2001 Sunline Solaris Electrical/Furnace Issues

[kaajot]

Thanks for the extra details, John.

That will really help on the destall. I took a look at the sofa/couch above and decided I'll be taking that off via the nutts on the rocking lever, first the bottom, then the top if necessary. When I was maneuvering it I found more mice droppings and an acorn rolled onto the floor on the inside. It very well could be a ton of acorns that caused the furnace to seize.

I found on amazon the best prices for numerous parts and have them in my cart awaiting when I need them as I pull the furnace out and inspect components. I also found that the Suburban 070811 Burner Access Gasket for $4.50 on Amazon is potentially a direct match to the Atwood 8500-IV series, but will confirm once I pull it out. That particular seal I was worried about of course.

Also, the furnace outside cover has a 1/2" roughly heat seal similar to a frost king application for a regular door. Do I have to use anything specific? I'm going to remove the half-eaten one that was causing some additional heat to be lost because the divider between the exhaust and the rest of the furnace had a good bit eaten by the vermin. Will post a picture later -- going to repaint with rustoleum white spray paint after a light scuffing on the metal.

Will post link again to my Google Drive once I have new pictures uploaded. I may start sub-dividing by phase update folders for ease of finding new pictures on my google drive camper pictures folder.

 

[JohnGB]

Also, the furnace outside cover has a 1/2" roughly heat seal similar to a frost king application for a regular door. Do I have to use anything specific? I'm going to remove the half-eaten one that was causing some additional heat to be lost because the divider between the exhaust and the rest of the furnace had a good bit eaten by the vermin. Will post a picture later -- going to repaint with rustoleum white spray paint after a light scuffing on the metal.
.

If you are talking about the seal that goes around the non burner side of the white cover, meaning it would seal off the motor side, the circuit breaker and the PC board side, then that is a "dust" seal. If it is chewed through or deteriorated that helps explain why it is so dirty in that compartment. They normally are not as dirty as yours.

That is not really a heat seal. At least to my knowledge. The heat that is blowing out comes out of the exhaust port. And yes, a good amount of heat does come out that exhaust port.

The question is, is the amount you are feeling normal for this type of furnace or it is more than normal because the inside of your furnace is clogged up and the heat cannot blow off to the inside of the camper?

Once you get the inside all cleaned up and the fans working right, then go back and feel the outside. They will be heat coming out as these types of furnace are not that efficient. But after cleaning the amount of heat can be less.

Back to the gasket, from what I know that is a dust seal. It should be intact to keep the dirt out. And yes it does look like a Frost King door seal. I am not totally sure there if there anything special about the seal for temperature ratings. There is a lot of plastic parts in that area so it cannot get very hot or there would be other issues.

Hope this helps

John

 

[JohnGB]

On the cover seal, I forgot I have a 8520-IV DCLP out of a 2005 Sunline. This is a little newer than yours and it is only 16,000 BTU rated but the rest of the furnace is made close to yours.

This white foam seal is intact and there is nothing heat rated to it that I can see. There is also gray foam seal on the black plastic frame that is a little deteriorated but again it is not up against any large amounts of heat. These cover seals are about keeping dirt from the outside out of the furnace motor compartment.

That said if this seal is not there, then yes cold air can come into the camper from the outside through this area and inside warm air can escape. So it does help some keep heat inside.

And yes, if your furnace is under the couch, yes take the seat cushion off and luan plywood cover and go in from the top to get the ducts off and the wiring. This is off my prior 2004 T2499 where the furnace was under a coach. The last 2 I took out where under a kitchen sink cabinet and you had to crawl through a draw hole to get the ducts off.

Hope this helps

John

 

[kaajot]

John & All-

So, I'm uploading (and labeling) into a subdirectory my latest batch of pictures called "Furnace Strip Down." Can be found through the original links earlier in this thread, but here's a direct link to the subdirectory with the pictures from my Furnace Strip-Down.

It was dirty. There was a lot of mice droppings, a few acorns. A mouse ran inside the camper again while I was doing this project. I had to drill the old motor out from the burner wheel where it had seized and I pounded it with a hammer, lodging it tighter against the locked setting screw. After I flattened the motor's spindle and could pound no further the broken bit of my 1/8" allen wrench popped out of the setting screw and allowed a second attempt, at which it did come undone. However, the spindle had widened out inside the burner wheel, so I had to take a grinder and drill to it in order to get the old motor out. A new burner wheel is on order. The fan wheel was actually in good condition with only a small chink in one fan blade, so I'm keeping that for now in place.

