Happy Trails,

Sometime back, in two different posts I spoke to both what may be your furnace problem and also the Heater Buddy.   I just did a search on both, using the keyword "furnace" and then the keyword "heater buddy".  I used 365 days for the MAX days to search and found both.  For those who haven’t used the search feature, it works very well.  Sometimes these post discussions end up in odd places and the search feature is the easiest way to find what you looking for.  Just like this topic of furnaces and Heater Buddy was posted under Tires, Tires, Tires.  Any way, I found both my posts and here they are:

04/18/02

I had a similar problem with my Suburban furnace. The fan would blow, the unit would attempt to light (three times) and would then shut down. With very limited knowledge of electronics, I turned to a local repairman authorized to work on Suburban furnaces. The tech said it would be best for me to remove the furnace myself and bring it in, so he could put it on a bench for testing. It wasn't hard removing the furnace from inside the sofa (2720sl), a couple of screws and color coding the wires (oops, there I go giving away my level of expertise in these matters).

Anyway, $200 later, I found out my problem was the furnace was in need of a
new ignition board.


The tech told me these boards had "the new generation of pressed cardboard circuitry" and were not that well sealed. Moisture often times will enter the board causing them to swell and break the circuit. This will oftentimes lead to much frustration, as the circuitry begins to go bad: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But eventually, the occasionally failure will "bring no delight to a cold night". Mine works great now. Just maybe, this is your problem. Not cheap, but less expensive than replacing the furnace.

Happy trails..............George

05/27/02

I would like to mention two purchases that have made our "dry camping" a much more simple process: 1) a extremely quiet, light-weight, very portable Honda 2000eu watt generator and 2) a propane heater from Mr heater, called Portable buddy.

We use the generator only to make coffee, run the microwave and charge the battery when required. We try limit our light usage to one at a time and turn the refrig to propane. When dry camping the TV is set to run on 12V. The furnace is turned off and out comes the "buddy" heater.

The portable "buddy" is placed on the top of the stove in our 2720SL. It can be operated using a standard 1 lb canister of propane. However, we use an optional 12 ft hose connector assembly, purchased from Mr. heater, which is connected to the heater and threaded through the small velcro'd flap to an outside 20 lb tank. This option is billed to heat for 110 hours. The unit operates at two settings: a 4000 btu low setting and a 9000 btu high setting. One unique feature of this unit is it's automatic "Low-Oxygen" Shut- off system. It's safe to use indoors.

Thusfar, We are very happy with both the Honda generator and our "buddy" heater. Good luck in the woods, and beware of the black flies. Boy, did I get "hammered" this past week, while chasing morels.     George

The heater buddy worked great for me, but I wasn’t at high altitude.  I only use the buddy when I’m dry camping.  Otherwise I use the hookup service.  I also, have a quartz heater along if I want to conserve on propane.  I would suggest the 12 hose and a larger propane tank.  If you could get a hose fabricated long enough, I’m sure you could take advantage of the tanks in the front of your TM.  The 1 lb canister works but is only good for about four hours.  We only had to run the buddy at the lowest setting and the trailer stayed nice and "toasty" (nights in the mid thirties).

George