Ray,IN

My acc tank is factory OEM. It has only one pipe connection, which connects to a Tee in the cold water line, with a 1/4 turn ball valve between Tee and tank. Winterization is quite easy, when the system is drained, close the ball-valve then continue with winterization. NO antifreeze gets in the tank this way. Pre-pressurization psi is critical for proper pump operation (your specific pump's high/low cutouts) Our pump is hard to hear anyway, but it seldom runs during the nightly visits to the throne room, thanks to the acc tank. Speaking to the comment about having an acc tank to "help" the water heater, I just installed a residential water heater here at home. The instructions recommend an acc tank to prevent the overtemp/pressure relief valve from weeping. Yes these tanks must be installed as designed,

If, as it sounds, you have ducted air conditioners, something is wrong if zone 1 is putting out heat and zone 2 is supposed to only cool.

I agree, many mfgrs will not stand with their warranty if proper prep was ignored.

Yep, that's the real problem with attempting to use a household 'stat. I suppose one could use a 12/24 convertor to obtain 24VDC if everything else worked out. They are sold on Amazon.

I can't remember many of them. All tank valves were leaking, black tank cracked and leaking into a compartment, step cover not working-X3, basement A/C not working properly, keyless entry system replaced, etc. In all the Camping World ESP covered everything over the $50 deductible during the 3 yr contract. All in all, I recouped the cost of the contract-including the deductibles the first 3 yrs of owning this MH which had sat in a barn for 6 yrs. A wise investment in our case. A CW service writer advised me to "save up" my repairs because the $50 deductible was for each visit to the shop, not for each item. An exclusionary contract is best because it lists what is NOT covered, everything else is covered; an inclusionary contract states what IS covered, leaving you to guess what is NOT covered.

Routine maintenance has been thoroughly addressed. We bought our MH(see sig) April '13. We bought a 3yr extended service contract at the same time, for the reasons concerning you. We never had a claim on the chassis, but the contract cost was recouped in repairs to the "house" portion of our MH. If you choose this route, be sure to include the gaskets and seals rider, otherwise, if an engine/transmission/differential seal fails and causes severe damage, repairs are not covered. Our MH had been parked in a barn for 6 years until we bought it, prompting us to buy the ESC. At purchase, it had 23,xxx miles.

I think the most we ever paid per night was $85/night at http://www.seaperchrvresort.com/rates.htm It is worth the price! The three most-often used words in realty are "Location, Location,Location! I would rather pay for staying close, rather than pay a third or half and commute 3 hrs each day.

I've been adding a few oz. bleach to the wash water for our vehicles for years, including RV awnings. It kills mold/mildew on the plastic strips that cover screw heads, awnings, gel-coat, EPDM roof membrane, etc.; and keeps the vehicle looking great. To remove stubborn black streaks, the best product I've ever used is Crown RV and boat hull cleaner.

I once started the genset while on shore power. Never again! I was lucky enough that slapping the box with my hand caused the ATS to operate again next time; lesson learned. I suppose I should open the cover and polish the contacts to assure solid connections and reduce resistance.

Just saw your thread; that brow board had to be replaced in my Norcold 1200LRIM, as I had the same problem in 2013.

You're right,I never thought about long-term boondockers most we've continuously dry-camped is 2 weeks.

Less work and less money to just use plenty of water to keep everything submerged.

Try cleaning the condenser coil and evaporator coil, make sure the plenum is completely sealed between the intake grill and cold air output. If that doesn't help, then you begin spending money.

I normally leave grey valve open as others have stated. I once read a post that made me stop and think about that. He said something was preventing his grey valve from closing completely. He ran all the faucets while operating the grey valve and a dead snake washed out. He said it must have crawled out of a CG sewer system and into his grey tank while the valve was open for a few weeks. I don't think I'll change my procedure though, the odds of than happening have to be very slim.

A standard auto air conditioner re-charge kit ,W/replacement oil and stop-leak, will replentish the refrigerant and oil in the system. I've topped mine off once when it was not cooling properly.It's worked fine ever since. Buy the kit with a gauge to show when enough refrigerant is in the system because the R134 acts differently than the old R12. Too much R134 and the system will not cool properly, the correct amount works, more or less does not.