I also found the sail switch and listened to it -- sounds a lot like one of the noises I heard rattling when the old motor was working, so I am ordering a sail switch just in case.

Now then, I have the furnace reassembled and with a tight gas lock. I did not break apart any seals, but I did flush the entire radiator assembly with soap and water and shook it out really well. It's had another day to dry since then. It was just dusty, no rat's nest or anything came out of the intake or exhaust ports. I had all electronics removed, just a furnace shell and manifold when I flushed it with water.

Now then, my new motor has a red and black. It pretty much is the same wiring. I am 95% certain I've rehooked all wires correctly, HOWEVER when I go to fire the newly refurbished motor I go through about a 15 second check and then the next wiring "hot" phase occurs at which time the 15 amp fuse at the power center pops (and illuminates, nice!). Any ideas on where my wiring error is? I also speculate that it may be my control board as I "moved" several soldered pieces in order to clean it. It has a lot of dust on it and I need to go at it again with some compressed canned air later. I noticed there is a light bulb on the board -- will this give indications of phase and errors it experiences by flashing? I'm not too proud to fire up another 15 amp fuse and run outside to get an indication if that's the case -- anything to help diagnose what's causing the fuse to pop!

That's really it. Also, if you can tell by the pictures, there was a hole in the right ducting (several actually) going to the kitchen and the bedroom ducting was half-disconnected from the furnace housing, so there's a good explanation about some of my lacking effeciency and heat problems before the entire furnace seized. I do believe the motor and furnace wheel seized and caused part of the problem.

One other question -- could I have tightened the furnace wheel too close to the motor-side of the motor spindle and locked the motor up, causing it to over-power itself and pop the fuse in an attempt to spin?

That's all I got. I bought some new ducting from Lowe's and will be running new ducts tonight to the kitchen. If that goes well I'll probably do the same to the bedroom later on when I can kick the dogs off the sofa again. It's going to be a chilly 10-15 degrees a few nights this week, so any help is appreciated to getting the furnace operational and keeping me from carbon monoxide.

-KJ

 

[JohnGB]

Now then, my new motor has a red and black. It pretty much is the same wiring. I am 95% certain I've rehooked all wires correctly, HOWEVER when I go to fire the newly refurbished motor I go through about a 15 second check and then the next wiring "hot" phase occurs at which time the 15 amp fuse at the power center pops (and illuminates, nice!). Any ideas on where my wiring error is? I also speculate that it may be my control board as I "moved" several soldered pieces in order to clean it. It has a lot of dust on it and I need to go at it again with some compressed canned air later. I noticed there is a light bulb on the board -- will this give indications of phase and errors it experiences by flashing? I'm not too proud to fire up another 15 amp fuse and run outside to get an indication if that's the case -- anything to help diagnose what's causing the fuse to pop!

snip...

One other question -- could I have tightened the furnace wheel too close to the motor-side of the motor spindle and locked the motor up, causing it to over-power itself and pop the fuse in an attempt to spin?

Hi KJ,

Looks like you made it through the diss-assembly phase!

Now to the fuse blowing.

You said this:

when I go to fire the newly refurbished motor I go through about a 15 second check and then the next wiring "hot" phase occurs at which time the 15 amp fuse at the power center pops (and illuminates, nice!).

The first thing that should happen when the T stat calls for heat is the blower runs. After a time out period, then the gas valve and ignition start.

Tell us what the motor was doing? Was the motor running for the first 15 seconds and then at the end of the 15 seconds did the fuse pop?

If the fan ran like it was supposed for the first 15 seconds this helps indicate the motor was working. Assuming no grinding noises too.

You say the next hot phase, what do you mean by next hot phase? If the motor was running fine, then after a time out and you may have heard a "clunk" or not, this could have been the gas valve trying to open and the ignition trying to start.

In your vintage, the timing relay runs the motor and the control board runs the gas valve, the ignition and the flame sense feed back. The PC board gets it's signal to run from the timing relay assuming the overtemp and sail switch are OK made. It might be the the issue with blowing the fuse is tied to the ignition/gas vave and not the motor. Or the wiring in the PC board.

The motor is just a 12 volt DC motor. It can be wired backwards and still run but the fans will not pump the correct amount of air running backwards and thus the sail switch may not make when it is supposed to.

