Bought a 2018 North Trail 24BHS! Now what?

[mutmmommie]

So, I'm a single woman and just traded a 2000 Palomino Stampede Hybrid for a new North Trail 24BHS. I also traded my Ford Explorer for a new 2017 Dodge Ram 1500! My first truck. (eek!) I took possession of the new trailer on Jan29 and parked it at a storage facility near my house. Last weekend I stopped by and the battery as dead. I hooked up to the truck for a few minutes and could see that the fridge, the radio and red mystery light under where the TV goes were left on....so I turned them off. Is there a battery disconnect button somewhere that I either don't remember during the pre-delivery inspection or wasn't brought to my attention?

Also, at the end of the pre-delivery inspection, the dealer tech drained all of the water that he had added for purposes of the demonstration. Last weekend, however, I noticed a drip of water from the kitchen sink. The weather (I'm in Texas) has wildly ranged from the 40s to the 80s this week....until this morning when we briefly dropped to 30 for little while. The forecast through the weekend calls or a couple of nights between 28-32. Should I be concerned about the pipes? We are taking our first adventure on Feb 16, but until then I will not be able to connect to water or power.

 

[danemayer]

Hi mutmmommie,

Congratulations on the new North Trail and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

Even with everything turned off inside the trailer, there are still parasitic loads from some devices and alarms that consume a little power even when turned off. You'll probably need to install a cutoff switch near the battery. Or you can disconnect battery cables. But a cutoff switch would be better. Disconnecting and reconnecting battery cables can invite problems. Any RV dealership will have a cutoff switch and they're not very expensive.

Occasionally in Texas, you can get a cold snap that's worse than expected and endanger your plumbing components if the trailer hasn't been winterized. 28-32 (F) may not cause damage, but the problem is that temperature reports may not reflect the temperature where your trailer is located.

You should take a look at our Winterization Guide. You probably need $10 or less in antifreeze to completely winterize your trailer. The hardest part is usually locating the water heater bypass valves, and the antifreeze suction valve and hose. But as this is an annual exercise, the sooner you get through it the first time, the better off you'll be.

 

[Pokiejoe]

Welcome to the group you will find just about every thing you need to know about your rig here.When you get it just like you want it come on out to New Mexico and see our state.

 

[redevil]

Nice, congrats on the new NT 24BHS. I have a 2017 one and love it also a 2015 Ram 1500. It does not have a battery disconnect switch, I installed one myself to avoid the battery drain. The red light under TV is an antenna signal booster which will drain your battery if left on when parked.

I'm in Canada so we always winterize our trailers in Calgary during the winter months.

 

[mutmmommie]

Nice, congrats on the new NT 24BHS. I have a 2017 one and love it also a 2015 Ram 1500. It does not have a battery disconnect switch, I installed one myself to avoid the battery drain. The red light under TV is an antenna signal booster which will drain your battery if left on when parked.

I'm in Canada so we always winterize our trailers in Calgary during the winter months.

Thanks to all that responded! I purchased battery disconnect and will get my cousin's husband to install for me next weekend when I take her for her first camping trip! I'm so excited!

 

[danemayer]

Thanks to all that responded! I purchased battery disconnect and will get my cousin's husband to install for me next weekend when I take her for her first camping trip! I'm so excited!

After the installation, 2 checks to make sure no problems have been created:

1. Make sure interior lights are working when not plugged into shore power (working on the battery can trip the manual reset 12V mini-circuit breaker near the battery).

2. Make sure when connected to shore power that you're getting 13.2-13.6V DC at the battery (working on the battery you can blow the fuses on the power converter).

Neither of these possibilities is terribly likely. But they're easy to correct and it's better to find out before you go camping.

 

[ww8q]

Congratulations on your new North Trail. I had the same issue, dead battery, last year when I purchased our QB300. I installed the battery cut off switch and problem solved. Now I just have to remember to turn it switch off when I park the camper.

 

[pedirob]

Congrats! I also just upgraded from a Palomino Stampede hybrid to a NT 24BHS! Huge upgrade! I’ve already drained my battery so this info was helpful to me too.