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RV Doctor ColumnRV Doctor #323 Dear RV Doc, I have an older Jayco 30-foot travel trailer. I cannot get the running lights to work at all. I have tested the connection from my vehicle and it tests okay. Any common things I can look for? The brake lights and turn signals work just fine. I have looked at all the bulbs and they too seem okay. Will a burned out bulb break a complete circuit? Mike Jackson, ( Livonia , MI )
Mike, if you are sure the tow vehicle plug is wired to match exactly the configuration on the trailer plug, then I'd check the ground circuit carefully. Be sure there is a good ground between each lamp in the circuit and the frame or exterior skin of the trailer. Evidently there is a good ground connection between the tow vehicle and the trailer since the turn signals and stop lamps work; (by the way, it's the same filament in those bulbs for both the turn signals and the stop lamps). On a travel trailer, the running lights are wired in parallel which means one bulb could go out and the rest will still work, but I'm guessing you have an open circuit in that circuit before the voltage even reaches the first lamp. One or two lamps not working is one thing, but no lamps working leads me to believe a fuse has blown on the trailer or there is an open in that circuit. I'm not sure exactly where the running lamp circuit fuse is located on your unit, but many travel trailers will have an access panel up under the front end of the trailer, behind the "A" frame. Just follow the electrical cable and see where it disappears into the trailer. Some fuses may be located behind a panel secured to the underbelly pan. In some cases the fuses may be located inside the trailer. As an additional troubleshooting step you can apply 12-volts DC from a small battery charger or other 12-volt source directly to the bulb contact on one of the two front corner running lamps. If the remaining lamps light up, then the problem is between the electrical connector on the "A" frame and that first lamp in the circuit.
Dear Gary, I have a 1982 Dodge RV President model. The water heater needs a new gas burner. The manufacturer of the water heater is American Appliance Manufacturing Corp. I can't see the model clearly but it looks like it's a six gallon. It's an automatic light water heater. I am having trouble tracking down the parts. Bruce Nelson, ( Litchfield , MN )
Bruce, American Appliance water heaters were purchased by Suburban Manufacturing back in 1987. Suburban still is a major provider of water heaters for RVs, so any six-gallon Suburban burner should suffice. If indeed it is a direct spark American Appliance, Suburban burners of the same size water heater will work. Your closest Camping World service center should have no problem ordering a new burner for your unit. They will, however, have to know which control valve assembly is equipped on your water heater. If you cannot read all the data on the data plate, then it's best they take a look at it to determine the correct parts. But you may want to consider a brand new water heater. You'll be getting the new warranty plus a more efficient water heater. Just a thought.
Dear Gary, I have a 1999 Dodge 2500 diesel pickup with an 8-foot bed. I purchased a used 10-foot Alaskan cabover camper. To put the camper on the truck one must put the tail gate down. I cannot get to my spare tire because the hole (for the spare tire crank) in back of the truck is partially covered by the tail gate. This has to have come up for other owners of Dodge trucks as the body style was the same from about 1995 through 2002. Can you give me any pointers or solutions? Russell Wilson, ( Roslyn , WA )
Russell, I'm unaware if there are any modifications you can make to the spare tire access port, but if the camper does not require the additional support of the gate itself, remove the gate entirely before loading the camper. This applies only if the bed will support enough of the camper without the assist from the lowered tail gate. If the lowered gate is essential to supporting the camper, then the only other options are a front bumper mount for the spare, a roof mount (on the camper) for the spare or a rear mount for the spare on the back of the camper. I don't think you'd want to risk running without a spare.
Dear RV Doctor, I have a Starcraft tent trailer with 10-inch Fayette electric brakes. I bought it used. The original owner did not hook the electric brakes to a brake control line. He spliced it into the line for the taillights. Needless to say, I need to rewire it so it will work properly with my brake controller. I would like to know if it matters which of the two wires on the electric brakes is connected to the hot wire from the brake controller and which one is the ground. Also, do the lines for the electric brakes need to have fuses on them? Should the fuses be auto reset fuses? If so, what amperage? I was also told that the electric brakes should be wired in parallel, not in series. Is this true? If so, should each part of the parallel circuit have its own auto reset fuse? Thanks for your help. Greg Cook, ( Escondido , CA )
Greg, I amazed that fellow did not experience smoldering wires! You are wise to use the brake controller. It matters not which wire of each magnet is wired to hot or to ground; there is no polarity involved within each magnet. Do not fuse the blue brake wire from the controller through the plug to the brakes, but do install a 20-amp automatically resettable circuit breaker on the hot wire that powers the controller. The magnets are indeed wired in parallel with one wire from each magnet wired to the blue "hot" line and one wire from each magnet connected to the ground circuit at the plug. Do not use a frame ground, but be sure the connections at the plug between the trailer and the tow vehicle are clean, dry and tight!
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