Refrigerator, electric plug, trailer brake, kitchen sink drain, soft floor

Hi folks!  We recently bought a used Keystone Litehouse hybrid and it needs some work.  We are fairly handy fixing things, but need new to RVs.  So I have a few things that we have found so far that need attention.  Any help or advice would be tremendously appreciated.  Thank you.

1.  Refrigerator works on gas only.  When you put it on AC/DC is pops the GFI button in the bathroom.  I tested the plug on the outside of the RV and it has power. 

2.  I have two outlets on the inside of RV that are on the same wall that do not work as well as the outside light on that wall (yes I replaced the bulb).  However, the outside outlet on the that wall works.  The one interior outlet will work for a few seconds and then nothing.  The other outlet, nothing at all.

3.  When we are towing the RV the trailer breakaway brake grabs.  We've made certain the cord by the hitch is not getting wrapped up on anything.

4.  The kitchen sink drain leaks. What can I seal it with?

5.  The floor in the bathroom around the toilet needs replaced.  On a scale from one to ten, how difficult is this?

So far that's are immediate fix needs.  Thanks so much for any help.

GlamperQueen said:

Hi folks!  We recently bought a used Keystone Litehouse hybrid and it needs some work.  We are fairly handy fixing things, but need new to RVs.  So I have a few things that we have found so far that need attention.  Any help or advice would be tremendously appreciated.  Thank you.

1.  Refrigerator works on gas only.  When you put it on AC/DC is pops the GFI button in the bathroom.  I tested the plug on the outside of the RV and it has power. 

2.  I have two outlets on the inside of RV that are on the same wall that do not work as well as the outside light on that wall (yes I replaced the bulb).  However, the outside outlet on the that wall works.  The one interior outlet will work for a few seconds and then nothing.  The other outlet, nothing at all.

3.  When we are towing the RV the trailer breakaway brake grabs.  We've made certain the cord by the hitch is not getting wrapped up on anything.

4.  The kitchen sink drain leaks. What can I seal it with?

5.  The floor in the bathroom around the toilet needs replaced.  On a scale from one to ten, how difficult is this?

So far that's are immediate fix needs.  Thanks so much for any help.

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1) Try plugging your fridge into a receptacle from your house and see if it works.
2) As far as the outside light, that is 12 Volt DC and your 2 outlets are 110 Volts AC.  Nothing to do with each other.
3) Sounds like you trailer brake issue has nothing to do with break away switch. The way the switch works is if the tow vehicle and the trailer separate, the pin on the switch will get pulled out and then the brakes will be applied using the onboard battery stopping the trailer.  Your problem sounds like your brake controller is not adjusted correctly.
4)  Your sink should have a big nut under the sink holding the basket assembly to the sink. You may need to remove the drain piping, then unscrew the big nut. Remove the basket and clean all the old caulking off the sink and the basket. Install some fresh putty then reinstall.  This is providing that is where the leak is coming from. 
5)  No way of telling how bad the floor is until remove the flooring. Start out by cutting out a small 12" square piece then feel underneath for further damage. Just keep cutting until all the bad flooring is gone.

Hi and Welcome!!

1: AC/DC ? The GFCI tripping is often a problem when a heater element is involved. Try using an normal extension cord to a non GFCI protected outlet to insure it works OK that way. The only solution may be to change or reset the element in the fridge. That outlet is often considered to be "outside" and, as such, is sometimes protected.

2: May be related to the GFCI problem. The GFCI protected outlet are normally the bathroom counters, the kitchen counters and the outside Patio  plug but often others are involved as the GFCI outlet can protect up to 6 other normal outlets daisy chained to it. They may or may not be marked as such.

3: The only difference in the breakaway system and the regular trailer brakes is the power source. The breakaway system is powered from the trailer battery through the operated breakaway switch and operates all the wheel brakes whereas the regular brakes are operated from the tow vehicle through the plug connecting the two. How did you determine that the breakaway system is at fault here??

