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Old 03-20-2022, 01:19 AM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds 31E
State: Pennsylvania
Posts: 35
THOR #26222
Rapid Camp remote dead

Hi. I’m new to the forum. Just picked up my 2019 Four Winds 31E today. The dealer did a crappy job prepping it and cleaning it. During our initial walkthrough, I noticed this remote clipped to the wall by the control panel. Salesman said it was a remote, but the battery was dead. Long story short, it was still dead today on our final walkthrough and delivery. I got it home and decided to plug the thing in and charge it. Few hours later and it’s still dead. Googled it and found that new remotes go for $300+! Found a place that does battery replacement service for $100. Nope. I figured I could fix it. Took it apart and found the battery pack. Opened the battery envelope and saw a 5 on it, probably meaning 5 volts. Determined the battery had no voltage and snipped the leads and disposed of it. I wired 3 A batteries in series to get 4.2 volts. A couple small pieces of wire and some tape to hold it together made my test battery pack. Connected it and the remote powered up. Now I have a 3.7v drone battery ordered that is the same dimensions as the original battery. I’ll solder that in and see what happens. Thought I would share this for the frugal diy folks like myself. Btw, the battery is $7 on Amazon.
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Old 03-20-2022, 01:31 AM   #2
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 24F
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THOR #16721
Good job! I love seeing someone beat the "BS" system... which takes advantage of most people's inability to fix things themselves!
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Old 03-20-2022, 01:47 AM   #3
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds 31E
State: Pennsylvania
Posts: 35
THOR #26222
Thanks. I’ve been an automotive technician for 25 years. There’s always a way, just depends on how determined you are. I’ll post again once the battery is installed.
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Old 03-20-2022, 01:52 AM   #4
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 29M
State: Texas
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THOR #11781
Our Hurricane came with the Rapid Camp. It never worked right. It wouldn't extend the awning or the slide but it would turn the outside light on but not off.
A remote control for something as small as an RV is just one step from the floating chairs on Wall-e.
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2018 Hurricane 29M
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Old 03-23-2022, 06:41 PM   #5
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds 31E
State: Pennsylvania
Posts: 35
THOR #26222
Update

The remote is fixed. The Amazon battery works fine. Charges and works like it should.
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Old 03-23-2022, 09:34 PM   #6
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 34J
State: California
Posts: 63
THOR #26100
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lt Keefer View Post
Our Hurricane came with the Rapid Camp. It never worked right. It wouldn't extend the awning or the slide but it would turn the outside light on but not off.
A remote control for something as small as an RV is just one step from the floating chairs on Wall-e.
There is a video on YouTube somewhere I've seen where a guy gets the remote into programming mode, I bet yours just lost some of the programming for the slide, awning, etc. Probably an easy fix as these guys are saying, anyone with some determination can fix most things that dealers and rv repair people charge a lot for. Look on YouTube channel RVProject.
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Old 03-23-2022, 09:36 PM   #7
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 34J
State: California
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THOR #26100
Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlV View Post
The remote is fixed. The Amazon battery works fine. Charges and works like it should.
I'm sure you already checked but was the original battery a LiPo? If so then you're fine. If it wasn't then the only thing I'd be concerned about is if the remote doesn't have the ability to limit the charge on the new battery if it's a LiPo (which most drone batteries are) and it overcharges it and puffs and starts fire.
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Old 03-23-2022, 11:09 PM   #8
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds 31E
State: Pennsylvania
Posts: 35
THOR #26222
I left the little circuit board that was attached to the original battery hooked up. I wired the drone battery to that. It’s not that I really cared about the remote, more about the challenge of fixing it.
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Old 03-23-2022, 11:12 PM   #9
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 34J
State: California
Posts: 63
THOR #26100
Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlV View Post
I left the little circuit board that was attached to the original battery hooked up. I wired the drone battery to that. It’s not that I really cared about the remote, more about the challenge of fixing it.
Ahhhh yeah that's always fun. I use the remote only for leveling and slides just to make sure I'm not going to hit anything and I like to put the jacks down slow and be able to line up the leveling blocks under each jack, then I go inside and do manual level to get everything at 0°. I have yet to use it for generator start, awning or light. I sorta wish it would allow me to put the front bunk up and down as the button in the upper cabinet over the couch is hard to reach with the couch in the way.
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