Share your RV mods...

[Mopar1973Man]

Hey AH64ID how much DC Amps draw is the fridge taking to run? Curious...

 

Never mind I missed the picture...

 

Still I can run a full month or more on propane and drawing less than 3A for the fridge the batteries would hold up for 11-14 days without any AC power or solar. Yes. I've done this as a test run to see how long it would run.

[AH64ID]

No problem.

 

With it on propane its about .7-1.2 ADC.

[Mopar1973Man]

No problem.

 

With it on propane its about .7-1.2 ADC.

 

They only time I can see inverted fridge use is great is while traveling the vehicle can keep the fridge powered off of 12V and no worries about stopping for fuel and turn the fridge off and on.

[AH64ID]

They only time I can see inverted fridge use is great is while traveling the vehicle can keep the fridge powered off of 12V and no worries about stopping for fuel and turn the fridge off and on.

Exactly, I don't see it being worthwhile any other time.

I really don't even need it then, but it was an easy way to add a junction box.

[joecool911]

Will the charge wire from the truck keep up with the electric usage so you have a full battery when you make it to your destination? For that I like the mod.

Any idea about the amps the trailer plug wire has available? I've heard small wire and maybe 15 amps Max. That would put the batteries charge losing headway running the fridge.

Edited May 1, 2014 by joecool911

[AH64ID]

I am not sure yet, I would think the longer the drive the better the chance. I think the amp draw during the fridge operation is greater than the truck can provide, but I am not sure if the net effect will be positive or negative.

 

The truck wiring, and trailer connection, are limited to 30A but the most I have seen at the batteries is 15A.

 

The batteries leave full and if I can get 15A the fridge only has to run 1/3 of the time and they will stay full. I cannot count on the truck charging the batteries from a reduced SOC on most drives (50% SOC would take 12-14 hours driving), so the camper will be plugged in with a full charge and cold fridge.

[joecool911]

You opted for some of the more expensive gauges. Do you feel they are more accurate or reliable than some of the cheaper brands? I see digital gauges for 1/10th the cost.

Another thing I've been wondering is if the stock charging wire on our trucks is isolated when the truck is not running? Is it possible to drain the truck battery while hooked up overnight? Should you pull the plug when not driving for extended periods?

Edited May 1, 2014 by joecool911

[AH64ID]

I would think they are more accurate and will last longer. They will also be more rugged and handle the rough roads better.

 

Where do you see digital ammeters for 1/10 the cost? Remember I get them at dealer cost, which makes the Blue Sea's much more reasonable. They also look a lot nicer than cheap gauges (which I had previously).

 

Some of the cheapest digital ammeters I can find are $20ish for 50A, my charger is 55A and the inverter will draw up to ~150A.

[AH64ID]

We did a camping trip this last weekend and had electrical hookups (probably our only time this year with hookups) and got to thinking about the batteries. While they where on float, 13.2, as soon as we got there the camper is also hooked up all week at the house at 13.2.

 

I tend to think that batteries will do better if they aren't on a float 24/7.

 

So I emailed Progressive Dynamics, who makes my converter, and asked if the converter could be used without a battery in the system. They responded this morning and said that the converter, PD4655, can be safely operated without a battery.

 

I think that I will turn the battery switch off once the batteries drop to a float and are fully charged in the future. This way I can leave the camper plugged in for the fridge between trips but I am not sitting on the charger all the time. Granted the charge does drop to 0.0A, I still think they should get more "rest".

 

I did a 12 hour test and at the end of the 12 hours the batteries where still at 13.11V :-) That's pretty good if you ask me.

[AH64ID]

I had to go get some things out of the camper today, it has been sitting since the 27th of May with the battery switch off, so just shy of 3 weeks. Voltage was 13.05 when I turned the battery switch on.. woot woot!!

 

Not that 3 weeks is all that long, but holding above 13 is still good in my book.

[Mopar1973Man]

Not bad. Now since I've got my new RV parking spot under the blue spruce tree I've got it plugged in 24/7 and no issues for 3 years. Barely got to add 8 ounces of distilled water for 2 batteries. I know lead acid won't hold that long without degrading a bit over time.

[AH64ID]

When I did the suspension upgrade this spring I noticed that the grease in the bearings wasn't as nice as it should be for about 7K miles of use. I decided I would pull out the bearings of unknown origin/quality (they looked pretty loose and cheap anyhow) and replace them with Timken's.

 

The job wasn't too hard, but the way the hubs are machined on the inside to allow grease to move from the "EZ lube" port to the outer bearing makes removing the inner race a bit more difficult that it should be. But I had it down to about 3 minutes by hub #4.

 

I repacked everything with Amsoil Synthetic wheel bearing grease, replaced the cotter pins and she is ready to roll again.

 

The bearings, and brakes even, on my 5200# Al-Ko are the same on a 5200-7000# axle, so I should be good for a while.