Whoops- Broke Lighter Hole Cover

[willski33]

Alright, so we finally did it...towed our '74 Tradewind home this Saturday. Fried the transmission in my Tundra on the way, but that's another story altogether.

Overall, we're super happy with the trailer. It's cleaning up nicely, floor seems solid...thank you to everyone who contributed to "what to look for when buying," type posts, it helped immensely.

In the process of lighting the pilot on the Suburban NT-22 (I believe), the lighter hole cover disintegrated in my hand. Judging by the flame that shot out the hole after I tried to start the furnace anyway, you need that part. Where can I get a replacement? Is it a standard sized thing that my local RV dealer may carry? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Will

[KeithC]

I have a 1968 Tradewind with a non-functional original heater. I researched the "heater" forums discussions here and learned that new replacement parts are not available and used parts are suspect at best. You end up putting lots of dollars in used parts into a 40+ propane heater that you hope will work. If the heater were in your home, you would have replaced it 20 years ago.

Being from Georgia, I do not camp after November nor before March. To burrrr cold for me.

I found that can heat the whole 24' trailer with a small electric 110v "milk house" heater with an electric fan blower and thermostat, that I purchased for $30.00.

And if I removed the old junk heater for under the kitchen sink I gain a lot of storage space.

[willski33]

Keith,

Thanks for the reply. We were planning on doing some limited winter camping when temps weren't too low, but still low enough to require a heater.

The part that I'm talking about is just the cover to where you light the pilot. It seems to be a simple metal screw on cap, kinda like for a milk jug, only metal. Otherwise the furnace works fine.

Does anyone know where to find a new one or if there are any suitable replacements out there?

Thanks

[willski33]

For what it's worth...

After wandering the isles of the local hardware store, I found a suitable substitute. Simply take the lid off of a can of Oatey PVC prep, break off the applicator, and then burn through the plastic. It has held up under two supervised tests, and seems as if it will work long term. The local RV dealers told me that the part was no longer available, and that I should get creative...guess that sums it up.

-Will