If the fan blade spins free by hand, can spin the inside camper blade, then the motor should not be binding up.

If you want to test the motor, just unhook the 2 motor wires and jump them to 12 VDC and it should run. Granted not in a controlled manner but it will run as long as you have it jumped. This can confirm the new motor is good.

If the PC board has some kind of cross connection on the back side of the circuit board, then yes that can be the issue the fuse blew. It is getting a dead short in it. Look for any sight charring of an arc/spark on the back side of the PC board as it crossed to ground somehow.

Also, on the motor, the red wire is DC + (pos) and the black is DC - (neg)

Also as a troubleshooting effort rather then jumping the motor, if you unplug the multi wire connection from the PC board and leave it off, then try the furnace when the T stat calls for heat the motor will run. The timing relay will time out and it will try to fire the PC board. But since the board is unplugged, it will not fire the gas valve or ignition. And, if the blower motor just keeps running, then you know the fuse blowing issue is not in the motor but in the PC board area or wiring to the PC board.

I am away from my main computer with the service manual on the older 2003 models so I cannot link that one. But this one is the 2007 service manual for all Atwood products http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/documents//ec_tmp/Atwood Service and Training Manuals 2007.pdf

If you go to page 90, on the top right is the wiring diagram for your furnace. The one called "Remote Sense"

You can see the white wire off the timing relay goes to the high temp limit switch, then from the high temp limit to the sail switch. From the sail switch the white wire goes to the PC board connector. Be sure those white wires are not touching ground or DC - (neg)

Hope this helps

John

 

[kaajot]

John-

Will disconnect the motor and test it to DC power, also will try disconnecting circuit board.

To clarify, motor is not spinning.

What I hear after furnace select ON on Thermostat and raising temp to 65+ deg is an audible click. I then wait 10-15 seconds and a click is heard at the furnace and at that moment the power center flashes with blue electricity as the fuse pops for the furnace, at which point a broken fuse indicator illuminates since there is power and an open circuit to that fuse for the furnace.

Does that help narrow the idea on what could be wrong?


Apologies about my furnace R^2 pictures — have not been able to label them since my solar power keyboard is low on power and needs some strong light to charge, ergo no typing atm.

 

[JohnGB]

You might have 2 problems at the same time

The first click could be the timing relay was energized to start the fan motor but the motor never started. Issue with the motor or wiring

The second click after a time out could be the timing contact on the relay times out to allow power to the PC board. If the white wires to over temp switch , sail switch or the board itself has a short then it could pop the fuse

Your plan to test the motor is good. Then if you have an ohm meter try and test for a short to ground on the white wire to the board with the board unplugged. If none then the board may have issues.

 

[kaajot]

Motor Works!

Hey John & All-

The new motor was bound too tightly to the combustion wheel, so that’s why it was blowing the fuse trying to send more amps than necessary to unbind the wheel. It now turns quite smoothly after a direct dc test. The old motor also turns, so maybe I didn’t need to change it but it didn’t sound great and I’m happy with the quiet operation of this one.

Now now more fuses are blowing. Thermostat works and when demand for a warmer cabin temperature is input, the blower motor turns on and spins. But that’s it, cold air as long as you want!

So, my next question is this a sail switch issue or a direct ignition replacement need? I have both on order, may be here within the week. What can I do to test? Could the board be bad? Can I disengage the board and try to get heat in that way?

 

[JohnGB]

OK, you are gaining!!! You have wind with no noise. YEH

Now to no heat....

Need to know if you heard "any" sounds from the furnace after the time out period of the blower just start to run? Like a "clunk" of the gas valve opening and or if you can hear a sparking faint sound. Hear anything??

I'll first ask, are you sure the motor is hooked up that the red wire is DC + and the black wire is going to DC - (neg)? It can run both ways but only create enough wind to close the sail switch running the correct way. Also make sure the DC power wires feeding the furnace are not switched with the Sunline DC + and DC minus. Sunline used black as DC + and white as DC - which is different then what Attwood uses. Being a DC motor, the polarity sets the direction the motor runs.

Assuming you have the motor spinning the right way, AND you do not hear any clunks of gas valves or faint sparking, you need to hone in on if the PC board is even being told to turn on.

The PC board gets it's power to turn on from the requirement that both the hi temp switch is closed and the sail switch is closed. When both are closed and the motor is running, power flows through the white wires attached to hi temp limit switch and the sail switch to the PC board.

