New Thermostat for 2009 25-ft Hi-Lo Classic

A good while back I was reading of problems a number of Hi-Lo owners were having with their standard Hi-Lo factory thermostats when they used their furnaces on a cold night. Well, I must say, I did not pay much attention to the thread, but I do remember a number of owners switched out the standard thermostats for the Hunter brand thermostats. The reason I didn't pay much attention is because dear husband and I live in the low country of South Carolina and have not started the furnace once since we purchased our Hi-Lo new in 2009. The heat strip in the AC has been sufficient to take the chill off when we begin our camping season in the spring of each year. We have fairly mild winters.

This spring of 2012 we want to start our camping season in the Smokey Mountains. There is no doubt that we will need to run our furnace. Dear husband has been looking in various stores for the Hunter thermostat, but all he finds are thermostats (including Hunter) that control both AC and the furnace. Where in the world does one get a new digital thermostat (preferably a Hunter) that efficiently controls the inside Hi-Lo temperature for the furnace only? Thanks in advance for your help.

Dee

2009 2509C Hi-Lo
2010 F-250 Ford Diesel Powerstroke

Sorry, I should have started new thread instead of replying to post.

Dee

Hi Dee,

The factory thermostat does work and it is reliable! If you and hubby are only rarely going to use the propane furnace, I wouldn't change the thermostat.

Yes, a number of us, myself included, have changed our thermostats in favor of a digital version. Speaking for myself (although I'd bet most others would agree), I changed because we frequently camp in colder geographic, or higher altitude locations, and camp in the early Spring and late Fall, and use our furnaces fairly often. The major complaint I had about the factory thermostat was that it wasn't sensitive enough... and it caused big temperature swings if we were using the furnace all night and maybe all day. The digital thermostat I installed (a Hunter, although Honeywell makes one too), regulates furnace operation better and results in a more constant temperature. Its not perfect, and the trailer doesn't have the volume or insulation needed to hold as level a temperature as your home, but its better than when the factory thermostat was controlling the furnace.

So, if your camping travels are going continue to mostly keep you in the mild winters of South Carolina, with only the occasional foray into colder territory, stick with what you have... it will keep you warm, and well, maybe hot at times, but still more comfortable than Charleston in mid-August! ;-)

Have fun!
Jim

PS: If you are still determined to change thermostats, I bought our Hunter at Wally World and just ignore the A/C portion.

Adjust the thermostat or replace it.

If you don't want to change the thermostat now but would like to get the cheap standard one under control there is a simple adjustment that can be made. It is something that should have been done at the factory. The heat anticipator is what controls the swing of the on to off temperatures. All it is is a little potentiometer that adjusts a small heating element which in turn heats the bi-metal spring a small amount to make it turn the furnace off sooner than what the actual desired heat is set to. Remove the front cover on the thermostat and you will see a little metal lever attached to the back plate. It can be moved about 90 degrees total and there are little graduations on the metal surface behind it. It is supposed to be set to a value that agrees with the regulator control on the furnace. On home heating furnaces there is usually a number value of maybe .5 amp on the gas valve and then you would set the anticipator to that value. I have not been able to find that type of number on our furnace. So, the rule of thumb is, set the lever to about the middle of the scale and see how that works. Just be careful when moving it so you don't accidentally damage the big spring. A thumbnail makes a good tool for the adjustment. You should see the furnace run more often but the temperature will not have the big swings. You can fine tune the anticipator one way or the other until you are satisfied with how the temperature is feeling to you.

Hello! Are you still awake?

If you want to convert to a digital thermostat you don't have to have a Hunter brand one. You need to get a non-programmable digital thermostat like a Honeywell. I bought one at Walmart for about $24. I liked it better than the Hunter because it is smaller. You could go to Home Depot or Lowes and find one as well. Digital Non-Programmable Thermostat-RTH111B at The Home Depot

All you have to do is disconnect the two wires from your old thermostat and remove it from the wall then mount the new one in its place. You will have to make new holes for the screws. The wires hook to the Rc and Rh terminals, or whatever terminals the instructions call for. It doesn't matter which wire hooks to the terminals. Put the AA batteries in and attach the cover plate and you are ready to go. There may be a couple of steps in setup like choosing C or F, etc. I didn't have to touch anything. The heat/off/cool switch will be your on and off switch. Just switch to heat and press the up/down buttons to set the desired temperature on the display and you will experience good controlled temperatures. My batteries lasted all camping season, there is a low battery indicator that shows up long before they go dead.

Rich,

Great posting!

Jim

RichR and JMDoering, thanks for your help. Dear husband purchased a Honeywell nonprogrammable digital thermostat today at Home Depot for the Hi-Lo. It was more expensive than the programmable thermostats. I scratched my head about that!! This thermostat is suppose to be consistent within plus or minus one degree. I know, I know, it is probably a waste. But I have such "thin blood" from living down south that I would like to have some consistency with the inside Hi-Lo temperature when we crank up the furnace in the mountains.

Thanks again.

Dee

Dee Tillotson said:

RichR and JMDoering, thanks for your help. Dear husband purchased a Honeywell nonprogrammable digital thermostat today at Home Depot for the Hi-Lo. It was more expensive than the programmable thermostats. I scratched my head about that!! This thermostat is suppose to be consistent within plus or minus one degree. I know, I know, it is probably a waste. But I have such "thin blood" from living down south that I would like to have some consistency with the inside Hi-Lo temperature when we crank up the furnace in the mountains.

