Getting new-to-me 1994 Four Winds road-ready, some issues, need advice

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Maggiemae129

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2012
Posts
17
Location
Orlando, FL
Hi all,
I'm just getting my RV ready for some trips and brought it to a campground yesterday and set it up for my daughter. After hooking up, I discovered a few issues.
1. The shower won't drain and smells putrid. I've been told that I should not use household drain cleaners, because they would be too caustic for the RV plumbing. Any suggestions? Both gray and black water tanks show empty on the meter.
2. The refrigerator (Norcold) appears to only work with the LP. It doesn't do anything on electric. I'm not sure if there is something special that I need to do, other than make sure it's plugged in and turn it to ELEC. It was cold when I initially looked at the RV. The owner had it plugged in at his house and the propane was nearly full when I purchased it, so I don't believe he was using the propane.

I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Maggie
 
Maggiemae129 said:
1. The shower won't drain and smells putrid. I've been told that I should not use household drain cleaners, because they would be too caustic for the RV plumbing. Any suggestions? Both gray and black water tanks show empty on the meter.
You can disregard the sensors. They very rarely ever work. RV plumbing and house plumbing both use the same materials so household drain cleaners will work just fine. I have used Drano in my RV and I keep a bottle on hand in case I need it. Once the shower starts to drain then you will want to dump the tanks.
2. The refrigerator (Norcold) appears to only work with the LP. It doesn't do anything on electric. I'm not sure if there is something special that I need to do, other than make sure it's plugged in and turn it to ELEC. It was cold when I initially looked at the RV. The owner had it plugged in at his house and the propane was nearly full when I purchased it, so I don't believe he was using the propane.
Check the electrical panel in your RV and make sure the refer breaker is turned on. The electrical panel will be located somewhere close to where the power cord leaves your RV. It should be located inside the RV. Open closet doors and look around. It will usually be a one square foot grey cover.
 
My two cents...the shower drain (and RV plumbing) should be able to stand up to most anything that can be used at your stick house.  The main concern is what you are putting into the campground sewer system.  But even then, a one-time use will probably have little effect on the sewer system.  As for the frig, the fact that the LP tank was nearly full is not a particularly good indicator that it was working on electric.  The frig uses very little propane.  Remove the outside service panel and look for where the frig plugs into a standard AC outlet.  Plug in a lamp and see if power is there.  If so, you may have a bad electric element.  If no power, look for popped circuit breaker or possibly GFCI.
 
The most common thing that causes plugs is hair mixing with soap residue.  Instead of liquifying the mess and hoping it makes it all the way through the tank before it re-coagulates, try using a Turbo Snake hair removal tool.

Most hair clogs are either right below the drain opening at the cross braces supporting the drain cap or a few inches down in the P trap.
 
The enzymatic drain cleaners work as maintenance once you get it flowing again.  Nothing caustic in them...won't hurt you if you spill on skin etc....but they enzymes digest the stuff that clogs drains, and will help the smell will go away. 
 
For the frig take the outside cover off and confirm you have power there. The drain I would go with a snake also if you use hardcore drain stuff you will kill the good stuff in the tank and possibly the CG septic as well.
 
For the fridge, once you have ascertained there is power at the back of the fridge by perhaps using a plug-in lamp from your home, or a similar tool, look around for a black box on the back of the fridge.  This cover can be removed easily and underneath you will find a small circuit board with several fuses on it, one of which controls the 120V for the electric heater element. Replace it if found blown.

You did not say  which model of Norcold fridge you have but many have a button on the  "eyebrow" control panel labeled "Auto" which should be on. This allows the fridge to switch to electric automagically if the fuse mentioned above is good and if 120V is detected, otherwise it will default to propane operation.
 

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