1976 dodge chinook 18 plus 2 furnace question

[Zayvier]

Hi. I just purchased a 1976 dodge chinook 18 plus 2. So far the engine is solid, the steering is tightened up, it passes emissions in California, 6 new tires, interior is in good shape, gas range burners work, lights work, water pump works, propane tank holds propane.
I turned on the thermostat for the furnace and it turned on and heated up and blew warm air. Does this mean that the furnace is totally in good working condition and that all it’s safeguards are working correctly as well?

Furnace Info:
Brand:Suburban
Model: Dyna-Trail
Model #: NT-12FC

Thank you,
Charlie

[chin_k]

I don't think anyone can assure the furnace working condition remotely, but it does heat. I would make sure the Propane detector is working, and the carbon monoxide detector too. Check the smoke detector to make sure it is working. All of them should be replaced periodically, and I have a feeling that they are all original.

You may want to bring your rig to a RV service center to let them assess the road worthiness and safety.

[Zayvier]

Thanks for the good advice- especially about an RV service center. As of now I’ve only had it at a regular garage which was difficult to find one willing to work on a vehicle from the 70’s and that could also get it on their lift.

[chin_k]

Try service center that specialize for truck fleet if there is no RV places around if you want them to work on your chassis.

You do not need to put the rig on a lift to check the furnace, and the mechanics won't know much about it anyway. You need to get help from a RV places if you want to check on most of the coach portion, such as the furnace. Some propane shop have technician that may be able to check the furnace if you are lucky to have one knowledgeable one around.

[Zayvier]

Thank you for the advice.

[Zayvier]

Are these furnaces run by both 12v and 110v? Or just 12v? And when plugged into shore power- my converter let’s the shore power keep the house battery topped up which in turn will run the furnace 12v while plugged in at a campground shore power?

[chin_k]

I don't think the furnace will work on 12 V alone, but it needs the 12 V for the control circuit, if there is a electric/electronic controller. Very few furnace runs on 12 V DC due to the enormous amount of current needed for the heating element. Some furnace does runs on 120V AC, but they are minority. I have to bring in a ceramic electric heater if I want to use AC for heating if I do not want to use my heat pump on the roof.

To answer your question explicitly, no, I do not think your furnace "run" by either 12V DC or 110 V AC. It runs on propane. It uses 12 VDC or 110VAC for the control circuit, depends on what model you have. It most likely just use the 12 V DC and relies on the converter to convert the AC to 12 V DC. You do not need the battery for its operation, but when the shore power is not available, and a battery is available, it can draw from the battery to continue operation. I think you can easily find the answer by looking at the Chinook manual of your specific year, or do a web search on the component and get the appropriate manual.