Disturbance in the Desert

It seemed like a good idea. We dropped off Tagalong in the middle of the desert west of Phoenix, closed up and secure and surrounded by fellow Xscapers. Then we took Gulliver to Yuma to visit my parents. What could go wrong?

We knew our rig was in good shape after all the attention we had given it in the past six weeks, so we didn’t expect any issues. Does any RVer in such a situation? 

Bob’s phone rang at 10:30 p.m. five days into our getaway. His full-time RVer brother, Tom, had called to notify us of a disturbance in the desert: a loud beeping emanating from the Pinnacle (our rig) that could be heard inside a nearby RV above the sound of rain. 

Suddenly wide awake two hours from our home on wheels, we had to get to the bottom of this.


In Search of the Cause

Bob and I talked through the possible sources of a beep inside our rig and narrowed it down to three: the smoke detector, the refrigerator (if out of propane), and the carbon monoxide detector. 

We gave Tom the keycode to get inside our rig. As soon as he opened the door, we heard the loud din through the phone. It wasn’t a steady beep, which eliminated the refrigerator possibility. That left two others. 

Opening our dining room slide, Tom noticed blinking red and green lights on our carbon monoxide detector. As he got closer, he discovered the code meant our CO detector had reached the end of its life. 

Great! At that hour, no place was open to get a replacement. Even if a place had been open, it would have taken us a minimum of 2.5 hours before we could get back with a new unit. 


A Temporary Fix

Bob and I both searched the internet for a way to deactivate the alarm. Bob found a button combination that would buy us 72 hours — and could be repeated up to 10 times. Tom performed the button operation, and silence returned. We didn’t have to hit the road that night after all. 

Having to work the next morning, I dozed off while Bob scoured Amazon for a replacement unit. Based on a review by the owner of a 2018 Jayco North Point fifth wheel (the sister of our rig), he ordered a Briidea carbon monoxide detector (paid link) to arrive two days later at my parents’, the date we planned to return to Tagalong.

At the mercy of the package deliverer before we could travel, we were able to enjoy some game playing with my parents to pass the time. The unit finally arrived at 3:15 p.m., and we were free to hit the road, allowing us to return before sundown.


Out with the Old, In with the New

The next day, Bob gathered his tools, got comfortable on the floor of our coach, and went to work to remove the faulty unit. With that out of the way, he connected the wires to the new unit and put it in place, a quick and easy process. 

The original unit that came with our trailer and the new one detect both carbon monoxide and propane. The factory-installed one, however, only had one light indicator, leaving us to guess the problem if an alarm sounded. The new one has two light indicators for clarity and greater peace of mind. 

We’re thankful for the fellow Xscaper who noticed the chirping coming from our rig and said something about it. And we’re especially grateful Tom was nearby to call us and help with a temporary fix until we could provide a more permanent solution. The RV community is a friendly one. We’re glad to be part of it.  

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