Kirk W

Welcome to the Escapee forums! As long as an automobile, truck, or RV is legally registered and meets the requirements of the state where it is registered, it is legal to operate on the roads and highways of all of the states. Both Canada and Mexico also honor those registrations. 

Where do you plan to keep your RV registered? Do you intend to keep your current domicile or move to another state? Have you considered joining the Escapees RV Club to get the support system that they offer to fulltimers?

10 hours ago, sandsys said:

But, deposits can be done remotely and easily nowadays. Unless you meant going online to check the balance.

From Investopedia:

In finance and investments, account activity refers to the transactions made by a client in a particular brokerage or bank account. Bill payments, cash withdrawals, and wire transfers are examples of account activities.

Notice that nowhere in that definition does it require a physical presence in the bank or financial institution. Some banks only do business online so it is impossible to physically enter the bank. It really isn't difficult. If you read the information, all that really needs to be done is to be sure that all of your banks and financial institutions have your current address and phone number since they will reach out to the customer if an account becomes inactive. The problem you warn of does not exist. 

I suggest that you investigate the companies that will move a fifth wheel before you get too far. If you have not done so, visit some large RV dealerships and perhaps an RV show or two in order to get a feel for what RVs are available and what they cost. If you are thinking that this will save you a lot of money, that is not likely to be true and particularly if you pay someone to move the RV any significant distance several times a year. How much RV experience have you had? If the answer is none, then you might be wise to rent one first, just to get some feel for what you are undertaking. As for buying something that is motorized and then towing a car, I don't know what you have been reading, but there are many of us here and literally thousands of RV folks who do that and don't consider it to be a headache. When I first towed with my motorhome the thing that surprised me most was just how easy it was. 

6 hours ago, sandsys said:

I would think making occasional deposits would be enough to keep an account active.

If you read what I posted, any activity does that. Even going in to check the balance will do so. 

Welcome! Let us know how it works out. 

10 hours ago, kb0zke said:

We do have a portable waste water tank, and have used it a bit.

Like many others here, I have more than a little experience with the waste water tanks. RV sites that have water but no sewer connections are quite common and in some cases they save money. One word of caution I give is that if your portable tank is smaller than the holding tank you need to have a portable that has a gage to know it is getting full. The lack of a gage can lead to some very unpleasant experiences. 

1 hour ago, GlennWest said:

I am surprised how tired I got doing this. 

I hate to tell you, but it doesn't get better as the years go by. I was on duty as a driver in our community today 8 hours, most of the time spent waiting for someone. I am tired like I had actually worked all day. 

10 minutes ago, rpsinc said:

I should check on what I am seeing lately of using your accounts so that SOME activity is shown on accounts that, at least I consider, to be my raining day money.

All financial institutions are regulated by state laws on such issues and exactly how it works varies by state but, in most states it takes at least 3 years and many 3 years of no activity at all for an account to be considered abandoned. When that happens they are also required to make efforts to contact you and once all such items are met, the funds are turned over to a state agency that manages them and holds them indefinitely. In Texas it is the Texas Department of Banking that administers those regulations. This comes from that link:

Quote

Question: How does an account become "presumed abandoned", and what happens to abandoned accounts?
Answer: Accounts identified by banks as "presumed abandoned" are subject to escheat (be remitted) to the state. Under section 73.101 of the Texas Property Code, an account is classified as abandoned when: (1) it has been inactive (without any depositor-initiated activity) for at least three years, (2) the bank is unable to identify the location of the depositor, and (3) the amount of the account or the contents of the box have not been delivered to the comptroller in accordance with Ch. 74. An account is not considered abandoned if the depositor has another account at the bank that is in "active" status.

In the event that some funds should be lost in that way, the easiest way to find that money is by visiting the Texas Unclaimed Property website. 

7 hours ago, kb0zke said:

If those numbers are correct then a bladder ought to be a big help.

Keep in mind that about 80% of the water you use ends up in your waste tanks, if not more. You may want to think about some type of portable waste tank also. 

12 minutes ago, rpsinc said:

Can someone enlighten me?

As far as I know, they can't but they can return your money and close your account.

It probably has a 3 pin plug similar to the yellow one posted by Gary. If all that you want to do is to use the lights and perhaps operate the refrigerator, There are adapters that you can use to connect either cord to a typical household outlet but you will not then be able to use the air conditioner or the microwave. 

That is what happens if you believe everything that you read on Facebook! The rules apply to all financial institutions of any type that accept deposits.

Quote

The USA Patriot Act requires credit unions and other all financial institutions to establish and maintain documentation of a Customer Identification Program (CIP).

National Credit Union Administration  

USA PATRIOT Act Section 326

16 minutes ago, GMAAnnie said:

looked and did not see a packet, 

Are you a member of the Escapees RV Club? If so you need to log in and visit the domicile section.  If you are not then the application for TX title is available from the state website. You should still contact the TX-DMV to be sure of what you need to do. 