4: Where is it leaking from, the fitting in the bottom of the sink, the P trap and fittings, the water supply to the faucets??

5: For me, not too bad, maybe a 6 but for you....I don't know. Hopefully, once the toilet is removed, it will become more clear and you will be able to twin up some of the support beams or adjacent flooring to have some support for a new piece of plywood. First, you will need to find the leak caused the soft floor in the first place and fix it. (The floor was the first thing that was laid down during the initial trailer build before the walls and partitions and so covers a lot more area than the bathroom area itself, hence the need for additional support) Replace with plywood and not press board or chip board or whatever that cheap stuff is called.

Good luck and HTH

On edit: Ren? and I were typing at the same time so he covered much the same stuff, just in different words.

1.  Refrigerator works on gas only.  When you put it on AC/DC is pops the GFI button in the bathroom.  I tested the plug on the outside of the RV and it has power.

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When in electric mode, it always selects AC if available. A GFCI trip (ground fault) means there is a short to ground, which is either a shorted AC heater element or a stray strand of wire or corrosion where the wire joins the heater element. Usually easy to test & replace, though sometimes awkward to get at. You can get a service manual fro your fridge at Bryant Manuals

2.  I have two outlets on the inside of RV that are on the same wall that do not work as well as the outside light on that wall (yes I replaced the bulb).  However, the outside outlet on the that wall works.  The one interior outlet will work for a few seconds and then nothing.  The other outlet, nothing at all.

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The light is on a 12vdc circuit, whereas the outlets are 120vac, so the two are unrelated. Are the outlets on the same circuit at the fridge? If so, the GFCI trip affects them as well. The 12v circuit for the lights will have a fuse somewhere, perhaps on the same panel as the 120v circuit breakers.

3.  When we are towing the RV the trailer breakaway brake grabs.  We've made certain the cord by the hitch is not getting wrapped up on anything.

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How do you know its the breakaway?  The breakaway with just activates the trailer brakes, sending 12v through the same wire as normal trailer braking. And other wire that shorts to the trailer brake wire would apply the brakes, e.g. tail lights or turn signals could do it.  The breakaway switch is simplly a manual connection that gets tugged apart by the cable. Disconnect the cable and wiggle the breakaway to see if you can cause it to activate. If in doubt, just replace it. Its a simple and inexpensive job.

4.  The kitchen sink drain leaks. What can I seal it with?

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What leaks? The drain where that passes through the bottom of the sink, or the drain pipe further down?  The drain itself has a gasket or sometimes plumbers putty. The rest is help together with standard pluming compression fittings that should be fine if tightened. If not, replacment fittings are available in any plumbing supply dept. They are standard 1.5" sink drains.

5.  The floor in the bathroom around the toilet needs replaced.  On a scale from one to ten, how difficult is this?

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Usually simple enough, once you remove the toilet and the floor covering. Construction varies a lot, but never sophisticated.  The toilet simply unbolts from the floor and lifts off, and bolt location varies by toiler make & model.

Thank you all so much for the great information.

As for the refrigerator, when I plug the TT into an 30 amp outlet, the frig still does not work.  It will operate on gas.  But again, when I try to move it to AC, it trips the GFCI.  From what everyone is saying, sounds like a heater element.  I will replace that.

Checked all of the fuses and breakers for the electric outlets and all is ok so there must be a faulty wire somewhere.  I will check that.
No idea why the outside light doesn't work.  Lights on the inside of the TT work on the battery fine.

As of the brake issue, I may not be explaining this correctly.  We do not have a trailer brake inside the TV.  However, I think I understand there to be "brakes" on the TT itself that are controlled by a "wire" at the tongue of the TT.  We hook this "wire" to the hitch of the TV when we hitch up.  When we towing the TT, usually when turning or preparing to stop, something locks up the wheels on the trailer momentarily.  So not sure how to check this.

