New Camper to us and A/C qusetions

[02Oilburner]

We just got a 2004 Coachmen Dream Catcher 325RLS in September of 2015. It had been in storage for the majority of its life. We had a friend whose parents owned it that bought it new and used it for 3 months in Florida. They came home from Florida and the dad passed away shortly after. So it sat in storage for ALONG TIME. We found out about it and went to look at it and the inside is like brand new. There were no leaks, no mold, and everything worked except the fridge and the Main A/C(the A/C in the bedroom blows ICE cold.) We asked what he wanted for it and were told just the payoff which was $4000! So 4 new tires later we took her home! Now here is where I need some knowledge from you PROs. I switch the thermostat on to cool and I hear the main unit sound like it comes on. The fan does not come on. We have the A/C that is vented in the ceiling for the main A/C. I am wondering if this just a fan that needs replacing or if it is a larger problem with the a/c. The fan does not function at all even when you just turn fan only on. The fridge sounds like it wants to come on but the a Check light comes on. We have 50 amp ability but have only hooked up to my 20 amp outside home receptacle and a 30 amp camp ground hook up. Does the main a/c need 50 amps? I know the fridge does not. We have not tried the propane yet because we are so new to campers and the tanks are 10+ years old. Don't know if they have fuel in them or if we should go have them replaced. Thanks for any help you guys can send my way! Here are a couple pictures. Sorry about the quality!
Jeff

 

[BIG JOE]

With the A/C & Refer issues... yul need to hook it up to 50 amps FIRST.. 50 amp rigs are purdy anal about any less than 50 amp service. Some systems.. won't operate (properly) on 30 amps. I wouldn't try anything more starts of any thing.. you could do some damage.

Don't throw any money or parts at the new to you Rig... 'til you've hooked it up to a 50 amp service.

After 4 years in storage.. it may take awhile for the Propane system to purge any air out of those systems. Age.. shouldn't be a concern with the Tanks. Shut off the tank valve, remove the tank(s), slowly poor warm water on them.. yul see the LPG gas level (if any, after the storage time).

My .02 ?

Dogman ??

Joe

 

[02Oilburner]

Thanks Big Joe! I just left the thermostat alone and the fridge once I found they didn't work. I will leave them alone til I find a 50 amp hook up like you said. We will use a mini fridge we have and the bedroom a/c til we figure it all out. I have a camping world about 5 miles from here but I'm not sure I want to take it to a stealership. Thanks again for the advice!

 

[BIG JOE]

With some Dual A/C setups.. the thermostats can be purdy high tech as to the internals (circuit boards). They're not cheap and can be very sensitive to Good, Clean, Strong volt/amp needs.

Yer call.. but at some point you might think about Surge Protection.. of some sort ? They're not cheap either.. but well worth the investment... Some Camp Grounds and RV Parks [can] have questionable Electrical Service.

Don't ask me how I've learned that.

Joe

 

[02Oilburner]

 

[WD40]

OK, I am going to throw out my 02 or maybe a full 5 cents worth at you. On your AC take the cover off up on top and look for a Dirt drabber (SP) mud nest on
one of the blades. If it's the motor they're not that hard to change out. On the fridge they have a circuit board that can go bad, it's easy to replace.
On your fridge make sure your have a good 12 V batteries if it takes two hooked up along with at least 30 Amp. power. Check all of your inside breakers to
make sure you don't have one tripped, also check all of your 12 V fuse, I had one of them go out on my fridge and I had to pay a mobile RV tech $65.00 bucks
for him to find that well hide sucker.
I am not a big fan of camping world sales or shop for repairs. Look for a independent repair shop near you, he will do it cheaper and a lot better job most of
the time. For parts I go to Ebay.com to find them. On your awning, those arms you have out need to go all the way to the top and lock in place to keep your
awning from getting airborne when the wind blows.
One more thing, don't turn on your electric water heater without it being full of water, it takes 1/10 of a sec to burn it out. Hope some of this helps, didn't mean
to write a book, just trying you help a new camper. I been married 46 years and been pulling a fifthwheel for 36 of those years. Good luck and God Bless.
Doug

 

[Dogman]

OK Im kicking in here Jeff. Rv's that are 50amps run a split power. One side 25amp leg runs one side of your power box the other side is the other 25. When you have two A/C's each one get a 25 amp leg. So if you plug into a 30 amp plug only one A/C will power up and part of the unit will have 120volt power. Now I don't sagest doing this a lot. I work on RV all day so. Just ask Ill do my best to answer any questions you have. On your A/C pull the cover on top and look in the fan housing, You may find a RAT, mouse, bird nest, snake, wasp, stick, you be amazed what I have found...LOL On the fridge EZ thing to look for plug your camper into a 50amp service and put the fridge on AUTO this will go to AC power give it 30min and open the out side cover. you'll see a round tub going up should be on the right put your hand on it. it should be warm. now leave it along for a few hours and the next thing is you'll see a round cylinder going horizontal put your hand on it should be getting hot. Now if it's not getting hot shut everything down leave it along and have a pro look at it. On your LP tanks there good for 12 years of build date so if there built in 04 with the camper you'll need new ones.

Russ

 

[02Oilburner]

Thanks for the tips Russ! I will definitely look in to everything you mentioned. So it is NOT good to run on a 30 amp campsite with this camper? The campsites we have found here in NC at the state Parks we have tent camped for years only run 30 amp max. So we need to find other places to stay right?
Thanks again
Jeff

 

[BIG JOE]

Thanks Doug & Russ for jump'n in here. I was guna go for the.. Snake/Rat/Wasp thing, but didn't wana go to TMI before hearing from others and the Pro's.. thanks for clearing up on the Tech side of 50 amps too.

Joe

And thanks for the tank life tip too Russ.

 

[WD40]

It's time for me to buy two new 30 LB tanks.
Doug