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Old 10-24-2015, 05:25 PM   #1
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New 1995 Sunline Owner

Hi, My name is Randy and I bought a 1995 Sunline Solaris two days ago. I bought this travel trailer off of a seller on Craigslist and had it delivered to my property. This trailer is in mint condition both inside and out. The only thing missing was the rv battery, which I purchased today. I have to prep it for winter and fire up the furnace as I will use this as a hunting lodge / winter retreat. I have 17 acres of land which is on a hillside and laced with many trails that I use for snowmobiling and four-wheelers. I am glad to be here and hope to get to interact with the members here.
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Old 10-24-2015, 06:16 PM   #2
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Hi Randy, welcome to the SOC. Congrats on your "new" Sunline.
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Old 10-28-2015, 08:06 AM   #3
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1995- Sunline Solaris

Thanks for your reply. This camper is very clean and in mint condition other than a couple of issues with firing up the furnace ( which the PO never used) and the battery monitoring and charging system which I am perplexed by. I installed a new RV 12 volt battery and it went dead after I left the site for a few days. I'm not sure what is going on but hope to get some insight from people who know and have overcome similar problems. Once I get these issues , especially the furnace issue, I can stay over night. I prefer to not run the burners for heat as my electrical issues prevent me from using the battery alone for the fan.

Thanks,
Randy
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Old 10-28-2015, 08:26 AM   #4
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Are you hooked up to shore power? Generator?

There are a lot of "sneaky" loads that will kill the battery if not on charge: Smoke Detector; LP Detector; Radio; Refrigerator (there is a heater strip to prevent sweating), among other things.

Make sure the breaker for the convertor make sure it is on, not tripped.

Post more specific questions and will try to help.
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Old 10-28-2015, 09:29 AM   #5
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I have a generator as this property is considered 17 acres of forest land with no electric service. I have a few switches to the left of the fuses. I will be going back up there as this property is 20 miles from my home. I may have to check to make sure that all the breaker switches are good. I'm sorry that I can't be more specific yet but I will get more familiar and take note of what I find. As far as the battery, I should be ok for the time being if I charge the battery with stand-alone charger and then disconnect one side of the battery when I leave the camper until I get these issues sorted our ? I really appreciate the feedback.
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Randy
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Old 10-29-2015, 04:04 AM   #6
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I had the same problem that was mainly caused by a switch near the top of the refrigerator freezer door called the "climate control switch". It's out of sight, tucked inside the upper part of the freezer door. Turn it off. If it is on, it continually drains the battery very quickly. I believe the purpose of the switch is to eliminate excessive moisture in the refrig. This is fine if you are plugged in on the grid, but terrible for off the grid. It took me a while of aggravation to figure this one out; I looked at everything, converters, sensors, etc. Fortunately, my trailer had all the manuals and I found it in the refrigerator manual. I hope your issue is this simple and saves you some time.
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Old 10-29-2015, 04:35 AM   #7
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Rocketgirl:
Thanks for the insight. I will be going up there today and look for that switch. I would rather be off the grid . I figure that I have to work out these issues so I can move up to that property eventually. It's very peaceful and the object of getting this Sunline was to allow me to stay on property so that I can build a cabin.
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Old 10-29-2015, 02:56 PM   #8
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Running the furnace you'll only get 2-3 days out of the batteries. If you have a generator run it during the day to charge the batteries and turn it off at night.
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Old 10-30-2015, 05:26 AM   #9
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Thank you for the information- It must be necessary to have the battery to run the furnace, I take it. I did find that the climate control switch was on, so I turned it off. I also discovered that the ignition for the furnace must be electronic as I did not find a place to light the furnace, just a bunch of wires an on and off switch and a circuit board. I have charged the battery at home and will take it back to the Sunline to install. The monitor panel for the battery does not light when I try to check the battery condition. It worked when I first connected the rv to the generator but has failed to work since. I will keep looking for answers and I appreciate the assistance that I got at this forum.
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Old 10-30-2015, 05:44 AM   #10
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Yes you have to have a battery or be plugged in. In some cases you will need a battery even if you are plugged in, some converter/chargers won't work with out a battery. In your case it would be a good ideal to find out if the camper is going to be unattended for a long time a dead battery will freeze. If the lights etc. work with the generator then it's not needed. It will be some thing to work depending on how long the camper is unattended in any case it might be a good ideal to disconnect the battery when you leave.
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Old 11-02-2015, 08:12 PM   #11
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Hi Mainah:
Thanks for the feedback. I tried to start the furnace by following all of the steps listed on the furnace door but could not get the furnace to run. I was wondering if there is a thermo-couple or electrode that is defective. I turned the thermostat down, turned the power off to the furnace. Turn the valve switch to off and waited 5 minutes. I then turned the power back on to the furnace and reset the thermostat to the desired temp and nothing happened. I'm sure that this ignition system is electronic as there is a circuit board on the left side of the furnace . I did recharge the battery and checked all of the fuses to make sure that I had power to all circuits. I would rather use the furnace then the stove burners for heat. I will read through the furnace part of the manual again to see what I can find but have no clear way of determining my options at this point.
Randy
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Old 11-03-2015, 05:30 AM   #12
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Do not use stove burners for heat! Very dangerous. People die every year doing this.
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Old 11-03-2015, 05:36 AM   #13
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If the furnace fan is not running, check for a small switch on the bottom of thermostat. Make sure it is on. Sometimes it is hard to move. It controls power to circuit board. Fan should run even without flame if thermostat is calling for heat. I ran out of propane one night and fan just blew cold air.
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Old 11-03-2015, 06:21 AM   #14
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The fan should come on before anything happens it's called a pre-purge it blows any combustibles out of the furnace. After a while if every interlock is proofed the controller will start the ign. and the gas valve will open. So first things first is the fan, if that runs it means the thermostat etc. is working. There are two wires at the thermostat terminals W and RH if nothing happens join them together (it won't shock you) if that produces results then either the switch is not on or the thermostat is toes up. If the fan runs and it does not light then it's either a blocked exhaust port in the side of the camper, bees nest etc. or the board is faulty. There are other possibilities but they are the most common ones. An outfit called Dinosaur they make very nice replacement boards that are light years ahead of the OEM boards and if you really want heat they are the boards to buy.
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Old 11-03-2015, 06:40 AM   #15
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Mainah:

