Help....!!!!!! A stressed out newbie

steve8003

Member
Help.......I purchased a NEW 2016 Oakmont 390MBL on 10/17 and took it out to an area only 50 miles from house on 10/23.......The dealer, Camping World did not give me any filled tanks of LPG as they promised......Got ready to settle in for night and get a hot shower.....I had followed the instructions for filling the water heater so as not to burn out the element......but since no gas turned on electric but would not function next day went and bought propane and the water heater still would not work.....as least i could walk to the showers...... but the furnace did thank goodness....we had light fixture covers falling off.......... one went missing, may never have been there to start with....light fixture over fireplace missing screws so it was swinging loose on the wall......glass cover over stove defective and would not fold back and defective light in basement........man I love an adventure but dang.......I thought it odd the dealer kept streesing that this was a home on the road and the vibrations and jarring would cause things to happen.......but I just bought it........please someone tell me this is not normal
 

Bones

Well-known member
You might have to reset the water heater because it had a no flame condition due to no propane.
 

Capt7383

Well-known member
There should be a switch in your control panel that would indicate whether the hot water tank is running off of electric or propane make sure it's in the propane position if that's what you want to use

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi steve8003,

Sorry to hear your first trip was so rough. Sounds like most of the problems will need minor adjustments/repairs.

The water heater issue could be a number of things. On a brand new trailer, if you have a Suburban water heater, the dealer may have neglected to turn on the secondary switch for electric operation. If you remove the outside cover, the switch is a small rocker switch in the bottom left corner. It may have a cotterpin securing it in the OFF position. Suburban uses this switch to protect the heating element from people who flip switches while walking through a trailer on the dealer lot.

As Bones mentioned, after filling the propane tanks, the air in the line needs to be purged. The water heater on gas operation will make 3 ignition tries and then lock out for safety reasons. If you turn it off and on, that resets the lockout and it'll try 3 more times. It could take several cycles to purge the air.

If none of this helps, and you'd like to tackle the problem yourself, take a look at our Water Heater Troubleshooting Guide.
 

steve8003

Member
Nope that was one of the things I checked out first.......The unit is in the shop and when i asked about possibly being able to use it over Thangsgiving they said not sure.........I failed to mention that the factory was already replacing the entire back skin of my 5th due to a "noticed defect.........
 

steve8003

Member
Yep I made sure the lines were purged of air by going to the farthest gas operated item on the tanks...the stove.....they lit after a few seconds and the furnace ignited also right up.....but that water heater just would not go.....I checked all the wiring looking for loose connections nothing.....before I started turning on the heater I made sure I purged all the air out of the water lines by opening the pop off valve when I turned on the water then opened all the spigots to make the air was completely out.....just would not go......I suspect when i took delivery the "service Dept" had already burned the element up......
 

Shortest Straw

Caught In A Mosh
Just let this experience help you in the future. Make it a learning experience. Make sure when you pick your rig up after the repairs are done that you have it in for that you work everything. Touch everything. If it moves see that it moves in the way it was designed. If it is supposed to be attached to a wall, make sure it is. Before you go out on your next trip make sure that everything is tight and operational. Get in the habit of doing this because as long as you own your rig you will need to do this. You will learn things as you go and eventually you will become comfortable with your rig and it wont seem so overwhelming. In your spare time read up on the forums here. There are lots of threads with good advice. I learn every day by reading them. Sorry you are dealing with camping world. Stay on top of them so that you do not get lost in their system, or a lack thereof.
 

chaplady

Well-known member
One key step is to perform a pdi before leaving dealer lot. Where the dealer has trailer set up you walk through each item like lighting stove, hot water working on gas & electric,heater working fridge & freezer works no water leaks etc etc. This saves alot of frustration most cases at campground on 1st trip.
 

steve8003

Member
Thanks I was already planning on going through everything........it has been very educational.....I assumed (and you know what that means) that everything would be good first time out.....I guess the dealer does not do a PDI on RV's like a new car dealer would........I will be doing a lot of reading up and checking before I head out next time......Thanks for the good words

- - - Updated - - -

I guess also what I am sensing from the posts is that my experience was not too uncommon............ until it is your trailer and you know it is all good......
 

Shortest Straw

Caught In A Mosh
Yes it is kinda like that. But even when you get "used" to your rig you cannot assume it is all good. Our latest rig is our fifth. The wife and I have a list of things we do and check from our experiences. One thing we do from time to time is she will stay inside with the slides closed in the dark and I will shine a flashlight at the slide seals. No light on the inside is a good thing. Another thing we learned on a recent trip was to always keep a little bit of water in the fresh tank. When we get to our next destination, while setting up, she will flip on the water pump and we will both listen for it to cycle after it pressures up the system. We found a couple of water leaks due to loose connections over the years that we would not have found on the city water connection. Live and learn.
 

chaplady

Well-known member
Also one thing I do at the beginning of each summer if u can is hook water ,electricity up at home check things out too. Like a pre trip inspection. Saves frustration too.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Also one thing I do at the beginning of each summer if u can is hook water ,electricity up at home check things out too. Like a pre trip inspection. Saves frustration too.