Do you have a DC volt meter or even a 12 volt test light? You can pull the plug connector off the PC board, put the test light or meter into the white wire plug on the connecter and then go to DC - (ground) with the meter wire or test light wire. Fire up the furnace with the blower running. After a timing period you should get 12 volt power on that white wire. If you do, then the sail switch and the hi temp switch is all working. If not you have to figure out why not.

If the white wire does have power and still no gas valve clunks or faint sparking sound, then make sure the DC - (ground) wire in that PC board plug is attached to a good ground.

The PC board has a yellow wire that Atwood uses for a DC - negative. See this pic of yours. Had to download then upload on my photo site to show it. I think this is after you put the new motor in as it looks all cleaned up

The PC board has 3 wires in the white connector plug.

White is the power feed to the board back from the hi temp limit switch and the sail switch.

Yellow is supposed to be the DC - (neg) for the board

Red on the white connector plug is the gas valve power.

If you have proved you have power on the white wire after a time out and the motor running, then test again for power on the white wire using the yellow wire in the plug as the DC -. If you still have power at the test light/meter then the PC board is at least getting power.

You can test the red connector wire for power too once you hook the connector back to the PC board. Un plug the red wire off the gas valve. Stock your test light or volt meter in the red wire as pos +. Then go to DC neg with the other part of the test light. Start the furnace, wait this time out period and if the red wire gets power, then that would mean the gas valve was sent power by the board. If you do not get that then the board can be bad.

Hope this helps

John

 

[kaajot]

John-

Thanks for all the suggestions. Other than the red/white DC question that has me worried initially about the battery, I’m pretty knowledgeable about the wires and have traced out the entire schematic with a few Atwood YouTube videos also. I’m 99.99% confident in my wiring now that the mechanical part fixed the motor. I was an F-15 crew chief (mechanic) and a very bad one — all brains and no mechanical aptitude, no car repair skills except with my car radio in HS. Scored a 99 on the ASVAB, entered a career field requiring something like a 44. Haha — also had my BA from Michigan State. I was very gullible. I owe the recruiter a kick to the bits if I ever see him. I could have commissioned within a year instead of 3.5 years later, but that’s besides the point.

I have the dc+\- connected right. Also, I repaired the white wires that had been grounded out with a slice, strip, wire nutt and *electical* tape. I will double check these for continuity as I think they’re the relays that go to the board that you suggested could halt powering the board and energizing the igniter/valve for gas.

Retrospectively, I played with the sail switch and if it were to rapidly fail/energize without total failure, that and a clunk (opening/closing gas valve) rapidly failing/energizing would mimic the sounds I heard when the furnace was on its last legs. That’s why I ordered a new sail switch for $7 and ignition for $10 off amazon.

I’ll pull the board relay and shoot those wires. I have a really nice Southwire multimeter I use for all my diagnostics on my 92 F150 and my photovoltaic systems/house systems. Have the cheap Harbor Freights too, and a decent test light from Canada.

I’m leaning towards the relay switch and/or sail switch having failed completely, but think the board could also be the culprit. I checked on Amazon just in case and they have a great Dinosaur Electronics board that’s compatible with the Atwood 85 series. Bonus, that board is only like $45 and has an led light to give indications for most module/component faults.

If the relay and sail are sending power I’ll order the board tonight, but I’m leaning towards the wires telling me there’s no relayed power which could be broken wires or components or both. I did not see any evidence of burning on the wires, just some mice gnawing on the white wires that I repaired. If the board doesn’t come with a new relay plug, any idea where to buy one?

Finally, I may have moved the board’s ground to a different peg (4 points, 1 used by the incoming power connection’s yellow wire). There’s always the chance the peg I selected has poor contact. I’ll shift to another spare grounding peg and see if that makes any difference.

What are the chances I need a new burner it direct spark ignition? Do those DSIs ever wear out?

 

[JohnGB]

Can I disengage the board and try to get heat in that way?

Sorry, forgot to answer this.

Short answer, no....

The board runs the gas valve and the ignition. No board, no gas and no spark = no heat...

 

[kaajot]

Sorry, forgot to answer this.

Short answer, no....

The board runs the gas valve and the ignition. No board, no gas and no spark = no heat...

Thought so. And also thought If it were possible that it would be an extreme fire hazard due to no safety checks.

