Posted 2013-02-08 6:39 PM (#149772) Subject: Need orientation on living quarters trailer
New User
Posts: 1
Location: Ft. Pierre, SD
Got my first horse trailer with complete living quarters. No information came with the trailer so is there a "Living Quarters for Dummies" out there. i.e. Do I have to light a pilot light to run my furnace and refrig? Should there be a switch to change the trailer from battery power to outside 110?
Posted 2013-02-09 3:46 AM (#149780 - in reply to #149772) Subject: RE: Need orientation on living quarters trailer
New User
Posts: 3
Location: ROCKY RIVER
Most manufacturers of Living Quarters Trailers manufacture the shell of the trailer themselves, and then subcontract the Living Quarters area to a Conversion company. The horse trailer manufacturer has a stack of manuals gets a stack of owners manuals from the Conversion company. They also get manuals on the devices they install like jacks, windows, suspensions, etc. These are all supposed to be sent to the dealer but unfortunately are lost before the customer gets the trailer. I would try the component manufacturer's website first, they usually have online manuals. Another option is to call the dealer and ask if they can get the manuals from the Trailer manufacturer. We do air ride suspensions for trailers and have spent many hours developing a manual that we ship with every suspension. when questions arise with the end user, I rarely hear that they have those manuals.Good Luck! Hope this helps.
Posted 2013-02-09 6:51 AM (#149783 - in reply to #149772) Subject: RE: Need orientation on living quarters trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489
Originally written by jpslider on 2013-02-08 6:39 PM
Got my first horse trailer with complete living quarters. No information came with the trailer so is there a "Living Quarters for Dummies" out there. i.e. Do I have to light a pilot light to run my furnace and refrig? Should there be a switch to change the trailer from battery power to outside 110?
It's a Pony Hill Conversion. Thanks for any help.
I was in the same spot as you a few years ago, bought my first LQ and knew nothing. The good news is that most everything is very simple and the vast majority of LQ\RV parts are widely available. What I would suggest is getting a model number for your furnace, stove, fridge, and power convertor.The plumbing is a very simple system, it runs via a pump to supply the water and gravity to get rid of the water. As far as I can tell there are two companies that make water heaters, Atwood and Suburban...find out which you have and download the manual.Power for the LQ is fairly simple once you understand how it flow. Here is a good reference:http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htmRemember that in reality an LQ is just a RV stuck into a horse trailer and there is LOTS of information about RVs on the net so if you are looking for information don't think you need to search specifically for horse trailer LQ info.
Posted 2013-02-09 3:59 PM (#149795 - in reply to #149772) Subject: RE: Need orientation on living quarters trailer
Veteran
Posts: 201 Location: Lincoln, NE
How exciting to have a new trailer. Hope you have lots of fun with it.
When needed I was lucky enough to find a local RV business whose service people were willing and able to explain and show how everything worked. I had them do some work for me but they were more than willing to explain even if it wasn't their installation.
I know some RV businesses want nothing to do with horse trailers so don't be shocked if they won't help.
I would think RV appliance manufacturers would have owner's manuals availabe for download.
Posted 2013-02-09 6:49 PM (#149799 - in reply to #149772) Subject: RE: Need orientation on living quarters trailer
Veteran
Posts: 218 Location: Ohio
All the information posted is correct. Having said that, to answer some of your questions:
On newer trailers you will not have to light a pilot light for your furnace, refrig or hot water heater. The refrigerator may give you a "check engine" light if it does not light the first time. You have to allow the propane to flow back to that area. Just turn it off and then back on to have it re-light. Same thing with the hot water heater. As for switching from shore power to patter, you rig will do that automatically when you plug into shore power. Most rigs don't have an inverter, so microwave, TVs etc will not run on battery. As soon as you plug into shore power they will be available.
Most of your 110 requiring appliances will run on 15-20 amp power sources, the one that won't is your AC. That will require a 30amp connection. So when you are at your house and want to just use the lights or cool down the refrigerator, you can get an adapter for your 30 amp plug and plug into a standard house hold plug in your garage. Then you can use the propane to run the refrigerator while you travel.
That should get you started at least.
Need orientation on living quarters trailer
