RV troubleshooting

I was sitting in the cab one November morning, thermostat cranked to heat, when I heard it: that rapid metallic clicking, like something inside the furnace was trying to spark but couldn’t quite catch. A second later—nothing. Dead silence. I knew that sound. It meant the igniter was either burned out completely or the control … Read more

Most RV owners walk into an AC failure thinking the whole cooling system is shot—compressor’s dead, refrigerant’s gone, time to call a mobile tech. That assumption costs them money and time they don’t have. The truth is simpler: nine times out of ten when a Coachmen Mirada’s AC unit hums but pushes no cold air, … Read more

I’ve got my workbench set up in the shade behind bay two, and this is where I spend half my summer — sitting on a stool with a clamp and a multimeter, pulling dead capacitors out of Thor Freedom Travelers one after another. The pattern never changes: owner calls, says the AC hummed once and … Read more

Skip replacing a bad igniter in your Mirada and you’ll be shivering in an unheated rig before the week’s out — possibly stranded if temperatures drop fast. I’ve spent enough time under Mirada furnace panels to recognize the pattern: the Suburban 232286 igniter fails predictably in these units, and when it goes, it takes your … Read more

I’ve got the access door open on this Thor Freedom Traveler’s furnace cabinet, and I’m staring at the igniter assembly—a thin ceramic rod sitting inside a metal housing that’s supposed to glow hot enough to light propane, except it isn’t doing either. The thermostat’s been calling for heat for the last three minutes. The blower’s … Read more