A close acquaintance of mine loves adventure. He is a sky diver, a bungee jumper, a scuba diver, a mountain climber, and now he’s thinking of taking up paragliding just to make sure he hasn’t missed out on anything. You name it, he’ll do it. Looking at him from afar, he appears to take his life into perilous situations. But if you asked him about the hazards of his sports, he would tell you that everything he does is perfectly safe – as long as he pays attention to what he’s doing and takes care of his equipment. For him, being 70 feet under water or 7000 feet in the air is safe, because he has the right equipment and he knows how to use it.

There’s a lesson in this for us. Our RVs include certain items of safety equipment that we need to understand and put to proper use. In fact, this adventuresome friend of mine wouldn’t think of traveling in an RV that didn’t have a smoke detector, a carbon monoxide detector, and an LP gas detector in perfect working order. It’s not that the RV lifestyle is particularly risky – it’s that these important items of safety equipment help eliminate risks that might accidentally appear.

Understanding the three detectors (smoke, LP gas, and carbon monoxide) that are included in every Holiday Rambler is the first step to eliminating problems these pieces of equipment are designed to handle. Knowing what they are and why they’re there will naturally lead to proper routine maintenance. And if an alarm ever sounds, you’ll feel comfortable in knowing that the detector is doing its job, and you’ll understand how to respond in a safe manner.

The Smoke Detector

Somewhere about the middle of the RV you’ll see a small, circular disc that is attached to the ceiling. Unless you were looking for it, you would likely overlook it entirely, because it blends in fairly well with the ceiling décor. It just sits there waiting for the conditions that will bring it into action. And when it does go into action, it makes itself very obvious to everyone in the RV.

Smoke is what will set this unit into full screaming mode. This particular unit is an ionization-type alarm, which means it is sensitive to small “invisible” particles as well as large “visible” smoke particles. Depending upon how badly you pay attention to your galley efforts, this detector may alert everybody within earshot that dinner is ready.

There are four times when you might hear the alarm. First and most frequently (because you‘re supposed to test the alarm once a week when the RV is in use, or prior to every trip when the RV is used only infrequently) is when you test the detector by pressing the test button. This will trigger three short beeps followed by a 2-second pause and then a repeat of the beeps. If the alarm fails to respond properly, check to make sure there is a full-strength battery properly installed. If it still fails the test, the detector should be replaced immediately.

The second event is when the battery becomes weak, which will cause the detector to sound an intermittent beep once per minute for at least 30 days or until you change the battery. The smoke detectors that are installed in Holiday Ramblers are battery-type units, not hardwired into the vehicle electrical system. An easily replaceable 9-volt DC battery provides all the power the alarm needs. To install a fresh battery, simply grasp the detector and rotate it counterclockwise to free it from the holding bracket that is attached to the ceiling. Change the battery, then reinstall the alarm to the mounting bracket with a clockwise twist. The unit is designed to prevent attachment to the bracket unless a battery is installed.

Then there is the unlikely alarm event when you have cooked poorly and have triggered a false alarm. The unit can‘t tell a real fire from a burned roast, so it will sound the alarm, just in case. And the fourth event is the one everyone hopes will never happen – a real fire. If that ever happens, you‘ll be extremely grateful for this small safety device.

Routine maintenance—other than testing and replacing batteries—consists of nothing more complicated than keeping the unit clean. This is done by using a vacuum wand with a soft brush attachment to clean the detector housing of dust or cobwebs that may collect. This cleaning should be done monthly, or more often as needed.

If the smoke alarm ever sounds and the cause is not immediately apparent (the pot roast or Uncle Jack and his cigar), everyone in the RV should be alerted and moved to a safe area outside the coach until the source of the trouble can be found and corrected.

LP Gas Detector

Liquid Propane (LP) gas is a wonderful benefit to RVers, because it allows us to heat our water, cook our food, operate a refrigerator, and keep the coach interior warm. Without LP gas, life would be more of a challenge. But if there is ever an escape of gas into the RV interior, you need to know it right away, because accumulations of gas can cause serious problems.

LP gas is heavier than air, so if it escapes from the gas supply lines or appliances it tends to puddle at about floor level. For that reason, the LP gas detector is installed only a few inches above the floor in the kitchen area, where most of the propane appliances are located. The unit installed in Holiday Ramblers utilizes the latest microprocessor technology to detect fumes and sound the alarm. In addition to propane, the detector may be activated by other explosive gases such as acetone, alcohol, butane and gasoline, providing a broad spectrum of protection. However, there are harmless substances that may also sound the alarm, including deodorants, colognes, perfumes, wine, adhesives, lacquer, glues, most cleaning agents and propellant of aerosol cans. A false alarm, triggered by one of these harmless substances is rare, because most of these fumes are lighter than air and will not approach the detector unless the coach is tightly closed up and the fumes are allowed to circulate down to floor level. Still, if the alarm sounds, regardless of the reason, safety requires that you assume the cause is a propane leak and follow the correct course of action.

