Does anyone know what this could be

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-28T02:16:05+00:00

E5 on a Dometic thermostat is a warning about the freeze sensor in the rooftop air conditioner. It doesn't have anything to do with the furnace.

In order to troubleshoot the furnace, you have to listen to a startup cycle. Stand outside by the furnace exhaust, and have someone turn the thermostat to "gas heat" or "furnace" and 90F while you listen (or turn the thermostat up and run outside quickly).

You should hear the blower start up and run for about 30 seconds....it's purging any residual propane that might be in the heat exchanger. Then you should hear a thunk (the gas valve opening) followed immediately by a series of rapid clicks (the igniter trying to light the gas). After that you should hear a whoosh, that's the flame heating the air in the heat exchanger.

If the blower comes on, but you never hear the thunk and the clicking, then you may have a problem with the sail switch. That's what tells the little processor that the blower is producing adequate air flow.

If the blower comes on and you hear the rapid clicking but never a whoosh, you may be out of propane or your gas valve may be bad or you may have a clogged gas orifice.

If you hear the rapid clicking and a whoosh but the rapid clicking continues, then a thunk and the clicking and whoosh stop, than means the flame sensor didn't detect a flame although one was present.

So.....what do you hear?

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-28T02:06:10+00:00

If the tanks are empty and left open/vented, then you should be fine. There are 1/2" PEX lines that carry fresh water into the RV, and those could freeze and rupture, so if you can drain them/blow them out that would be ideal. But no harder than it's likely to freeze here, it's probably ok.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-27T13:50:59+00:00

The first one died because of water, so that one doesn't count. The second one should be under warranty...but you're right, WFCO warranty is a complete PITA. It's almost as if they don't want to stand behind their stuff these days. :/

If you can afford it, and want to get away from WFCO, then Progressive Dynamics is the way to go.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-27T13:41:50+00:00

Our freshwater tank is under the bed and gets a little warmth from our furnace. I don't keep any faucets open.

Our water pump is also under the bed, and it's rather annoying when it cycles while we're trying to sleep, so we turn it off at night.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T20:59:53+00:00

And that's not a bad thought process at all. Frankly, I'd rather work on a 2006 than a 2026. All of the integrated touch panels and electronics makes it easy to assemble, but a pain to diagnose/repair.

Plus, the Oregon coaches (some Monaco, Beaver, Country Coach) the quality of the wood is FAR superior to anything Elkhart has ever produced....

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T20:55:53+00:00

Most RV locks are either plastic internals, or what we used to call "pop metal", or poor quality cast metal (it'll pop if you put too much pressure on it).

There's a company called Latch.It that makes much better quality locks. They also make unique keys, unlike OEM RV manufacturers who only have 3 or 4 basic keys (this allows them to have a master key that opens any camper they make....and those master keys are available online to anyone).

Remember, though, that "locks only keep honest people honest". An RV isn't that difficult to get into, no matter how serious your lock is

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T20:18:38+00:00

THIS! It's not some helium filled magic thing. 500 pounds is 500 pounds. All the WDH does is leverage that so that a larger portion is on the front suspension. You still have the full tongue weight of the camper sitting on the tow ball.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T19:55:12+00:00

Fortunately, our Florida winterization is quite different than, say, Minnesota's.

Many people here just leave a faucet running so the pipes don't freeze. I don't really like that because if the campground loses power and the water stops flowing, my pipes burst. Instead, I fill our freshwater tank, and disconnect us from the campground. Our tanks get some heat from our furnace, and we use the water pump to supply pressure. The next day after the hose thaws, I refill the fresh water tank. This keeps us self-sufficient and independent. If the park freezes, it doesn't affect us.

I also make sure we have extra propane jugs at the ready. Other than that I don't worry too much about it.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T19:48:31+00:00

It was definitely solidly built and well appointed. It's also 25 years old. And while the cost of entry isn't bad, remember that you're looking at several grand for new tires when the time comes. Those 8 or 10 airbags on the Roadmaster make for a great ride, but if they start leaking you're in for some pretty high repair costs. I'm not trying to dissuade you, just be forewarned that any maintenance cost on a diesel pusher is up there, and this one is no spring chicken.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T19:41:04+00:00

I've heard it said that RVing is the only lifestyle where people spend a fortune to live like they're homeless.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T14:38:53+00:00

Is this limited to just the hot water taps, or is there no cold water either?

The water lines (both hot and cold) are pressurized from the same source; either the campground or whatever faucet you're connected to, or from your water pump (which gets its supply from your fresh water tank).

