RV Electrical 101: How I solved A Burning Question In My RV
If you’ve been following my posts lately, you’re aware that my travels have been cut short by an RV electrical problem. If I plugged into shore power, the bedroom at the back of the RV would quickly fill with smoke. I was going headed to the nearest Camping World (in Billings, Montana) so they could right the problem their dealership in North Fargo neglected to find. After that, I’d be on my way South, albeit by a much different route than the one that I’d originally set out to discover. Such is life, isn’t it?
On the way there, I stayed overnight at the Huntley Project Museum in Montana. It’s a really amazing little museum with a lot of fantastic artifacts from the bygone era when Huntley was a brand new place on an ever expanding map. It’s got a well stocked gift shop full of hand crafted items from the area’s local artisans. This place is run by a fantastic group of volunteers. Oh who am I kidding. It was obvious the whole time I was there that the black cat who presided as the museum mascot ran the place. I should add this: Of course Jolene and Annabelle really wanted to make his up close and personal acquaintance! But the cat made himself scarce, and soon so did we. Off to the Camping World in Billings.
Camping World, Billings Montana
The Camping World in Billings wasn’t hard to find. I found a spot to park, and headed inside the big store to the service department. Behind a long counter, a middle aged blonde woman was busily looking at a computer monitor. After a time she looked up, obviously a little surprised to see another human. I was able to get her attention explained the situation. “We have an RV tech that can help you over the phone.” she said as she scribbled a number on a yellow post it note. I was expecting friendlier service and a less dismissive attitude…but okay.
So next I had to find a place to pull into to call this guy to get the problem fixed. In hindsight I should have camped in the Camping World parking lot until they solved the problem. However much this hindsight plagues me today, I drove off to find a rest area. After I found one, I spent 4 hours and 12 minutes on the phone with the tech. At the end, he said Daisy May’s electrical system was obsolete and I should bring it in to get everything replaced. Uh….no. During that time I figured out what I suspected was the problem.
Return To Canada
I drove up to Alberta. On the way there I passed herds of bison, pronghorn antelopes, and miles of beautiful country. But I couldn’t stop. I wanted to get back to my country. I had an RV electrical issue I had to figure out. Driving long highways is the best time to think. For me, it’s sometimes easiest to resolve issues when I’m behind the wheel. AAs I drove, what I needed to do became as clear as day.
I pulled into the spacious parking lot of the beautiful information centre in Lethbridge. As always when I stop anywhere, I took my stalwart travelling companions for a walk before anything else. Then I turned off the DC power. I’ll admit I shut off the AC power even though there wasn’t any. Because I was still a little phobic about electricity, and anyway it seemed like a good practice. Then I grabbed my electrical kit from the cabinet in the RV and took the cover off the breaker panel.
The Answer To A Burning Question
Lo and behold, there had been a small fire in the breaker panel. Just one neutral wire on a bus bar burnt. The resulting flame caused the plastic insulation on the one next to it to melt too . It was lucky I was inside the RV to smell it as it burned so I could disconnect right away. It could have been so much worse. Stranded in a foreign country watching my home on wheels burn…I shuddered at the thought. I was lucky. How many RVs had burned after Camping World RV technicians said couldn’t find any problem and lied about the work they’d done? I was now angry.
Well, the only thing to do was disconnect the wire, wrap it in electrical tape, and clean up the terminal as best I could before putting everything back together. As a precaution, I tightened all the nuts on the neutral bar. If you own any type of RV, you might think that the breaker switches will cut the power to a circuit if there is any anomaly. This is almost true. However, the breakers don’t flip if the anomaly is a loose connecting nut on the neutral bar.
Know This If You Own An RV
What I learned from this experience is to check and tighten all the wire connectors before and after every trip. A fire causing electrical hazard can be easily avoided by taking 15 minutes to do this. Yes, it’s something the Camping World, North Fargo technician said he checked during our conversation 3 times- every time I asked him. The other issue here is dismissing my concerns because a) I”m a woman and b) I’m a woman who travels solo. But I’ll save that for another blog post.
