User Tag List

Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 46
  1. #1
    Long Hauler D2Reid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Somewhere, USA
    Posts
    2,616
    Blog Entries
    3
    Mentioned
    30 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Furnace Fan Motor Failed, Lessons Learned

    Winter Rv'ers worst fear, you wake up in the middle of the night freezing, literally. So you start running through your checklist, propane supply. Tank valves open, regulator showing green light, stove lights and has a full blue flame with all the ports even and full, no red flames. Check the breaker box for a blown fuse, no little red lights on. Cycle the thermostat off, then back on. Thermostat clicks, get DW to cycle it while you go outside and listen.

    You know the start up cycle of the furnace. Outside you hear the control board click, but the fan motor does not turn. You check the DC power supply. On the MyRv Monitor window at the top it shows the DC volts, you turn the converter off, batteries showing 12.4v, you have DC power. You cycle the thermostat again, nothing, you do it again because it's really cold and you really want the furnace to come on, nothing.

    You crank up all of the electric heaters, you can't turn the heat pump on till it warms up a bit, I know it sounds silly but there is a temp range that the heat pump is unable to produce heat. Back to bed. In the morning you start the process of getting the furnace fixed. It's still under warranty so you call the Suburban customer support line, they tell you to haul it to an authorized suburban dealership, well you can't do that because it's buried in 4 feet of snow. So they say they can't help you but should you be able to find a suburban authorized mobile tech have them contact us... ok. You call GD customer support and they talk you through basic troubleshooting, same ones you did in the middle of the night, then they give you the Suburban customer support number as it's out of GD warranty but still in Suburban warranty. One loop closed.

    So you call the XtraRide extended warranty customer service number, you have the platinum service so you have roadside assistance and technical service and concierge service. Tech advice is busy they will call you back, I'll transfer you to roadside assistance to see if they can help you first. Roadside assistance will be happy to help get you a tow to the nearest Suburban authorized dealer. You explain that the RV is buried in 4 feet of snow. They would be very happy to contact a major large unit tow service to get you winched out of the snow, I thought that was pretty funny. I said what I really needed was a mobile tech. Sorry roadside service does not provide that let me transfer you back to customer support. In the mean time the tech advisor called, we walked through the same basic troubleshooting steps again, yup, it's either the control board or the fan motor.

    Most RV parks keep a reference list of service providers for the area. I went to the office and inquired, sure enough, a list of 5 RV mobile tech's permitted to do repairs in the park, great. Notice I am no longer working with the Xtraride folks, there is a $100 deductible if they provide the service. The unit is still under warranty so Suburban should pay for the repair, or at least the parts. It's kind of a trade off between paying the techs service call fees or the deductible, I decided to give the money to the guy that will actually do something.

    Tech 1, no answer. Tech 2 Number no longer in service. Tech 3 Yup, yup, we go through the basic troubleshooting steps again. Ok, you need to pull the panel off and get the model number, the serial number, and the motor part number, then all me back. Oh by the way I don't do warranty work so you will have to pay me directly and then submit a claim to Suburban. Tech 4, I'll be there in 15 minutes.

    Joe from Chad's Mobile RV repair shows up, we go through the basic troubleshooting once again, you never know, I might have missed something. He pulls the panel, checks dc power at the motor, he has the tools needed to cross check each component, sure enough, the fan motor will not turn when dc power is applied directly to it.

    I have read a lot of posts, and most folks would be a bit peeved at this point, but we are in our 8th year of fulltiming so I know this is just the normal process. It can be quite frustrating when compared to service in other industries, but it is what it is, you either deal with it or you go buy a house.

    So now for the most important lesson learned. The fan motor used in my 2017 Momentum 376 is not a common one. It must be ordered from Suburban and shipped. You guessed it, days before the furnace fan motor can be replaced. Guess where the single point of failure is on an RV furnace. Pretty much all RV parts suppliers have control boards, sail switches, limiting switches and some fan motors in stock, when the furnace goes out in the middle winter it's kind of a big deal.

    I told Joe that I would pay for expedited shipping. Joe is a really good guy. He told me that he had worked with Suburban before and has been pretty successful with getting warranty work approved, but he was up front with about the possibility the claim would not be approved. He had to get the motor directly from Suburban, but told me he would talk to them about the situation, he has had them overnight parts in similar conditions, but couldn't guarantee their response. This seemed very reasonable to me. PS, suburban will only sell parts to certified techs or dealers. You can buy parts through third party vendors.

    Back to the important lesson. When you are going to spend an extended time in very cold winter camping purchase an extra fan motor and keep it on hand. Even the Cheapheat system will not work without the motor pushing the air. It probably wouldn't hurt to have a spare control board also. The other switches can be temporarily bypassed.

    Fortunately for us we have a warm spell, 22 last night, forecast for the next few days calls for above freezing in the day and 26 for the low. The heat pump can deal with those temps. We are skirted so shouldn't freeze up. Temps drop into the teens this weekend, if I don't have the motor repaired by then I will have to make a Walmart run for more extension cords and portable heaters.

