]

This is a very nice Fifth wheel and they have a new F350 truck. The access to the heater is outside. It is small. Looks like you can remove it to work on.
Two KOA employees talked to him this morning. All work has stopped. Waiting to see what is next. Wife wants to take the dogs and go to the beach and see if we are getting a new trailer when we get home.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by bansai

A lot of us have learned the hard way to make repairs ourselves. Sometimes there's no choice, other times you realize that your local service options are sub-par and regardless of cost

]Absolutely!!!

A) It's not what you make, it's what you keep
B) What will you do when the furnace goes out, it's 10*F outside and no one's around to fix it for you?

Knowing your limitations is key.
But I've repaired major electrical and propane appliances on our RV.



Besides - assuming the RV Repair Guy is well trained and knows more can be a mistake.

[JimD]

Out of curiosity, what is wrong with the furnace? What symptoms are observed?

[TaftCoach]

Corrosion on wires could be causing the furnace not to work. Being self sufficient isn't a bad thing.

[Midnightmoon]

Originally Posted by TaftCoach

......Snip......Being self sufficient isn't a bad thing.

X2. I take great pride in being as self sufficient as possible. And, it fundamentally pains me to have to pay someone to fix something that I could on my own.

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by Midnightmoon

X2. I take great pride in being as self sufficient as possible. And, it fundamentally pains me to have to pay someone to fix something that I could on my own.

I wholeheartedly agree with this and I feel the same way. I’ve often said, “it’s not broken unless I cannot fix it”

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

I wholeheartedly agree with this and I feel the same way. I’ve often said, “it’s not broken unless I cannot fix it”

X2, I also enjoy fixing things. Sitting and watching TV, I would consider being cruel and unusual punishment.

There really is no danger pulling the sail switch (from the access location, that is what it sounds like he was working on).

I am shocked by how many people are not willing to try to figure out the solution. These are the same people who get scammed by repair facilities, for work that is not required.

[campersam9]

Thank God a RV repair truck came and repaired it in less than a half hour. What a relief. Propane makes us nervous after we were neat a trailer that burned.
We all do repair projects and we have done a lot. We replaced the water heater because it was over 10 years old. But not mess with a furnace that will not fire. We use electric heaters because it is cheaper than propane.

[poohbear]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

I agree! But why is it taking them a week?

Because the quote is really " hold my beer & watch this

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by campersam9

Thank God a RV repair truck came and repaired it in less than a half hour.

Be interesting to know what the issue was.