Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Airstream Forums > Airstream Knowledgebase > Airstream Trailer Forums > Excella 500 > 1975-1976 Excella 500
Click Here to Login
Register Vendors FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search Log in

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 06-08-2013, 04:38 PM   #1
1 Rivet Member
 
Cowboy mark's Avatar
 
1976 31' Excella 500
Corsicana , Texas
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 5
Basic 'how to's

I just bought a 76 excella 500 AS No owners manual, completely Ignorant and I mean completely ! About how to get started / reason of purchase: to be close to Dallas for 3 times weekly for kidney dialysis without hotel expenses as commute to my house after my treatments prohibitive / hired someone to transport trailer to nearby trailer , RV park yesterday / plugged into power , attached hose in side compartment to water faucet, went to Walmart and bought sewer hose , which I believe I can attach myself hopefully tomorrow. That's all I've done : I now have power, ie lights , outlets , and new refrigerator works ( it has a button for gas/ or electricity/ ceiling AC unit works very well and cooled the trailer fairly quickly /not sure if wall thermostats work or not / seem original to trailer So here goes the dumb questions: HOW DO I GET RUNNING WATER? HOW DO I GET GAS STOVE TO Work? ( do I do anything to front two propane tanks! See I told you ! Sounds dumb but so be it/ next questions will be how to get running water if I ever decide to take a trip without being at a campsite you can hook up to I heard you have a reserve tank for a few days use and power for maybe a day or so / PLEASE HELP! PS : original control box is in sliding cabinet above stove / oven unit
Cowboy mark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2013, 05:04 PM   #2
Rivet Master
 
1988 32' Excella
Robbinsville , New Jersey
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 3,164
For the sewer hose you might need 1 of these adapters to connect it to the trailer.
Valterra T05-2285VP Thetford to Valterra Universal Adapter : Amazon.com : Automotive

Once the water hose is connect to the trailer you should just have to turn on the water to the hose.

For the stove you do have to turn on the tanks first, it sometimes takes 2 minutes to get propane through the lines to the stove.
Wazbro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2013, 05:09 PM   #3
1 Rivet Member
 
Cowboy mark's Avatar
 
1976 31' Excella 500
Corsicana , Texas
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 5
Thanks / odd I did connect hose to trailer i mean park attendant did ill see tonite if actual faucet was turned on , if so is there any switches I need to be aware of?
Cowboy mark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2013, 05:30 PM   #4
3 Rivet Member
 
SStar's Avatar
 
2004 28' Classic
Midland , Texas
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 182
Welcome, sounds like you are off and running. I have only owned my AS for a few months but will try to help you if i can. First the new sewer hose you bought may not hook up. The trailer may have a Thetford fitting, the hose is probably a Valterra fitting. You will need an adapter available at any RV supply. I bought mine on ebay. For the propane just be sure there is propane in the bottles, the line is connected, and open the valves on the bottles. If you connected your hose to the park water and to the correct fitting on the trailer you should have water when you open the faucet. If not you may have a valve closed inside the trailer, check by the water heater.
Your trailer has a fresh water tank for use when you are not hooked to park water. It will be about a 40-50 gallon tank. The filler for mine is about half way on the street side. It has a little door that you open with a key then remove a cap to fill the water tank with a hose. Inside the trailer you will find a switch to turn on the 12 volt water pump. It is an on demand pump that works independent from the shore water. That's a start, there will surely be some people with much more knowledge than me offering advice. You might look around the park you are in. Most RVers are quick to help if they can. Good luck!
SStar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2013, 05:39 PM   #5
1 Rivet Member
 
Cowboy mark's Avatar
 
1976 31' Excella 500
Corsicana , Texas
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 5
Thank you so much!
Cowboy mark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2013, 05:41 PM   #6
1 Rivet Member
 
Cowboy mark's Avatar
 
1976 31' Excella 500
Corsicana , Texas
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 5
Just so I know , where is the water heater placement in case water is not working ?
Cowboy mark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2013, 09:53 PM   #7
3 Rivet Member
 
SStar's Avatar
 
2004 28' Classic
Midland , Texas
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 182
On my 28' the water heater is on the street side just behind the tires, it will have a small metal door to access it.
SStar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2013, 10:03 PM   #8
1 Rivet Member
 