Thanks again.

Dee

Click to expand...

I'm with you on being cold. I don't like being warm, cold ..warm..cold.....

Added note about mechanical thermostats:

Those of you that have mechanical thermostats at home should also check them to see if they are properly adjusted. I learned about this back in the early 1970's when we built our house. We were getting the big temperature swings and it was quite uncomfortable. I started checking what was wrong and did the unthinkable, I looked at the instruction sheet that came with the thermostat. In there it instructed to set the heat anticipator to the value on the furnace control block. I did that and had instant success. After that I told people I worked with about the adjustment and they ran home and checked their thermostats and most had to change their settings. Apparently the heating guys don't know to adjust the thermostats or just don't care.

My advice is, go buy a programmable thermostat and get some good even heat and save some money on the heat bills.

honeywell thermostat

Thanks for the information. I'm not the most handy with things like heating or cooling. Went to Homedepot and bought the recommended non programable Honeywell Thermo and had it in and working in about 10 min.

Thanks for all the Great information and tips

Ric Johnson
Apache Jct. AZ
2709 Towlite
2006 F-150 5.4

It's good to hear you got it switched over. I think you will like it.

Dee Tillotson said:

A good while back I was reading of problems a number of Hi-Lo owners were having with their standard Hi-Lo factory thermostats when they used their furnaces on a cold night. Well, I must say, I did not pay much attention to the thread, but I do remember a number of owners switched out the standard thermostats for the Hunter brand thermostats. The reason I didn't pay much attention is because dear husband and I live in the low country of South Carolina and have not started the furnace once since we purchased our Hi-Lo new in 2009. The heat strip in the AC has been sufficient to take the chill off when we begin our camping season in the spring of each year. We have fairly mild winters.

This spring of 2012 we want to start our camping season in the Smokey Mountains. There is no doubt that we will need to run our furnace. Dear husband has been looking in various stores for the Hunter thermostat, but all he finds are thermostats (including Hunter) that control both AC and the furnace. Where in the world does one get a new digital thermostat (preferably a Hunter) that efficiently controls the inside Hi-Lo temperature for the furnace only? Thanks in advance for your help.

Dee

2009 2509C Hi-Lo
2010 F-250 Ford Diesel Powerstroke

Click to expand...

I just got my Hunter at Walmart. Quick install. It's not to large to me, but large enough to cover the old mounting holes of the Atwood non digital thermostat.

Thermostat

Over the years I've read that a lot of Hi Lo owners have changed their thermostats. I have not, maybe because I take a different approach to heating the camper. Some times ago I read a posting that spoke to heating the Hi Lo with a Lasco 5905 electric heater. I bought one and have not needed the furnance. The posters thoughts were that you are in a campground with electicity you save your gas if you heat with an electric heater. The Lasco was purchased at Sam's and has provided us with all the heat we've needed. It has a fan and a built in adjustable thermostat so we can leave it on low over night to keep the camper at a good sleeping temperature. I too live in SC and have camped in the mountains of NC and use this heater which has done us a good job. I think we've used the furnance only once.
Just a different way to do it.
God Bless
Papa

The electric heater is the thing to use in the campground, you are paying for the electricity anyway and it is quieter. We keep one in the HiLo for those occasions, but most of our camping is away from electric.

Electric Heater

Dee,
Since we will be attending the rallly maybe I'll have a chance to show your husband what I did with the electric heater. If we are camping with electrical hookups we never use the furnance.
In fact we carry two electric heaters. To insure two heaters don't overload the Hi Lo's electrical system I've run an additional outlet to run one of the heaters.
I'd be happy to show him.
God Bless
Papa

Replacing Thermostat in Hi-Lo

Papa -- We do use an electric heater at camp sites that have electricity. When we had decided to do a spring camp in the Smokies, we were preparing (for the first time) to possibly boondock in a Federal State Park. As you know, these parks have no site electricity, water, etc. However, these parks do have water cisterns where you can fill up your fresh water tank and vault toilets. Therefore, I thought it prudent to make sure our factory furnace and thermostat were working well. The factory thermostat was the "pits," fluctuation of about + or -5 degrees.

Well, you know the old saying "best laid plans of mice and men." We did not get to do the Smokies spring camp. Instead, we ended up down in Miami at a condo that our son and his family were supposed to use, but they didn't, so therefore we did. At least, we did a great tour of St. Augustine on the way down, toured some early 20th century mansions in Miami, got some great Cuban food in Little Havana, and enjoyed the Everglades.

Can't wait to meet you guys at the Rally!!

Dee
2009 2509C

furnance wont go on//

I cant get my furnance blower to go on.is there a way to check the thermostat to find out if it is good?? a 1987 22ft funchaser...thanks you..Paul,Albrightsville, pa.just got this hilo.. also new to camping..

Take the two wires off the thermostat and touch them together and see what happens. Also, I believe there is a reset switch on the furnace, but don't hold me to that. That may depend upon the particular model of furnace. One more thing, there is probably an on/off switch on the thermostat. They are hard to move sometimes.