Do you remember CC, the retired San Antonio police LT. who used to be on these forums and talked about his Bounder diesel with the garbage truck transmission? He did exactly what you are considering. He always kept a HEPA filter in it and it had a heat pump unit so was used a lot. CC was one of the best home fabricators that I have ever known. He was very active on these forums from about 2000 up to about  2015 when he passed away.

I strongly suggest that if you are domiciled via Escapees in Livingston, you need to contact Polk Co.Asscessor's office before you buy the car.   Phone: (936)327-6801 That is where you must register the car and they can/will tell you exactly what you need to do. 

16 minutes ago, Chalkie said:

Those would be far too thick to fit in air vents on our AC

You are right. I got the ones we have from Amazon, buy I think that I grabbed the wrong link. I don't have the package but this one looks more like it and it is .39". They are tight but will go. 

Frienda 40 x 16 Inch Air Conditioner Filter Reusable RV Conditioner Replacement

6 minutes ago, Ken Abel said:

Maybe charging the vans batteries did the trick?

While I wouldn't think that was the cause, it may be possible, depending upon how the circuit is designed and without seeing more information about the control circuit board than they share it is impossible to be certain. I think that I'd just keep a close eye on things and see what happens. 

RV Air Conditioner Filter (2 Pack) 17 * 20 inch,Cut To Fit AC Filter Replacement, RV AC Air Filter

If you are buying from a dealer they should be able to help you get a TX registration. If they won’t do it don’t buy from them. 

You didn't say where you are located, but the model that you show is not sold in the US or Canada so I'm guessing that you are in either UK or Australia?

In researching, I did locate a copy of the Owner's Manual and also a copy of the Dometic Service manual and you can download a copy of each. I have worked on a lot of Dometic refrigerators over the years, but only US models so my knowledge is pretty limited. I did locate a copy of the schematic on page 19 of the service manual and the same one on page 20 of the owner/installation manual. Since they are the same and it appears that the on/off switch you have and all control functions are located on that one circuit board. All control functions are powered by 12V, direct current so removing that supply would disable all functions of the refrigerator. Starting on page 30 of the service manual there is a process to enter a diagnostic mode and test various components, but I found no way to test the on/off switch. If you have a multimeter you should be able to do that using the ohm scale. Beyond that, all that I can suggest is trying the circuit board as your Dometic tech guy suggested.

1 hour ago, GeorgiaHybrid said:

Where in SE TN are you?

Hurricane Jane has not been back since May of 2021. Suzanne is located in TX somewhere. 

1 hour ago, lappir said:

It's a 10 gallon electric/propane.

That means that the model probably is SW10DE.  It has two sets of thermostat & ECO, one for 120V and the other for propane operation.  (see page 18 of the manual)

1 hour ago, lappir said:

It does heat on 120 volt and that's the voltage I have tested for. Haven't tried any of the 12 volt, which it uses I'm pretty sure for the ignition of the flame.

You are correct in that the 120V heating element is controlled separately, via it's own thermostat and ECO. If you look at the schematic on the left side of page 10 of the manual you will see that it is a very simple circuit, with a black wire bringing in power to the on/off switch, then black to the thermostat & ECO, black to the heating element, and then a white wire for neutral or the return side.

To the right of that schematic is the 12V/propane schematic and 12V supply is red wires with a yellow negative or return. Since there is no connection of any kind between the 120V heating and the 12V/propane side, either one should work just fine with the other turned off. The 120V circuit breaker would have no effect at all on the operation on propane so long as you have a good battery to supply 12V for the propane controls. That circuit board not only supplies the spark but it has a flame sensor to shut the propane supply valve that it also controls, if the flame should ever fail. As you can easily see from the two drawings on page 10, the two systems are completely independent of each other. 

Since you have had two 120V thermostats fail, I strongly suggest that before you do anything else you need to remove 120V power and then using your ohm meter, measure from either side of the heating element to ground (any metal part of the water heater) and also read across the heating element to see what resistance it has. The heating elements can short out or shore to ground (the metal tank) and either one could cause the problems that you have described. If you lift one lead from the heating element and measure through it, the resistance should be 10 ohms, give or take 1 or 2 ohms. From either terminal to the tank of the water heater should read very close to infinity ohms.

6 hours ago, Wrknrvr said:

So is it possible that the switch area problems could raise resistance, lower the voltage enough to raise the amperage going through that wire, to go up and cause a failure?

If the resistance of the switch should increase that would cause part of the voltage be lost there and so lower the voltage seen by the heating element. Two resistances in series add and with higher total resistance the current flow will decrease. Ohm's law applies here so voltage divided by resistance will give you the amps in the circuit. If voltage drops or resistance increases, either one will cause current flow to decrease. 

22 hours ago, lappir said:

I've used my multi meter to check voltages, but not resista

It would help if you would tell us what model Suburban water heater you have as there are differences. Also, is your water heater a propane only model or does it also heat from 120V shore power? What voltages have you read and where did you read them? Here is a link to download a copy of the current Suburban service manual that I believe applies to your water heater. If I'm right the schematic you need is on page 10.

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Have you taken any voltage of resistance readings with your meter? It is actually quite easy to check a switch with an ohm meter. Does yours look like the one in this picture?