 

[JohnGB]

Snip...
I’m leaning towards the relay switch and/or sail switch having failed completely, but think the board could also be the culprit.


snip...
If the relay and sail are sending power I’ll order the board tonight, but I’m leaning towards the wires telling me there’s no relayed power which could be broken wires or components or both. I did not see any evidence of burning on the wires, just some mice gnawing on the white wires that I repaired. If the board doesn’t come with a new relay plug, any idea where to buy one?

Snip...

What are the chances I need a new burner it direct spark ignition? Do those DSIs ever wear out?

The timing relays have gone bad before. And yes the motor may run and the timing contact die to not send power to the PC board or both but your motor runs so half of it is working. Trace out that power is going to the sail switch and that power is going to the PC board. That will confrim relay is good or bad and sail switch etc.


If you are asking will a new PC board come with the white plug to plug onto it? well not normally I think but not 100% sure. As long as the plug is not messed up you can add new wires etc. Butt splice or solder in new wires to replace bad wire as needed.


Does the ignition electrodes wear out? They can go bad, the porcelain can crack and spark jumps to ground in the wrong place. And or they can get bent an too far away etc.

To help, see PDF page 97 on how yours works. I'm sorry this link did not work the other night, I posted the wrong one. Sunline Coach Owner's Club - Sunline Owner's Files - Atwood 2007 Service and Training Manual

PDF page 106 talks about the timing relay, sail switch and the hi limit temp switch

PDF Page 108 talks about the burner and the gap setting of 1/8" between the electrode.

Hope this helps

John

 

[kaajot]

Thanks for the good pdf! That’ll help while I check power.

Are the wires 16 gauge or 14 gauge on that white plug? I looked all over their cooores jackets - lots of data, but no gauge like most wires offer. Mainly asking if I determine a continuity problem on the white wires for the relay and sail and decide to put new wires instead of splice.

Ok, I think I got this now. Hopefully it’s a sail switch problem since that’s in the way already or a wire continuity as I can just insert that now.

Will get to a good burner signal and come
Back to update whether the board needs replacing or DSI needs swop with the spare I have on order.

Once this is all set my next big feat will be testing the hot water heater and also insulating those cavities around the furnace. The water pump wires, no idea about the hot water heater — have not used it at all in the 3 years I’ve owned the Sunline. Goal will be to get hot water finally working for quick showers. Very tired of showers every 3-5 days when the house is airbnb’d!!

Repaired two of my generators today, now can recharge the camper battery and use 1500w space heater. Big wins just in time as the temp drops back to the low 20s again.

Oh, last odd question. Original owner was showing me the systems in 2015 and the water pipes to the showe burst for some reason and the power center fuses and relays below those pipes naturally flipped/popped. WHY is the power center below those shower pipes!? What could cause them to back off when running water in the camper? I found one was cracked and it took awhile but I put a new elbow on it, so it’s good and tight. Am I at risk for some user error that will burst those pipes and send water showering all over my new power center? I’ve avoided water use in the camper after I saw this and now that I’ve repaired what I think caused it, I just want to be safe and avoid calamity. I think next Summer I will run wires to the front floor below the cupboard to the 12v 30a fuse area and relocate the power center so it’s not in this poorly chosen location, but for now I just wanted to make sure i didn’t do something that would cause the pressure to build up and burst one of the shower lines above the power center when I try to use the water system.

 

[JohnGB]

I am away from being able to measure the wire gage right now, but since they are using a 10 amp circuit breaker in the incoming power line, they might be using 16 awg. Once you splice into it you can measure it to confirm.

You can use 14 awg, it should fit without too much issue and that is good for the 15 amp fuse Sunline would have on the whole circuit.

On your cracked piping, not being able see the cracking my first thought goes to frozen pipes. The prior owner may have not winterized the camper well enough and it cracked a pipe. Very doable.

If it was leaking at a fixture fitting where there is a nut that spins onto say a faucet etc, they have a gasket cone inside the fitting. That gasket cone can get old and brittle and the nut can loosen sometimes due to road vibration. That can create a leak or drip but it is not a burst pipe.

Why did they put the power converter under water piping... That is a good question and it happens on some floor plans. Not all, but some. We have had members before report issues, so the problem does happen. Not a lot but it happens and it's not good when it does.

Your plan to mitigate the issue sounds like a good thing to do. I myself would in your case.

The water heater.... after you get through doing a furnace... the water heater is lot less complex. We can help on that too if and when the time comes. The service manual I linked you on the furnace also has the Atwood water heaters in it too.