Fixed the kitchen drain leak.

Flooring in bathroom sounds doable.

Thanks again.  Awesome forum!!

GlamperQueen said:

As of the brake issue, I may not be explaining this correctly.  We do not have a trailer brake inside the TV.  However, I think I understand there to be "brakes" on the TT itself that are controlled by a "wire" at the tongue of the TT.  We hook this "wire" to the hitch of the TV when we hitch up.  When we towing the TT, usually when turning or preparing to stop, something locks up the wheels on the trailer momentarily.  So not sure how to check this.

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What are you towing with? You have to have some type of brake controller inside the tow vehicle so you can adjust the output of the controller if weights change on your RV.  Either an after market or a factory installed controller.

Go into your profile and create a signature of yourself similar to what I have. This may help us latter on when you have more questions.

GlamperQueen said:

Thank you all so much for the great information.

As for the refrigerator, when I plug the TT into an 30 amp outlet, the frig still does not work.  It will operate on gas.  But again, when I try to move it to AC, it trips the GFCI.  From what everyone is saying, sounds like a heater element.  I will replace that.

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Don't use the trailer's cord to check the fridge 120V. On the back of the fridge, you have to remove the access panel, there will be a regular 120V cord plugged into an outlet for the fridge. Unplug the cord there and plug it directly into an extension cord and run that extension cord to a known good 120V outlet at your house, not in the trailer. Then see if the fridge will work correctly on 120V.

Hammster -  I plugged a lamp into that outside access outlet for the frig and it worked, so I figured the outlet is good and therefore the frig should work when plugged into it.  However, I will plug the frig into a separate extension cord and see if anything changes.  Thank you.

Rene - Our TV is a Chevy Silverado. 

Tina

GlamperQueen said:

Hammster -  I plugged a lamp into that outside access outlet for the frig and it worked, so I figured the outlet is good and therefore the frig should work when plugged into it.  However, I will plug the frig into a separate extension cord and see if anything changes.  Thank you.

Rene - Our TV is a Chevy Silverado. 

Tina

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Check your owners manual. You may have a tow package and if you do, you'll have a brake controller. Mine is a 2011 and I have the tow package with the factory installed controller.  I'm guessing that if your brakes on the RV are locking up, a controller would be doing that.

Plugging the refrig directly into an independent cord will determine if the issue is the fridge or if it is the GFCI.  Easy check.

The truck MUST have a trailer brake controller installed for the trailer brakes to work. It should be standard on a 2500, but may not be standard on a 1500.  It should be wired, making installation very easy.

Ok, I plugged the frig into the house on a separate line and sure enough, IT WORKS!!  wooo hooo  !!  Sooooooo, it must be the GFCI, right?

Also, there is a trailer brake control inside the truck under dash beneath the steering column.  So, I am assuming that when I plug the TT into the back of the truck at the hitch this engages the trailer brake inside the truck.  If this is so, how do I "adjust" the controller? And would this make the trailer wheels lock up and grab like they are doing?

Thanks!!
Tina

GlamperQueen said:

Also, there is a trailer brake control inside the truck under dash beneath the steering column.  So, I am assuming that when I plug the TT into the back of the truck at the hitch this engages the trailer brake inside the truck.  If this is so, how do I "adjust" the controller? And would this make the trailer wheels lock up and grab like they are doing?

Thanks!!
Tina

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Tina, we need the make and model of the controller. Maybe someone will come up with a owners manual to help you out.

GlamperQueen said:

Ok, I plugged the frig into the house on a separate line and sure enough, IT WORKS!!  wooo hooo  !!  Sooooooo, it must be the GFCI, right?

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Was the house outlet you plugged into a GFCI ?
if not you may have a ground fault on the heater element.

glen54737 said:

Was the house outlet you plugged into a GFCI ?
if not you may have a ground fault on the heater element.

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No it was not plugged into a GFCI outlet in the house