Cowboy mark's Avatar
 
1976 31' Excella 500
Corsicana , Texas
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 5
Thanks / now another problem / just got home from dialysis / 10:35 pm , a/c unit is not blowing out any air / I had it on low setting all day/ do these things freeze up? Help someone it's really hot in here!
Cowboy mark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-09-2013, 06:12 AM   #9
3 Rivet Member
 
Roblin , MB.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 113
Your controls on the air conditioner may have not been turned on properly to "air condition" and may have been set to just exchange air. You should hear the compressor cut in when you first start the unit up.
These units can freeze up. They can also be low on Freon. However you did mention that it had cooled well previously so it should be OK.

Leave the drain valves on the grey water and black water tank closed. When the black water tank is getting full drain it first and then the grey water tank. The grey water tank will "flush" the drain valves. You need to make sure your drain hose is sloped towards the park dump. Each time you dump the tanks you may want to add a chemical treatment to prevent odors. Do a search on the forum for holding tank chemicals -there will be lots of options. The tank monitors in your control panel may not be all that accurate. If you happen to get grey water come up in the shower pan - your grey water tank is full!! You can check the black water tank level by looking down into the tank thru the toilet when the flush valve is open.

You may want to get the propane tanks filled up so that you are not running out at some inopportune time. The filler will check numbers stamped in your tank and if the date is expired you will have to get the valves re-worked. The hose fitting threads are reversed from normal if you go to disconnect them.

The hot water tank should have lighting instructions stamped inside the door access when you open it.

Your stove should have a pilot light that you should light. Do a search on the forum to see how to do that.

Do you know if the power converter / battery charger has been replaced. The original ones tend to boil your battery over. The new "intelligent" converters do not do that. Again do a search on the forums and you can learn about that situation.

Place your fridge on electricity. Put a cheap thermometer inside to monitor the temp. There will be a control to set the temperature.

Do not go away from your site and leave your awning extended. Wind and rain can damage the awning. If it is extended drop one corner down a foot so if you get a sudden downpour the awning will not pool water. Search on the forum to see how to extend and retract the awning.

You may want to purchase an operators manual or the shop service manual for your coach. Sometimes they come up on the classified on the forums and also on e-bay. I think you can also get them from Airstream. I notice there are people putting them on CD's and selling them.

Do enjoy your A/S.

You can also ask questions on the forums

nairnchyz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-09-2013, 06:59 AM   #10
1 Rivet Member
 
2007 25' Safari FB SE
Yarmouth , Maine
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 15
Greetings and welcome! While you search for the operators manual, I would recommend purchasing "The Newbies Guide to Airstreaming" by Rich Luhr. This is a great resource that provides a quick read for new Airstreamers with great directions (how to light the pilot light in the stove, how to santitize the fresh water system, how to empty your gray and black water tanks, etc). When this book arrived, I read through it in about an hour and felt more informed (and confident). Best of luck to you!
LavenderMoon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-09-2013, 07:08 AM   #11
Rivet Master
 
Becky B.'s Avatar
 
1964 17' Bambi II
Vintage Kin Owner
Schererville , Indiana
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,637
Images: 19
About your air conditioner....they do freeze up. You should turn the "cool" dial a few notches warmer than the coolest setting. It might not be ice cold, but it will keep the trailer cool and not freeze up as easily. The temperature setting is what keeps it from freezing up, not the low/med/high setting.
__________________
Becky


1964 Bambi II
1988 Avion 32S
Becky B. is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Basic Question UtahChic Batteries, Univolts, Converters & Inverters 25 02-18-2012 11:01 AM
1967 Safari - Basic electrical - photos attached denverdingo Electrical - Systems, Generators, Batteries & Solar 12 10-18-2011 11:33 PM
Inverter - basic questions django-bop Batteries, Univolts, Converters & Inverters 7 05-04-2011 04:40 PM
Basic h/w heater question (empty tank) TennisMan Water Heaters, Filters & Pumps 4 03-01-2011 02:19 PM
Is there a basic maintenance/upkeep class? dgray General Repair Forum 5 02-22-2011 03:36 PM


Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Airstream, Inc. or any of its affiliates. Airstream is a registered trademark of Airstream Inc. All rights reserved. Airstream trademark used under license to Social Knowledge LLC.



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.