Until then... Good luck and hope this helps

John

 

[kaajot]

Waiting Game

Thanks for the continual support, knowledge and suggestions there John!

So, I tested with my fuse light. The power is not being sent to the control board, so as much as I might like a shiny new dinosaur electronics board, there’s a good chance the sail switch I have on order arriving tomorrow may indeed fix the problem just as we dip below 20F again tomorrow night.

In case the timing relay is also needing replacement, would you have a good suggestion on where to find and its part number? Amazon is not pulling up anything in my generic searches, will try eBay and google next.

It definitely makes sense the sail switch is the likely culprit — the sound of it hitting the plastic fan/motor casing it’s mounted against is one of the sounds that I heard incessantly before the system completely stopped providing safe heat.

 

[JohnGB]

On Page 129 in the PDF I linked you too it has part numbers on the 8500 series furnaces.

It shows a Klixon relay number 31017 Or using Atwood relay 31017

A hit on that shows this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Atwood-Hyd...h=item4b5713c6af:g:m-MAAOxy1GNSTxir:rk:5:pf:0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Atwood-310...h=item2ca6f7f9bb:g:8ewAAOSwQPlV~E0r:rk:9:pf:0

And on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/MC-31017MC-E...1544067528&sr=8-1&keywords=atwood+31017+relay

I am not 100% sure that is the correct one, check the looks of it at least to the one you have now.

Hope this helps


John

 

[kaajot]

That’s the one!

John-

Yeah, that’s the time delay relay! Glad I can get it fairly quickly after all.

Going to download the pdf now that I’m at a Starbucks WiFi and can reference it while I muddle through part swaps and wire repairs.

Might have great success tomorrow if the sail switch arrives on time tomorrow and is the only problem.

-KJ

 

[kaajot]

John & all-

Thanks for the help. I swapped the sail switch, held it to contact after the motor started up and my furnace lit up with hot air! It’s very quiet now. The old motor did work (tried it) but was noisy. The sail switch was causing a lot of the other racket by engaging/disengaging. So there you go!

The board is working so far but I think I’m reupholstering the couch in the spring or Summer and will swap out a few things then including the board or at least have it ordered and on standby as it’s surely one of the next things that would fail given its age and cleanliness.

Repairing the ducts and dust seal next, then we’ll see about putting water into the tank and heating it up.

Oh, to help with heating, although it would encourage mice (working on sealing those issues), is there any reason not to put bails of hay around the camper to help keep things warmer and keep the water warm? I could install a T duct at the bedroom heating vent and push a smaller vent under the bed storage where the water tank sits. I don’t plan on completely filling it so if it freezes it won’t burst. Probably about half full max at a time unless I’m out here for a week or longer (my Christmas and New Years, is out here for an 11 day stint, so I’d like to get the shower working).

Thanks again!

-KJ

 

[JohnGB]

Hi KJ,

Glad you now have heat!!! And out of all this, you know just about every part in your furnace!

Thanks for reporting back.

On the winter camping, that is a post in itself. We have had many posts on that.

Here are a few that may help. This first post has a link to a guy who did this in the Yukon. But he had access to 120 VAC.
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f63/winter-camping-in-my-new-2005-tran-sport-t-2675-a-18458.html

http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f65/winter-camping-18328.html

http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f63/winter-camping-13116.html

Also here is our Google Custom search link for the Sunline Owners Club forum. Same link as in my signature. Just type in "winter camping" and hit search, the blue button and read for hours. This search was made by our Admin really helps find past topics

https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=015066045223804731395:95x3m3w6lto


We winter camp in our Sunline but we have maybe one of the few with heated enclosed tanks that I have even done more upgrades to. Mine may have been a prototype as I have not yet found another Sunline travel trailer with a heated tank compartment. Some have electric heating pads on the water tanks to help, just not the heated and enclosed compartment.

In your case, not being plugged in 24/7 to 120 VAC is a concern. It is for sure easier with shore power. But I have tent camped down to zero before too so it is all doable.

In those posts above look for, 2 big topics to understand.

• Shrink wrap on the windows
• Controlling moisture in the camper

And yes, putting some type of banding around the bottom of the camper is a good thing. I think a standard straw bail may fit inside a 50-gallon trash bag. If you get some heavy duty drum liners and put the bails in them, they will still insulate but not get wet and soggy. And may help slow down the mice issue.

Hope this helps

John