Hope to take the road less travelled.

[Desertthorn]

Hi, my name is Lynne and currently I am living in Japan with the military. BUT and this is the best part, in just over 4 months DH and I are retiring. We purchased a little Class A and hope to be on the road next Spring. Fulltime, parttime, still unsure, but I try to read everything I can so there will be no surprises when we do hit the road.
It is amazing what I have learned. Yesterday I read that propane appliances don't work at high altitudes, you need to plug into shore power. (see I'm even learning the lingo)
I learned that dryer sheets clean off bugs.
I am learning about RV maintenance and complining a check list of everything that needs done. Its getting a little daunting in size, but since ours is a used rig, I suspect that we will need to do more than most when it comes to maintenance.
I learned that I want solar as we plan to do as much boondocking and dry camping as we can as not a fan of Parking Lot type campgrounds.
I also learned :'( that I couldn't afford a dish like I would love to have, for the internet.
So, glad that I found you and hope this is, like your advertisement saids, the happiest RV forum on the internet.
Lynne

 

[Carl L]

It is amazing what I have learned. Yesterday I read that propane appliances don't work at high altitudes, you need to plug into shore power. (see I'm even learning the lingo)

They don't?!  Mine do just fine at Mammoth Lakes at 7,800 feet.  Reefer, stove, water heater, and furnance which given the night temps at Mammoth is a darn good thing.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Propane works fine at high altitude.  I suppose at 10,000+, you might want to adjust the air/gas mixture because the oxygen content decreases as altitude increases (this affects any oxygen burner, not just propane), but that should not be a concern below 10,000 feet.

Propane does vaporize slowly/poorly at very low temperatures, though.  You may notice problems getting the liquid in the tank to vaporize if the tank itself cools below 10-15 degrees.  I'll let those who frequently cold-weather camp comment on whether this is a real problem or a theoretical one.


May I suggest that you purchase the book "RV Maintenance & Repair" by Bob Livingstone. It is an excellent guide to many common RV diagnosis & repairs. Here is one source (Amazon.com):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0934798451/ref=pd_sxp_f/002-3430735-9900016?v=glance&s=books

 

[Tom]

Lynne

Welcome to our friendly forum. I see you've already received a few responses from some of our savvy RVers. Which class A did you buy?

Hope you'll make this forum a regular stop as you continue ti build your knowledgebase, but also when you hit the road in the RV.

 

[Ron]

Hi Lynn,

Welcome to the RV Forum.  Please join in any of the ongoing discussions, start new discussions, or ask any questions you might have relating to the RVing lifestyle.

We lived in Tokyo Japan for 6 1/2 years and our to youngest children graduated from ASIJ while we were there.  We really liked living in Japan.  We actually levied in a section of Tokyo called Setagayaku. One could not even drive a large MH on the street we lived on.

Propane appliances work just fine at high altitude.  Have never heard of anybody having any difficulty and we have never experienced  any.

Thanks for joining us.

 

[Howard R]

It is amazing what I have learned. Yesterday I read that propane appliances don't work at high altitudes, you need to plug into shore power. (see I'm even learning the lingo)

Hi Lynne,

Let me add my welcome here ... and you're right, lots of knowledge and help here.

We spent Memorial day weekend at 9500 feet in the Rockies and while it did get down to about 27 degrees early on Friday morning the only problem we had was with the heat. 

However, please read on  ;D

About midnight or so I vaguely remember DW telling me she turned down the temperature on the furnace ... ok I mumbled.

Woke up about 0600 and went to check the outside temp in case I needed to turn on the waste tank heaters ... little chilly at 28, so turned on the heaters just to be safe. 

Standing there I realized it was quite chilly in the MH ... in fact checking the themometers noted the warmest spot was INSIDE the refrigerator !!  Like about 38 in the camper ! 

A quick check reveiled DW had turned the furnace OFF , not down !!    :

Switch back on, everything was soon fine ... but I did restrict her from thermostat duty for the rest of the weekend ! 

So no, for us the only propane problem at altitude has been operator induced.  ;D

Howard
1999 Coachmen Mirada 28QB
Westminster, CO