Newbie - a few questions...

[delray83]

I had introduced myself last Fall, but our 2012 M-210 UDS has been sitting in a neighbors garage for many years and i was just able to get to it a few days ago. I am fairly certain it got very, very little use as he went to a senior living home and we purchased it, but as you know - sitting that long creates its own issues.

I did search the group for answers, but a few I could not find:

1. Turning on the thermostat to 70°, noticed the AC also turns on automatically. I assume this is using the gas heater in combination with the AC as a heat pump? The AC air did not seem very warm however? Maybe that is because it was like 20° outside?

2. I think the batteries are dead. I noticed the 30 amp battery fuse had blown, though the trailer has been plugged into a wall outlet with fancy surge protector for years. That may have happened when I turned everything on? I replaced the fuse, but even when hooked up to my vehicle - the electric tongue jack will not operate unless plugged into shore power? Is that normal? Can the jack not get it's power via the vehicle 7-way pin to my vehicle?

3. One of my electric stabilizer jacks was not operational. I popped the cap off and see a nut in there. It seems to spin freely. Is that not connected to the jack or what is going on there? I cleaned it a bit inside the motor housing - and it started working, but that would be good to know in a future emergency if I can bring a drill and bit and work it manually.

Thanks in advance!

[JimboFunFinder]

The power jack probably draws too much current to be powered from the tow vehicle (I would guess 20 Amps). It should work from a good set of batteries or shore power. Get a voltmeter/multimeter (even one from HF!) and measure the battery voltage. It should be fully charged at 12.6VDC. Try with and without the shore power plugged un. With shore it should be 13.5-13.8. There are normally two fuses, one at the battery and the other at the power converter. Either one might be blown if you don't see charging voltage when the shore is connected. The oem WFCO converters can be junk (fail often). The good news is that if yours is bad they can be rebuilt. Let us know what you find.

RVs do NOT have heat pumps. The thermostat should work either the furnace or the AC but not both. They also fail often (from experience).

People on this forum have repaired the stabilizer jacks but the most common is a switch or wiring failure.

[delray83]

Thanks JimboFunFinder, I guess what I meant by heat pump is our other trailer (a Chalet pop-up) you can use the A/C to heat as well as cool. It does not get hot, just warmer air by reversing the flow - just like any A/C if you feel the air being pumped out the back is warmer (see models linked below for similar feature). I cannot turn on the heat via the thermostat without the A/C turning on as well, that is why I wondered. The thermostat has just fan, heat and cool option along with temperature. Maybe it has failed then?

I did find a thread on the stabilizer jacks. Sound like mine might need a good clean and possibly some silicone near the wires to protect them from corrosion. I can see it starting in. I guess the rear particularly is prone to water getting in the unit.

I will investigate the converter closer and get that sorted with the battery when it is not so freezing cold outside. It had been kept in a garage till now, but it is in my driveway for a week or so until I can get it into storage (temporarily until our new home is finished).

https://www.dometic.com/en-us/outdoo...r-conditioners

[delray83]

I did a search under heat pump and found this thread. This individual has the same model and issue. I guess i need to locate a manual or figure out how to turn the thermostat to 'auto' to disable the A/C fan.

https://www.funfinderclub.com/forums...ower-4267.html

[JimboFunFinder]

If you can find the instructions to the thermostat (perhaps Online?) you should be able to troubleshoot it. It sounds like the 'switch' for the AC is ON even in the Heat position.

If your batteries are Maintenace Free batteries deigned to start a car or truck then they tend to perform very poorly as trailer batteries. The reason is that they are not designed to discharge totally more than a couple of times. Deep Discharge batteries (aka marine batteries) are much better and even better are AGM batteries. Yes, they will cost a little more but will last much longer if you are dry camping without solar recharging. FYI, AGM batteries are sold by Sam's Club.

I was an EE in my prior life and have dug into converters more than once so let me know what you find when the weather is warmer.

[DogsGo2]

Some RV have Heat Pumps.
Yes, get the battery checked for free and replace it before you go too far into trouble shooting.

[delray83]

Thanks, both of the batteries were bad. They probably had fully discharged and been sitting for three or four years that way.
Replaced them with 12 volt deep/ Marine AGM batteries.
Also installed a 1500 watt inverter and wired outlets to that on either side of the bed. 32" tv that swings down from the cieling. Also a 3000/2800 watt Generator. I'll probably add solar later this summer or next fall. We do quite a bit of boondocking, at most 3 days at a time.

Considered the best location for the TV, pretty happy with how it turned out so I'll share that later.

[profdant139]

Be sure to use a trickle charger when you are at home -- I use a BatteryMinder Plus, and it seems to give my batteries a lot more longevity.

[Caroline]

I would like to know also as I recently had a similar issue.

[Pcola10k]

RecPro 15K RV heat pump. https://www.recpro.com/rv-air-condit...ith-heat-pump/