RV repairs are either thirty minutes or three days — there’s rarely an in-between. The difference is almost always whether you understand the system before you start, whether you have the right tools, and whether you ordered the correct part the first time. I’ve learned all three lessons the hard way, multiple times. The Highland Ridge Open Range furnace is one of those systems that looks simple until it isn’t — a failed igniter or a fried control board will leave you with a unit that clicks endlessly, fires inconsistently, or just sits completely dead while the temperature outside drops, and if you’ve ever spent a night in a cold rig trying to diagnose it by flashlight, you already know why getting this right the first time matters. I’ve turned over enough of these Open Range units to know exactly where the failure points hide, which parts actually need replacing versus which components just need to be cleaned or reseated, and how to tell the difference between an igniter problem and a control board problem before you spend money on the wrong fix.
The Control Board That Saved Me from a $1,200 Service Call
When your furnace clicks but won’t ignite, the control board is often the silent culprit — a fried circuit that no amount of troubleshooting will fix. Replacing it yourself is the difference between a $40 part and a dealer visit that’ll drain your road trip budget in one afternoon.
What works
- Direct drop-in replacement for Highland Ridge and most Suburban/Atwood furnaces — no rewiring or adapter hunting required
- Solves the “click but no spark” problem immediately; furnace fires up on the first test after installation
- Costs a fraction of what an RV service center charges just to diagnose the issue, let alone repair it
What doesn’t
- Installation requires you to kill the 12V power supply and work around propane lines — one mistake and you’re calling a tech anyway
- You have to be certain it’s the board that failed; ordering the wrong part leaves you in the same cold RV for another shipping cycle
I was parked in a campground outside Moab with temps dropping to 35°F at night, convinced I’d need a tow to the nearest RV service center — until I tested the board with a multimeter and saw exactly where it had burnt out. Furnace circuit board / control board arrived two days later, and I was warm again that same evening.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
