problems with fan, ac, furnace and breakers

[rorib22]

I have a big sky Montana, an older one i think it’s a 2002 l, I don’t know much about it. model 3670RL
the main issue i’m having is that I can’t plug in more than 2 things, for ex. my tv & coffee maker, if I wanted to make coffee i’d have to turn off my tv or the breaker would blow. but I can run the built in heater while using my tv, usually takes a couple hours for the breaker to blow with just those 2 running. i’ve tried moving outlets around, no matter where something is plugged in the breakers blow.
the other issue is the furnace, fan and ac, none of them work. they used to work a few months ago, the previous owner never had any issues until the fan and ac went out. the system won’t even cut on at all. i’ve tried everything I can think of but like I said I don’t know much about it. also when I tried to hook propane up, nothing worked on the stove.

[Gonefishing]

First welcome to the site. Seems you have a lot going and I’m not going to be much help. Myself thinking I would start checking the power into the camper. I’m thinking there is a short somewhere. Not having the knowledge it takes for electric issues I would have to get up with a rv repair company or someone with electrical knowledge. There are a lot of experienced people on this site and I’m sure someone will be offering advice soon.

[AZ Traveler]

Rori,

First, welcome to the forum.

Recommend finding a mobile tech to help sort out your issues.

[Carl n Susan]

Can you describe how you are hooked to power and what kind it is? For example: are you using RV power pole with a 50 amp power cord *OR* a outlet at the house with an extention cord and some type of adapter *OR*......

What "breaker" keeps blowing? The one at the power source or one in the RV? If in RV, which one?

Unless you are omfortable with a Volt/Ohm meter, your best option is to obtain assistance. Either a neighbor or a mobile repair service.

[rorib22]

My neighbor is an electrician he hooked up a 50amp rv pole, connected straight to the house breaker. the breakers that keep blowing are usually the kitchen, living room or mini main breaker that sits next to all the smaller amp breakers, sorry that’s the best description I can give. the main one for the camper never shuts off, and neither does the house one. my neighbors are willing to help if I can narrow down what the issue could be, they’ve all looked it over and have no idea what could be wrong since there is so much going on

[newowneroldmontana]

Don't know if this will help you or not, but several years ago I had a hot skin at a campground--I knew because my ex-husband kept getting zapped while on a ladder, working on slide toppers.
We confirmed it by using a little pen-like voltage detector. (I can't remember what they're called.)

I reported it to the campground, and the campground manager checked the pedestal and declared it to be fine, and me crazy. So I called the local mobile tech everyone used, (and who I still trust), and he confirmed that yes, I did have a hot skin, and he finally figured out that the problem was a lack of grounding at the pedestal.

The campground manager then *very quickly* called their electrician, who fixed the problem. But my point is that before the very experienced mobile tech checked the pedestal, he went all over my rig trying to figure out the problem, and was left scratching his head about my whole electrical system. He said he thought my rig was a 30 amp, not a 50 amp, because of how the breaker board was set up. Or, he thought, maybe there was an additional breaker board on my rig that he just wasn't finding.

I only found out years later that early Montanas have breaker boards set up differently than later models. I have a 2002 3670RL fifth wheel, and my breaker panel is divided into a 30 amp and a 20 amp section, sort of. So maybe unknowingly overloading certain circuits is part of the problem?

[newowneroldmontana]

Also, I know I've got a 3670RL because it's written on the outside of my rig, right next to the door. Your model number is probably written on your rig too.

[rorib22]

I believe mine is the same year as yours, it’s a 3670rl but it says 45 amp on the panel to the breaker. “45 amp, series 7300 ,model 7345”

[newowneroldmontana]

Yes, that's exactly what mine says. I don't really know whether we only have 45 amps available to us total, or if we have 50 amps. I can't get back there right now, but I think mine says 50 amps on the back of my rig, where the electric cord plugs in. I'm pretty sure the air conditioner, and probably the thermostat for the furnace, are on the 20 amp breaker, and the outlets are on the 30 amp breaker, if that helps.

I tripped some circuit breakers very soon after buying my rig used, by having too many electrical things plugged into outlets and running at once, and it spooked me off of taking chances ever since. I always turn off the AC when using the microwave, for instance, even though I think they're not really electrically connected.

[newowneroldmontana]

Another thought I had is that maybe your TV is the culprit, with your outlet breakers blowing. I don't know what you mean by "built in heater," but if you're just moving your TV around to test outlets and circuits, and not any other appliances, your TV may be the problem.

I recently had a GFCI outlet trip while my TV was on and plugged into it, like it's been for years. I
pushed the button to reset the outlet and turned the TV back on, only to have the outlet trip again about 10 minutes later. I reset the outlet again and it tripped again without anything plugged in. This time I couldn't reset it, and it stayed tripped until about 5 weeks later, when out of desperation I tried again, but just happened to come at the outlet from a different angle. This time it reset, and I've been using a space heater and a night light plugged into that outlet ever since.

I still don't know exactly what the problem was, or why it wouldn't reset, but I've had another small appliance trip that outlet before, and when I did research, I found that TVs can trip breakers and GFCI outlets. So if you've only moved your TV around, maybe try something else electrical.

[newowneroldmontana]

If you haven't figured out the issue yet, you might check to make sure there's no problem with the basic setup of the pedestal (aka power pole). There's lots of information in old posts on this forum, and on the internet in general, about how an RV pedestal is different from a house's electrical setup, and about how many otherwise very competent electricians are unfamiliar with the difference.

[Daryles]

Quote,
"My neighbor is an electrician he hooked up a 50amp rv pole, connected straight to the house breaker."

Please have your electrician neighbor come back and verify the 50A receptacle he installed is correct.
I have read too many stories of a residential electrician wiring an RV 50A receptacle incorrectly.

[Lee-CI]

Originally Posted by Daryles

Quote,
"My neighbor is an electrician he hooked up a 50amp rv pole, connected straight to the house breaker."

Please have your electrician neighbor come back and verify the 50A receptacle he installed is correct.
I have read too many stories of a residential electrician wiring an RV 50A receptacle incorrectly.

I'm with Daryles on this one! Use the drawing he provided.

[RMcNeal]

One other possibility, the breakers are over 20 years old. Sometimes the springs will get weak in them and they will trip too easily. Had a few in our 30 year old home do that. As Carl said, you'll need to get very familiar with the VOM meter or find out what kind of beer your neighbor really likes.