During the summer months I generally have our trailer hooked up (except sewer) as we use the trailer as an extra bedroom for out-of-towners . . . and often comes in handy if there is more than one person waiting for the shower (only have one full bath in the house).

As for the electric . . . whenever the trailer is parked next to the house (which is whenever we are not on the road with it) I keep it plugged in to the electric always!

I winterized the water system last week, so no more showers until next spring (except for our winter trip to the Arizona HOC Rally in Tucson in February)!

New trailer and old trailer (2013 Heartland Trail Runner) parked at the house:

ProwlerInYard-P1000054.jpg CamperInYard-IMG_0069.jpg
 

lynndiwagoner

Well-known member
I don't think there is any "element" that will burn off if you light the HW heater on gas without water. I would turn on the HW heater on gas and run outside and open the cover and see if it is trying to light. You can tell.... Start there or, better yet, let the dealer fix it. Good luck. You will learn all of the tricks....
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
I don't think there is any "element" that will burn off if you light the HW heater on gas without water. I would turn on the HW heater on gas and run outside and open the cover and see if it is trying to light. You can tell.... Start there or, better yet, let the dealer fix it. Good luck. You will learn all of the tricks....

I use the electric heater for the water tank unless I need to use the gas heater . . .

When I need hot water in a hurry . . . I use both gas and electric!
 

gasman

Camp Socializer
As you use your trailer, periodically check the water and drain lines under the sinks. Fittings work loose as you travel down the road. Make sure the supply line connections are tight as well as the p-trap connections. You will find that screws will work loose as you travel also.
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
Haven't seen a Camping World dealer yet that anybody was happy with. There is a service disconnect switch on the electric side of the water heater. It's a small red on off switch located near the bottom of the water heater itself. If that is in the off position it won't work on electric...Don
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
As you use your trailer, periodically check the water and drain lines under the sinks. Fittings work loose as you travel down the road. Make sure the supply line connections are tight as well as the p-trap connections. You will find that screws will work loose as you travel also.

Ironically . . . the other day I noticed that the screws on the fenders were all loose, so I grabbed the square-head screw driver and started tightening the fender screws.

After tightening them all, one of the fenders was still loose, so I crawled under the slide out only to find that the fender bracket was not screwed to the frame.

And upon further inspection, found that it never had been screwed to the frame, but was just left hanging from the factory!

I tried to drill a hole and screw it to the frame, but apparently my drill isn't man enough to drill the holes required!

As luck would have it, I'm hauling the trailer to the dealer in the morning to get a whole list of warranty items repaired . . . so one more item for the list!

- - - Updated - - -

Haven't seen a Camping World dealer yet that anybody was happy with.

I love Camping World for the store to buy supplies . . . I will always keep my membership active!

But as far as their service department is concerned . . .

My one experience with them is a deal breaker that will have me to NEVER rely on them for anything in their service department (ie.- less than 200 miles later and 1000 miles from home we were left stranded for two days and $1000 bill for a band-aide repair just to get us home for something their service manager of the Flagstaff, AZ Camping World should have noticed instead of just selling me a $15.00 hub cap and wound up costing $3000 more to fix after we got home)!

Here are two photos I took of our 2013 Heartland Trail Runner in the parking lot of the Flagstaff, AZ Camping World that day . . .

CamperAt CWFlagstaffAZ.jpg CamperAt CWFlagstaffAZwheels.jpg

That day wound up being the beginning of the end of our Heartland Trail Runner experience . . . their service manager should have never let us leave their parking lot!

And to make matters worse . . . we were the ONLY customer in the store at that moment . . . they were all sitting around the cash register drinking coffee when I walked in!

And if it wasn't for the Heartland Owner's Club, we would have purchased a different brand of trailer when we decided to get rid of the two year old and less than 5000 miles on it 2013 Heartland Trail Runner!

I loved that trailer and do miss it for the many reasons we bought it in the first place!

That being said . . . our new 2015 Heartland Prowler is awesome and we love everything about it!
 
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Vikisue

Member
We bought the same trailer. Our experience has been all on our own,the dealer taught us nil!!! We're not in love w/ the electric only fridge and are still learning a lot. Will be learning on the fly because we're off and traveling come mid Nov.
 

Oregon_Camper

Well-known member
I love Camping World for the store to buy supplies . . . I will always keep my membership active!

What? You have to have a membership to shop there? OMG!

I can't think of ONE reason I'd ever go to Camping World. Amazon.com can get me just about anything I need...to my door...in 2 days.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
What? You have to have a membership to shop there? OMG!

I can't think of ONE reason I'd ever go to Camping World. Amazon.com can get me just about anything I need...to my door...in 2 days.

Not to shop there . . . but to get discounts on stuff!

I just stopped in there a couple of hours ago after dropping our Prowler off at the dealership for warranty repairs.

Didn't buy anything . . . but looked around none the less!

I still like shopping in stores and only buy online if it is the only way I can get something.
 
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