Electrical and heater

[dgreen12]

I have a 1972 Starcraft Popup camper in good shape but do not see wires to plug into a battery so that the internal light OR the furnace can be used. Assuming the camper originally had wiring for the heater and internal light, wouldn't the wires be near the front of the camper where the crank is and propane tank? I may need to get an RV repair place check for the wiring or run new wiring.

I have not had a major need for the internal light as I have adequate battery driven Coleman lanterns. But I would like to start using the heater at night. I understand I need the electricity to start the heater as well as for the blower. Is this correct?

I have no instructions on how to start and use the heater. I see a red push button which I assume is the starter and I know to turn the propane tank on. I assume I need the electrical for the spark to start the heater as well as the blower. Any help would be beneficial.

I assume the fridge isn't propane and I need to put ice in there.

There is nothing like popup camping! I love it!

[Gone-Camping]

The older Starcrafts (I had a 74 and a 78) did not utilize batteries. The heater works on gas only, it doesn't have a blower. It is an older Atwood model and looks very much like the units they use today. From what I read in the 'OLD' Starcraft manual was that a blower could be added. The red button is part of the pilot light, I thnk you have to hold that in while lighting, and continue to hold it in for a minute or two after lighting the pilot.. If I remember correctly, the heater should have some kind of temp control in there too. If you had one with a blower, then you'd have a thermostat on the wall somewhere. These were not widely available in the early 70's PU campers, but the non-powered ones were.
 
If you camp someplace with an electrical hook-up, you can utilize an electric space heater of some form, there are many types out there...try and pick a safe one. If you do decide to use that old heater, PLEASE purchase a carbon monoxide detector for your safety!!

[hoppy]

My 1978 Palomino had a furnace that sounds similar to the one you mention.  Mine was made by a company named Hydra-Flame, that later on became Atwood. This furnace did not require electric to run, but could be fitted to add a blower motor. It ran solely by convection heat.
  Mine had two dials at the base, one red and one white. The red one was for the propane OFF, PILOT, and ON. The white was a thermostat for heat control numbered 2 through 10 if I recall correctly.

   To light it you would set the white control to it's lowest number. The burner and pilot were located at the bottom of a coffee can shaped combustion chamber that had a little sliding access door at the base to access and light the pilot.
    Turn the red control from the OFF position to the ON position, and push and hold in the knob. This allows the gas to get to the pilot. Use a long starter lighter on high just above the pilot until it lights. This can take awhile for the pilot to light. But once it's started, continue pressing in the control for about 30 seconds more to heat the thermocouple just above the flame of the pilot. Release the red control knob and check if the pilot is still lit. Now turn the red knob to the ON position, and then turn the white thermostat control to a higher setting until you hear the burner light up. Use the white control to adjust the temperature inside the PU. This will cycle the burner on and off as needed, while the pilot light remains lit. To shut it down when you are done, just turn the red control to the OFF setting.

   That's all there is to it. Since you haven't used the furnace, make certain that the burner flame burns with a nice / even blue flame....... not yellow. Yellow flame means that there is air restriction in the venturi tube of the burner  (the favorite home for critters to set up house in .... like muddabbers) I had this happen to me when I first purchased mine back in 1990, and had to tear the furnace apart to clean and fix it. And by all means, use a propane and a CO detector.

    Good luck and hope this helped.