Hi all, I just got a Starcraft 1224, 1996 popup camper. It's got heat, and the heat only seams to kick on when using the propane, and not with just electricity. My father thinks the heat only works with propane, while I disagree after reading a great page that someone has online about my model, they said "The furnace is great for taking the chill out of the air on chilly days or evenings. It can be used to heat the trailer but needs AC power for all night operation. This is a "tent" after all and while the heater works well it uses a lot of propane to keep the trailer at a comfortable temperature overnight in very cold conditions." This leads me to believe that propane isn't necessary. The other thing is that my camper has a weird outlet on it, I think my father said it's a 30 amp? We use an adapter to convert it to use 110 volt electricity. I think that's the case, and that the heat might work with the 30 amp, without the adapter.
Could something be wrong with the electrical or heater, or does it just run on propane?
Also, what kind of outlets do most campsites provide? 30 amp pr 110 volt?
Anyone have any ideas? When replying if you could dumb it down for me, I'd appreciate it! ::) I don't understand all this technical jargin, I'm a camper virgin :reader:
Thanks, Cindy
Your furnace is propane fueled and 12-volt powered to run the blower. But, if you try to run too long (like overnight) on battery only, you're likely to wake up to a cold camper.
Your camper has a power converter which switches standard 120-volt to 12-volt power to run interior lights (same bulbs as car taillights), furnace blower and fridge (if so equipped). The 120-volt power cord is a 30-amp, which uses the weird-looking plug. That allows a higher current draw than a standard 120-volt cord, which is usually 15-amp "normal looking" plug.
Campground power posts are usually 30-amp with some sites offering 50-amp, which is used by large trailers and motorhomes and needed to run multiple appliances and A/C units.
So, your furnace must have propane to run (the fuel it burns to produce heat) and electricity (either 12- or 120-volt) to run the blower motor which distributes the heat.
John
Ditto ^^^^
Most everyone who camps in the cold also brings an electric heater of sorts to supplement the propane heat (when you have electric). I'll have 2 electric heaters at the season opener. I have an electric radiator that I keep on the floor and an electric one with a fan that I have blowing into the bunk end.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
Electric heaters are a good idea that I forgot to mention. We carry two of 'em as well. If you camp on an electric site you're already paying for the power to run the heaters. Why spend more and burn excess propane if you don't have to?
One thing that I also didn't mention about the furnace is that many of them are pretty noisy, especially in the middle of the night.
John
I'm going to repeat most of what John and Matt have said.
There is always that exception but most camper with a furnace run on propane for the heat and electric (AC - plug in wall or DC - battery) for the blower. Many campers use and portable electric heater as there main heat and set their furnace thermostat to a low setting so if the electric heater can't keep up, then the furnace will turn on.
If you don't have a furnace in your camper, the buddy heater is a good option with either portable 1lb bottles or the adapter for a 20lb propane bottle. The down side is that they don't have a thermostat to turn on and off as needed.
Here is a diagram for a common campsite electric pole. This one has 20a, 30a and 50a electric service. JEH412 has explained what they are used for.
[smg id=126]
JEH412, good point! Why pay for more when I already have electricity? I've got portable electric heaters at work that are my personal property, guess those are coming with me!
:thumbup:
JoeCamper, I'm so glad you posted that picture! Like I said, I've never been camper-camping before. I guess I need some sort of extension cord to go from my camper to the campsite electric pole?! I know that my camper has a female electric plug, and the one on the pole is female too, do I need a special male-to-male? I need to go to a camper store, is there such a thing?
My dad suggested electric blankets. Do people do that too?
THIS is exactly why I'm moving hell and high water to make my first trip with you folks!
Are you sure the plug on the camper is female? I have never seen that...but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There may be an adapter on it that makes it look like like a female plug. If you can, take a pic and post it so we can see what you have.
The electric poles at French Creek are usually close enough to the site that you can just pull your power cord out of the camper and plug in without an extension cord. What Many people will do when running additional electric heaters is to run an extension cord outside just for the Heaters since they draw a lot of power.
People do use electric blankets. I have never, but I may throw one in the camper for my nephew on the French Creek Trip.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
oh, wait, thanks lone lock, you're right, I just had a mild freak out for nothing. I checked the adapter my dad had me buy for it, and it does have a male output. Thank goodness for Amazon history. This is so hard in the beginning to have the camper not stored on my property. Working from memory is not very accurate!
But I guess I should have a 30 amp extension cord and a 20 amp extension cord handy, shouldn't I?
It looks like you've sent me on another question for the forum... about to post...
In all the years we've camped we've had only one situation where we needed the 30 amp extension cord. We were certainly glad we had it, but it's an expensive piece to be toting around the rest of the time! At most state parks the pole is close enough that we don't need to fully extend the camper's power cord.
There's always a 25-foot heavy duty extension cord in the back of the truck, tucked in behind the carrier for drawbars (I tow a couple of different trailers that require different ball sizes and drop) and we often use that for the electric heater. That cord is a must-have, as far as I'm concerned.
I'd hold off on spending the money on a 30 amp, at least as you're starting out. If you're going to a park that you're not familiar with you can always post the question to see if others have been there and see what they needed. The one spot where we needed it was in a state park we'd never before visited, and if we wouldn't have had the cord we could have asked to move to a different site. I saw just a few sites there that needed an extension to reach the post.
John
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