how do they it work?

[kykamper]

Went for our annual trip to the Smokies last weekend.  it was the innagural trip in our new 05 Fleetwood Utah.  I read all the manuals and thought I knew how everything was supposed to work.  This wasn't our first trip out in the PU but is was our first in slightly cooler weather.

At any rate, I couldn't figure out how to work the heater, 'fridge or hot water heater via gas.

Guess they should have put more pictures in the manuals.

Can anyone help me?

[AustinBoston]

At any rate, I couldn't figure out how to work the heater, 'fridge or hot water heater via gas.

Did you use the stove?  That would tell you if the gas was on at the tank and if there is gas in the LP tank.

My first reaction when you can't get anything to work is "the gas is off at the tank," or "the tank is empty."

Barring that...

Our equipment is five years older than yours so may be quite different, but here's what we do:

Heater: 1) There is a switch on the front of the heater that needs to be on.  Open the cover, find the switch and turn it on.  We leave that switch on all the time.  2) There is another switch on the underside of the thermostat.  Ours is quite stiff.  That must also be turned on.  3) Turn up the thermostat.  4) Wait.  The furnace won't start for a minute or two.  The fan comes on, and it still takes another minute for the burner to turn on.

Hot water: 1) Turn the knob to "pilot".  You will probably need to push it in or down to turn it.  2) Use a long match or a lighter, and hold down the knob (there may be a separate button).  Light the pilot.  Sometimes it takes a while.  3) Wait.  4) When the pilot stays lit, let go of the knob. 5) You let go too soon, so repeat steps 2-4.  6) Turn the knob to "on".  5) If the burner does not light, try turning the knob "past on" and letting it go.

Fridge:  1) Turn valve to on.  2) Turn switch to "LP" position (looks like a flame).  3) Hold in pilot button, and use sparker to light flame.  4) Give up on sparker and get a lighter.  5) After flame is lit (flame is quite small), massage sore thumbs from a) holding pilot button in and b) pushing clicker. 6) Resolve (again) to never bother with that stupid clicker, even though you can see the spark.

Austin

[tlhdoc]

Austin gave you good directions, except I do you the clicker on the refrigerator to light it.  On both the water heater and the refrigerator you need to hold the gas button down even after the appliance is lit, for about 10 to 20 seconds.  There is a safety feature that cuts the gas flow if the pilot light goes out.  So it has to be warm before the pilot will run.  Good luck.

[zamboni]

In our Niagara, I also found that if you turn the gas off at the tank, when arriving at the campground, it takes quite a chunk of time (holding the pilot down on the water heater or fridge) for the gas to flow.  Seriously, like 3-5 minutes.

Often, I'll turn the w. heater to "pilot", then set up the camper and do everything else.  Even then, I still have to hold it down for several minutes to get actual gas to it to light.

[lushy]

I had the same problem with getting the furnace lit. Here is something that works for me.

I turn the gas on at the tank and then go inside and turn one stove burner on until the gas gets to the stove and I am able to light the stove burner and then leave it on for about 10 seconds or so. Once I have the gas to the stove, I have no problem lighting the furnace.

Good luck!

[BigJohn]

I found out on mine that with the new tank valves, they can be real fussy, and you have to turn the valve "on" VERY VERY VERY SLOWLY.
Also, as previously mentioned, I too test the presence of LP by lighting the inside stove. It also takes the air out of the lines and when it lights, you can be fairly sure that all the other lines are filled with LP and not air....
If all else fails and no gas going to the stove. Close the valve, then tap on the side of it lightly and I do mean LIGHTLY, to break loose the overfill prevention plug inside the tank. Then turn gas back on and try the stove lighting again. So far that has worked the best for me... :usflag:

[ilovecamping]

If all the previous suggestions fail, I would suggest taking the tank to someone and having it checked out.  When we bought our new pu we had them add a second tank and we never did get it to work.  We took it in to a place that fills tanks and they said it was overfilled and let some gas out but it still never worked.  By the time we took it back for warrenty work we decided to trade so we never did find out what was wrong with it.