RV Repair: gas water heater in coleman pop up camper, gas water heater, coleman pop up camper

Question
Heater requires manual lighting from an access panel on the exterior of the camper by providing a flame into a "tube" to light the pilot after gas is turned on.  Camper was stored all winter and now pilot will not light.  Camper also has a heater (for interior) with elctronic thermostat that works just fine.  What should I do?  Camper is a 2001 Coleman pop-up that is only used 3-4 times yearly.

Answer
Hi Rudi:
A manual gas water heater works as follows. You turn the gas valve to pilot and then push on the knob to start the pilot gas flow. This bypasses the heat sensor that keeps the pilot on. Once the sensor heats up you can let go of the knob and the pilot stays lit. At this time you can move the knob to on and the gas will ignite.Some time later when the water is hot a temp sensor inside the valve will shut of the gas but the pilot stays lit to relite the heater when the temp drops. If the pilot does not light at all then the problem is either in the gas valve mechanism, no gas to the valve  or the pilot gas line is clogged. First thing to do is to make sure there is gas to the valve. Unscrew the main gas line, 3/8 inch copper line, to see if gas comes out. If it does, tighten that line again. Take off the small (1/8 inch) line going to the pilot. When you push on the control knob, turned to pilot, there should be a small amount of gas out of the valve. You should be able to smell it. If you get gas there check the small line to make sure it's open. If no gas comes out the main gas valve is bad and needs replacing. Thats about it. Good luck.
Bill