The proper procedure if the alarm sounds is to turn off all gas appliances (stove, furnace, refrigerator, water heater), extinguish all flames and smoking materials, and then evacuate everyone from the RV. Leave doors and windows open to allow the coach to air out. The next step is to locate the propane tank and shut the main valve to prevent more propane from entering the supply lines. Finally, determine the cause of the alarm, and have the problem solved.

When the detector is first powered up, the yellow LED will flash for 3 minutes while the unit is stabilizing, then the light will turn green to indicate full operation. If gas is detected, the alarm will sound and the red LED will flash continuously until the gas clears or the mute switch is pressed.

Pressing the mute/test button when the detector is in alarm mode will cause the LED to continue flashing red and the alarm will beep every 30 seconds until the gas level has dropped to a safe level. Then the LED will flash green until the end of the mute cycle. If dangerous gas levels return before the end of the mute cycle, the alarm will beep 4 times and then return to a red LED and beeps on a 30-second interval. After 2 minutes the detector will return to normal operation (solid green LED) or sound the alarm again if dangerous levels of gas remain in the area.

Periodic maintenance consists of using a soft brush attachment to vacuum the dust off the detector weekly, or more frequently if dust is a particular problem. You may hand wash the detector cover, using a damp cloth or paper towel, then dry with a soft cloth. Do not spray cleaning agents or waxes on the front panel, because this may cause an alarm or damage the detector.

Carbon Monoxide Detector

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas that is a byproduct of combustion. Any kind of combustion—whether it‘s in the furnace, the water heater, the refrigerator, the stove, the auxiliary generator, or the vehicle‘s engine—will cause some level of carbon monoxide (CO). CO buildup in your RV doesn‘t necessarily mean there‘s anything wrong with your coach, because this stuff can drift in from a neighboring RV generator or primary engine. So, to protect everyone in your RV, it‘s necessary to have a properly functioning carbon monoxide detector.

In Holiday Ramblers, the CO detector is located in the bedroom, usually beneath one of the shirt closets above a bedside nightstand. This offers maximum protection during the time when occupants will be less active and the doors and windows are most likely to be tightly shut. An alarm in the bedroom would shake occupants out of their sleep so they could take proper action.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is very serious, progressive and cumulative. Even low levels of exposure have been known to cause damage to the brain and other vital organs. Mild exposure is manifest by symptoms of a slight headache, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. It may feel like the flu. Symptoms of a greater level of exposure may include a throbbing headache, drowsiness, confusion and an accelerated heart rate. Extreme exposure can result in unconsciousness, convulsions, cardio-respiratory failure, and death.

The CO detector installed in Holiday Ramblers is engineered to detect toxic levels of carbon monoxide, not the minor emissions from cigarettes or normal cooking. The unit is hard wired into the vehicle‘s electrical system, so there is no need to monitor battery strength or to ever change batteries. The unit is equipped with a self-cleaning sensor and requires a 10-minute initial warm-up period to clean the sensor element and achieve stabilization.

Under normal operation, the green light will glow. If the light ever shows yellow, that indicates a malfunction condition. When that happens, the alarm will sound and cannot be reset by pressing the test/reset button. The detector must be replaced or repaired.

A red light indicates that a hazardous level of carbon monoxide has been detected, and the horn will sound continuously until the reset switch is reset. When the detector goes into alarm mode, the occupants should immediately evacuate the RV. The problem with staying in an environment heavy with CO is that the individual becomes progressively disabled to the point that he or she may not be capable of evacuating later on. Get out now, is the proper procedure. The RV owner should do a head count to make sure everyone got out okay. Do not go back into the RV until the coach has been thoroughly aired out and the cause of the problem corrected.

The carbon monoxide detector should be tested once a week while the RV is in active use, and before each trip if the RV has been in storage. Test the system by holding the test button in until the alarm sounds. If all is well, the alarm will stop beeping after about 30 seconds, and the green light will continue to glow. In addition to monitoring the detector to see that the proper color of light is showing, and performing periodic tests, routine maintenance includes using a soft brush attachment on the vacuum to clean the dust off the alarm cover at least once each year, or more frequently in particularly dusty areas. Do not use cleaning agents or waxes on the unit, because this may damage the detector.

My friend the scuba diving parachute jumper would insist on getting to know how to use all the safety equipment at his disposal, then taking good care of it. Only then can the equipment return the favor. It‘s a safe way to live, whether you‘re sneaking up on a wolf eel 70 feet below the water, hanging in a harness 7000 feet in the sky, or enjoying your favorite RV campground.