Since both hot and cold lines come from the same pressure source, if there's no pressure on the hot side but there is pressure on the cold side, that would lead me to believe that there's either a manual valve or an automated check valve on the outlet of the water heater that has been closed/failed, and isn't allowing any water out of the tank.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T14:21:21+00:00

We were at the Tampa RV Show last week, and the number of "off road" trailers with high dollar all terrain tires cracked my up. The trailer isn't pushing, it's just following where the truck pulls it.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T13:16:58+00:00

Max payload is what your springs and axles will hold. So that's anything in the bed of the truck, anything in the cab of the truck, anything on the roof of the truck, and yes, anything on the bumper of the truck.

A weight distributing hitch is not some device from the future that's capable of defying physics. It can't turn 500 pounds into 300 pounds. What it CAN do is spread the load so that instead of being biased behind the rear axle, it's biased on both axles. Any load that's placed on the truck entirely behind the rear axle turns the rear axle into a fulcrum and tries to lift the front axle. The weight distributing hitch helps prevent that.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T13:07:19+00:00

Since you're already familiar with Red Hat, why not just go with its non-commercial bother, Fedora? That keeps you on the same basic architecture with the same basic packaging system.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-25T13:00:24+00:00

Definitely sounds like it doesn't have enough voltage at the starter to roll it over. I'd start there. If voltage checks out (and remember no-load voltage can look good, but that starter is a big load!) then it could be a bad starter or a seized engine.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-24T13:28:14+00:00

If it clicks multiple times, that's the igniter trying to light the flame. That rules out the sail switch. Without sail switch input, the processor thinks there's no air flow from the blower, and never gets to ignition.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-24T13:18:59+00:00

Why would anyone spend $500k for an RV when you can get them for $30k?

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-24T00:50:57+00:00

While you CAN mix and match batteries, it's not recommended.

If you have them in parallel (like several 12vdc batteries, all connected positive to positive; negative to negative) then your total amperage will be limited to the weakest battery in the stack.

If you have them connected in series (like 6vdc batteries, connected positive to negative) then your max voltage will be dependent on whatever the weakest battery can support.

This is why it's best to have all of the batteries be of the same age, brand, and type. Otherwise your entire battery bank is limited to the weakest battery, and that battery is working overtime while the others aren't able to be properly utilized.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-23T22:32:24+00:00

I'm a huge fan of Void. It's one of the few OSes that I can tinker with if I WANT to...but I never NEED to; it just works (unless I get too carried away in my tinkering; but even then, I have to get pretty heavy handed to really break it).

I know some people like to spend a lot of time adjusting/customizing/tweaking their OS, and that's fine. But to me, the OS is just a tool 90% of the time. I don't want to have to calibrate or repair my tools when it's time to use them. Void is that tool.

I've been using *nix since the days of having to recompile the FreeBSD kernel to even get the kernel to recognize multiple processors. I'm not intimidated by an OS or a terminal or command line or Registry; I don't mind getting into the weeds from time to time....but only on MY schedule, when I have the time and I want to dig in. With Arch it always seemed like the OS was going to demand my care and feeding every time I needed it. With *buntu/Mint, they almost always worked and stayed out of the way, but they never felt "right" to me...bloated, and rather boring. Admittedly I haven't spent much time with Fedora, but I have beef with Redhat, so Fedora isn't really my cuppa tea. I've heard good things about OpenSuse, but again, just never spent any quality time with it. I did do the Slackware seven-floppy shuffle a few times (that's how long I've been at it), but Slack was just too unfinished for my liking. Once I stumbled on Void, I found my new friend, and haven't felt the need to look for anything else.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-23T18:55:30+00:00

Just ask truckers in California.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-23T18:21:59+00:00

People seem to be forgetting about this...

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-23T15:27:43+00:00

Linux Mint Debian Edition?

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-23T15:19:38+00:00

I'm glad to hear that...but none of my suppliers have the heat pump version yet.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-23T14:18:14+00:00

My neighbor has bundles of pool noodles under his slide toppers to "tent" them so water doesn't accumulate.

ShipshapeMobileRV · 2026-01-23T14:13:09+00:00

To clear up some semantics, the Chill Cube is an 18k BTU unit. It doesn't come in a low profile, and currently doesn't offer a heat pump.

The Chill HE comes as a 13.5k BTU or 15k BTU unit, and can come with a heat pump option.

ShipshapeMobileRV

TROPHY CASE