Friendship 248bh Qs mainly water heater

[NERoamer]

Ok, I have a still very new Friendship BH TT and I have some probably dumb questions but I've tried to watch some youtube videos, read the manuals and somehow things aren't fully clear.

Main question is about the water heater. Ours is a Suburban 6 gal tank direct vent gas dsi. My concern is that I don't have a full grasp on the concept of having the tank full before using or more specifically how to tell how full the tank is. We've gone camping a couple times, so far connected to campground water only but we have used hot water a number of times so I'm hoping we've been in the clear so far.
1. Once we're connected to "city" or campground water the tank pretty much fills on its own as water comes into the system, is this correct?
2. How do we tell how full the tank is or when it is completely full? How long should this take when hooked up to water source?
3. I've read that it's a good idea to drain the tank in between trips. Right now we're booking every other weekend so should I bother to drain the tank in between this amount of time?

That should take care of the water heater for now

Next question: The dinette. Are there some that do not convert into a bed? Ours looks by design that it should but then it doesn't seem like it's going to without a fight. I've tried pulling up on the table and it doesn't seem to want to come off the stand, I'm hesitant to force it too much. Is there another step that I'm missing. I also see that there's no instructions on converting it in the owners manual. Our walk through guy at the dealership said that it did convert but he said a number of things that weren't true.

So if anyone can help me out with these things I'd greatly appreciate it. Let me know if you need any more info and I'll do the best I can.

[Chuck v]

If the tank is full it will remain full unless you drain the entire system (like preparing for winter/weatherization...) City water pressurizes the whole fresh water system of the trailer, including the hot water paths through the heater and to each hot tap. If you do not get any air when you open the tap, the system and hence the heater is full. When camping away of park hook-ups, you turn on the electric demand pump and it will run intermittently to keep the water system at a nominal pressure, both old and warm pathways. I never drained the system during the active season, only during winter when I had a small travel trailer. For my large diesel motor home, I lived in it full time and therefore never drained it since it remained occupied and heated year round.


As to your table, if it has a single or dual central column support, it should just lift off. They can be tight when new. Another type of table has a folding leg and a hinge/bale mechanism at the wall that allows it to be lowered into the support height for the bed conversion. Maybe you can post a picture of which type you have...


Here is a representative video not specific to your trailer.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=..._20U0_Dgd_uUeM


...and here is the 'bale' type mechanism...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1L5neFymz0

Chuck

[NERoamer]

Thanks Chuck,

That makes sense re: the heater.

The dinette is a single column support. I guess I'll try again to lift off the table and put a little more beef on it.

[NERoamer]

Actually I was wrong, it is a double post for the support. Update: I pulled up on the table a little harder and it did come up. One support post came up with the table, the other stayed in the floor.

It was too hot in the trailer to mess with it any further at the time. I'll check out the rest a little later.

[NERoamer]

Lax in updating. Yep, it does convert to a dinette!