Serendipity's First Outing

[Pooker]

Guess most of you know I traded Flitter in on a 2013 Pleasure Way that only had 4700 miles on it. Now I'm having so much fun figuring out what I can't take along in such a small rig, and just how does everything work since the PIO (Previous Idiot Owner) removed all the owners' manuals. He also removed the bathroom door, the window coverings along with the fixtures, the table, and, can you believe - the brains to the satellite dish! After packing and repacking, trying this and that, I decided I needed a shake-down cruise. I checked into a local RV resort. I wanted to stay close to home so my son could come help me check everything out. Well, it was over 100 degrees out and check-in was 1:00 p.m. Fridge didn't like that hot sun on its vent and only worked on the very line between safe and unsafe. Terrific.

Plugged in and turned on the A/C, which blew cool for about 2 minutes and started belching hot air. When I bought Sere, the sales guy and RV tech raved about how the PIO wired a separate circuit so the A/C could run on 20 amps. They enthused about how nice that would be at rallies when they only provide 20 amp service. Well, when my son checked, he discovered the PIO had rewired the A/C to ONLY run on 20 amps. Here I was pumping 30 amps into a 20 amp system - no wonder the wires got hot! Poor Elsa had done nothing but cry ever since leaving home. Now, with the inside temp hovering around 100, her little tongue was hanging out and she was panting so fast I worried about her getting heat stroke. So, now the cat is crying. I'm crying. We're all so hot and although there is a lot of shade on the site, none of the shade is protecting the fridge and door side of the rig! I asked my son to run us home. I figured I'd leave Elsa alone and return to the rig when the sun went down. After my crying jag and a glass of wine. This isn't the first problem I've had, but that's another whole story.

My son remembered that the RV park's power pole had a 20 amp outlet and in a light bulb moment suggested we bring a heavy duty extension cord and plug in the 20 amp circuit PIO installed. That way I would have two cords, my regular 30 amp and this 20 amp extension. I made a call to Sharon, my very patient RV guru, and she told us to check the starting amps needed on the back of the A/C unit. It couldn't be over 20. Sure enough, the plate said 20. Well, it worked. Not extremely well, but it worked. I need a serious talk with the dealership. I know they weren't aware of how this dumb thing was wired, but it's a good thing their buyer and her son have so many years of RVing under our belts. Shooting 30 amps of electricity into a 20 amp system and a wire that gets hotter and hotter is never a good sign. We're lucky we didn't ruin the compressor or start a fire!

The rest of the trial run was fine. I was able to check out the micro, hot water heater, furnace, etc. and discover hanging a bulky bathrobe on the inside of the bathroom door means you have a face full of bathrobe. And who the heck decided the sink fixtures should be on the right? Some of us are left handed, you know! But Sere and I will be just fine. She really is a dream to drive, the sofa is a very comfortable bed, and she sure is pretty.

Pooker

[MandysMom]

I would check Pleasureways web site, they may have the manuals available as PDF files to download . We know about PIO's. Some of the stuff done to our bus by interim owner (the one between the builder and us) was just stupid, such as painting overnice wall paper with latex paint mixed with sand ! Hopefully it will work out. Glad you are having a sense of humor about some of this. What fixtures did he remove?
Velda

[Bethers]

Yikes, that's weird. But I'm so glad you got ac running.

(I moved this to the general room.)

[snowball]

why in the world would a person do that for that matter why any of it...remove the bathroom door
but it sounds like you have a positive outlook and that is half the battle of anything
sheila

[chalet05]

Thank goodness for your son nearby! Glad you are comfortable even with some setbacks.

[Queen]

Wow, how frustrating, dealing with what previous owners decide to do can be so challenging.

We passed on a cute Minnie Winnie a couple of years ago as the PIO (I love that) was a retired engineer and had, per the salesman, done a wonderful job of making the unit more efficient by totally re-plumbing and rewiring it because he didn't like how the designer did it at the plant. All I could see was wires running in strange places and acres of copper pipe (whch weighs a ton).

[avalen]

glad you got your son nearby to sort it out for you. I had to get rid of my bulky bathrobe for that very reason, BULKY, now
I have a much lighter robe but its still a terrycloth type.

[IrishIroamed]

Think you & your son handled it great, especially the things the PIO did. Much better than I would have on a 100* day.

One of the reasons I'm probably stupid for buying new TT, but I figured I'd mess up enough on my own with learning things, without learning wrong because of a PIO.

[MelissaD]

Good luck getting everything the way you want it.

Something does not make sense in the way your AC is wired. Even if plugged into 30 amps the wires should not have gotten hot unless they are too small a gage or there is a short. The a 20 amp circuit should not draw more than 20 amps unless there is an issue. Plus the 20 amp plug and the 30 amp plug is different. Putting the A/C unit, which is normally the largest load in an RV, on a separate circuit can be a huge advantage to allow you to use the other appliances without tripping the 30 amp breaker. When we are on 30 amp service ( 50 amp 5er) we have to turn off the A/C to use the microwave and I sometimes have to run the hot water heater and/or fridge on gas.

As for removing doors. We are larger folk and I kept snagging the bedroom door handle so I removed the bedroom door. It resides in my garage to be reinstalled if I sell my 5er. I also like the additional room to "do my business" if I leave the master bathroom door open (mine are pocket doors). Since I rarely have guests, this is not an issue. Everyone has their own comfort level but when I lived alone, the only door I ever shut was to the outside.

[snowball]

I leave the bathroom door open but haven't removed it and unless I have the fireplace on
rarely close the bed room door (have a 5th wheel as well) the bedroom gets to hot when I leave
it open with the fireplace running,,,
sheila