Do you have a mystery switch in your RV bathroom? We do. There is an unlabeled electrical switch right next to our toilet. And it took us a while to figure out what it’s for! Those ugly paper labels are another peeve of mine. But that’s another story altogether.
We discovered this RV bathroom mystery switch during the PDI or Pre-Delivery Inspection for our new Arctic Fox 225R travel trailer. We noticed the switch on the left, and immediate wondered what it did. So I flipped the switch, and nothing happened. Or so I thought. Rene thought the mystery switch might be for a RV macerator. Cool, but no.
RV Bathroom Mystery Switch Investigation
What’s the first thing you do if you don’t know what any mystery switch does? Well, you flip it of course. Then you start looking around. I tried tracing the wiring to see where it might go. The switch didn’t control the fan. And it didn’t turn on any light. Well, not directly.
Of course, we asked the tech providing the tour what the unidentified switch in our new RV bathroom was for. “Uhh…” he stammered with the same confused look we had. So he went to ask another tech what the switch did. We had two RV technicians poking around the rig. However, none of us thought of the obvious answer. You figure it out yet?
After a few days of scratching our heads, we got fed up. I finally did an internet search. Rene says she tells all her RV LIFE writers to stop using Google as a verb. So that’s exactly what I did.
That Switch Is No Mystery
What do you think the RV bathroom mystery switch controls? Something related to the bathroom would make sense. And this switch now makes total sense. Brilliant in fact. In this case, brilliant red…
None of us thought of the obvious solution for our RV bathroom mystery switch dilemma. Duh.
That unlabeled switch next to the toilet controls exactly what it should. It’s a second switch to turn the water pump on or off. And the brilliant part is that it’s a three-way circuit. Note the “off” position of the RV pump switch on our control panel. That switch on the panel, and the other one in the bathroom, both control the water pump. Whether it’s on or off, either switch will do the trick.
So, remember all those times you’ve rushed into the RV bathroom at a rest stop or when fueling up? only to discover you didn’t turn the pump on? I do. And now, you can turn the pump on without getting up. Well, at least I can!
Good idea!