    Oddly, I am not upset about this situation nor frustrated by it. Had this happened when we had zubzero temps at night and only teens during the day it would have been more critical, as it is, it's just a minor inconvenience.
    Last edited by D2Reid; 02-27-2019 at 10:33 AM.
    Dallas
    2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
    2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750

  2. #2
    Rolling Along vonzoog's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Delaware
    Posts
    722
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Man, that is quit a story. More about the character of the man than the quality of the furnace. Take that as a compliment.

    What is the guess-a-ment cost of the fan motor?
    2018 Momentum 376TH
    2016 RAM 3500 Dually

  3. #3
    Long Hauler D2Reid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Somewhere, USA
    Posts
    2,616
    Blog Entries
    3
    Mentioned
    30 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by vonzoog View Post
    Man, that is quit a story. More about the character of the man than the quality of the furnace. Take that as a compliment.

    What is the guess-a-ment cost of the fan motor?
    $125 average I am trying to find the exact one, hardest part is waiting for the rv tech to call back, I feel like the little kid in the back seat, "is it here yet?" "is it here yet?"
    "is it here yet?"
    "is it here yet?"
    Dallas
    2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
    2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750

  4. #4
    Long Hauler
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Posts
    2,356
    Mentioned
    16 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    You have the greatest stories and outlook when things are, well you know.

    Brian

  5. #5
    Big Traveler SouthTX's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    I can see the Alamo
    Posts
    1,146
    Mentioned
    5 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    That's an excellent writeup and a great commentary on RV'ing. Doesn't do any good to get your BP up, that's just the way it is.

    It is also proof that the RV gods don't want us to live in snow. <G>
    John and Jean
    Springer Spaniel furkids Mea and (the late) Molly
    Blogs - BataanMissing.com - AirSafety.info
    2017 Ford F-350 6.7L CC SB, Andersen Ultimate Hitch.
    2018 Reflection 337RLS fifth wheel.

  6. #6
    Site Sponsor Cate&Rob's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    8,880
    Mentioned
    85 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Wow Dallas . . . that's a story. You patience is truly remarkable.

    It occurs to me that a "spare furnace" might be something worth considering. An entire furnace would not likely be much more expensive than a collection of all conceivable spare parts. Then, you just swap out the furnace and figure out the other one at your leisure and make it your spare. I actually do this with my boat . . . I keep a spare dressed engine and a spare rebuilt outdrive, just so that solving a major failure of either or both, is a one-day project.

    Rob
    Cate & Rob
    2015 Reflection 303RLS

  7. #7
    Rolling Along LV Naturist's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Henderson NV
    Posts
    895
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Embrace the Suck.jpg 
Views:	18 
Size:	93.3 KB 
ID:	18015

    John
    2018 Silverado LTZ 3500HD CC LB 4X4 DRW Duramax/Allison
    2019 Momentum 381M w/Full Body Paint
    2016 Can Am Spyder F3 Limited Special Series
    2017 Can Am Outlander 1000 XT-P
    2016 Wrangler Hard Rock Unlimited
    1997 Bayliner Capri 1950 affectionately named Skinnydipper
    MSgt, USAF (Ret)
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  8. #8
    Long Hauler D2Reid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Somewhere, USA
    Posts
    2,616
    Blog Entries
    3
    Mentioned
    30 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Cate&Rob View Post
    It occurs to me that a "spare furnace" might be something worth considering. Rob
    Would be nice, but I am pretty full and don't have anyplace to store it, one downside to fulltiming.

    John, I ran into that term not too long ago in a book, BITD we had SNAFU and FUBAR. But you learn to enjoy the good times and endure the bad ones. After all, the only thing you can truly control in life is your attitude.
    Dallas
    2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
    2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750

  9. #9
    Site Sponsor
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Where the road leads
    Posts
    1,340
    Mentioned
    5 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Wonder why your motor is so different? Wonder if a Grand Design Dealer could swap something out???? Good luck. Guess my fridge was not as bad! LOL Stay warm and good luck.
    Jim and Belinda H. Pa.

    2018 337RLS- 2nd ac, dual pane windows, table and chairs, Kodiak disc brakes 12-28-17 (Thanks Ed!)
    720w solar, 100/50 Victron scc


  10. #10
    Long Hauler D2Reid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Somewhere, USA
    Posts
    2,616
    Blog Entries
    3
    Mentioned
    30 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Jims94vmx View Post
    Wonder why your motor is so different? Wonder if a Grand Design Dealer could swap something out????
    Not sure why, it's the SF-35Q model. I have been having trouble finding a good parts guide for it. Lots of generic ones. I think I have it narrowed down to the 233040 motor and the 233042 kit, the kit containing the motor and a gasket.

    I haven't tried a dealer yet, I have no relationship with the dealers here so wouldn't expect them to go out of their way for me, but if I don't ask I wont know, thanks for the advice.
    Dallas
    2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
    2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750

Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

DISCLAIMER:This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grand Design RV, LLC or any of its affiliates. This is an independent site.