Thanks for your reply. Now I am able to get down to a process of elimination so I can pinpoint the issue with the furnace. I will try to work on a fix this week while the weather is nice. My location is NY and the weather could change for the worse soon. The previous owner never used the furnace and owned this Sunline only one year prior to selling it to me. For all intentional purposes, I got this Sunline cheap as it is a 29 foot travel trailer which is really in mint condition other than the monitor and the furnace. I bought it for $2000. Once I get the furnace fixed, I plan to make sure the water doesn't freeze and then figure out why the battery monitor screen went black, then level the trailer, and get it ready for deer season.
I appreciate all the assistance I get here.

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Old 11-03-2015, 03:26 PM   #16
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Yaah like Maine 65 today maybe 40 next week. I would not relay on the furnace to keep your water from freezing unattended.
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Old 11-04-2015, 09:24 AM   #17
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Randy,

A couple of suggestion when you leave the trailer (in between visits)

- pull out the DC fuses for the Radio and LP detector.
These items continuously draw from the battery and your battery will go dead if the fuses are not pulled.
You may want to consider installing a battery shut-off switch. Then all you need to do is switch the battery shut-off switch to off to keep the battery from going dead in between visit. Much easier then disconnecting & reconnecting the battery each time leave & arrive.
Google "RV Battery shut off switch" and you'll find a lot of options.

- Drain water via low point drain & from HW tank & keep all faucets open.
This will help protect from any water freezes in between visits.

mainah gave excellent advice on troubleshoot your furnace issue to isolate the cause.

Good luck and hope this was of some help.
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Old 11-04-2015, 04:15 PM   #18
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New Sunline Solaris Owner

Thank you for the advice on the battery on and off switch. I spent a good while today trying to make sure the fan works, the thermostat works,and attempted to ignite the furnace. I came to the conclusion that I need a dinosaur board . No matter what I do the furnace blows cold air. I did run rv antifreeze through all the faucets, toilet and shower after adding it mixed with some water in the water storage tank. The tank is not even half full at this point and I made sure the water looked pink . If I could get some ideas about the best place to buy the dinosaur board, I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
Randy
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Old 11-04-2015, 06:27 PM   #19
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The RV antifreeze should be used straight, not mixed with water.
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Old 11-05-2015, 12:30 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyJ55 View Post
... If I could get some ideas about the best place to buy the dinosaur board, I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
Randy
Hi Randy,

I'm not familiar with the dinosaur board, but if you do a Google search on "dinosaur rv furnace board", that will give you some place to start for purchasing and price comparison.

Here's the link to their web site of ignitor boards: http://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/Ignitor_boards.htm

Hopefully mainah or someone else here can provide you with more specific info.

Hope this helps.
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