Fridge on Battery while towing?

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Klem

Hi Pat, from this manual IF the last digit of your model number has a '5' it's AES. If it's a '1' it's manual.

http://www.dometic.com/QBankFiles3/E...nual_17593.pdf

I had a long talk with s Dometic tech back in the RML days and he said the 15 minute shut down could get to be a problem if you did a series of ignition on/off cycles. So I disconnected the big DC connector but used a wire nut to keep the little red wire hot to power the electronics.

Who knows if in the newer frigs they upgraded the AES software control? Did they get some of the bugs out

Klem it is a 1 sooooo out of luck . Pat

[Klem]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Klem it is a 1 sooooo out of luck . Pat

I would say Lucky You!

I asked Dometic how I could turn AES on/off to see if the robots inside the circuitry were friend or foe. They said there was no way short of disconnecting the big red connection. So I threw in the towel and did it. I wish I could use DC sometimes but decided I have already spent too much time with these frigs .. I could put a manual switch on 'big red' but my setup is working ok so I have better things to do with my time.

Imagine this. Your AES doesn't know if you are a gas station or a camp ground or at home. You drive in your spot and turn off the engine. In theory AES should block propane for 15 minutes.

I have thought, while seeing some of these posts of propane not firing and then ... It does later ... IF this is AES shut downs?

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by CraigJ

OK, I’m a bit slow here, so I have a question: My wife likes to use the microwave in our 5.0. when we dry camp. We have the duel 6-volts and solar, but last summer the battery was just not keeping up. I plugged the trailer into the truck and ran the engine, hoping to augment the trailer battery. Did this do any good? If I don’t have the 12v line on my 7-pin connector was I wasting gas?

You can establish if your tug is putting alternator output into the 7 pin plug quite easily.

If you have a voltmeter in the trailer you should see the reading go from 12.xx to 13.xx or over when the truck motor is running.

You can also connect a voltmeter to the 12 volt pin in the 7 pin connector and see that it's connected and is a 12 volt source.

Ron

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Klem

I would say Lucky You!

I asked Dometic how I could turn AES on/off to see if the robots inside the circuitry were friend or foe. They said there was no way short of disconnecting the big red connection. So I threw in the towel and did it. I wish I could use DC sometimes but decided I have already spent too much time with these frigs .. I could put a manual switch on 'big red' but my setup is working ok so I have better things to do with my time.

Imagine this. Your AES doesn't know if you are a gas station or a camp ground or at home. You drive in your spot and turn off the engine. In theory AES should block propane for 15 minutes.

I have thought, while seeing some of these posts of propane not firing and then ... It does later ... IF this is AES shut downs?

Wow, Klem , I feel lucky today . How did that happen with my frig ? Thanks Klem . Pat

[markvt]

Jim, Ron, & Klem,
That's what I like about this forum you make up some of the best tech support on the web.
Mark

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by azjack

We have a single 12volt, no solar and we can drive for 3-400 miles and the trailer battery remains charged with the fridge on 12v. It may be that our Jeep alternator is putting out enough to power the fridge and keep the trailer battery topped up.
Jack

Or, the Jeep voltage regulator is set to supply a relatively high voltage. This varies by vehicle, and most modern vehicles let the voltage get quite low under some conditions to reduce drag on the engine by the alternator.

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

How does the refer know that the source is the tow 12v and not the internal Escape 12v battery? I'd like to understand the wizardly involved here?

Properly wired to make this work, the refrigerator is supplied with two separate 12V circuits; one is connected to the trailer battery and other is powered by the tug only when the tug's ignition is on. In a motorhome this is easy, and in an European trailer there are two separate power circuits in the 13-pin tug-to-trailer connector to support this. I don't think an Escape is wired this way... so the wizardry is missing and the refrigerator doesn't know, as far as I can tell.

[CraigJ]

Thanks Ron, I'll try it. I always learn something on this forum

[Klem]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Wow, Klem , I feel lucky today . How did that happen with my frig ? Thanks Klem . Pat

Some might say it's your horoscope ... I'd say it's because you are such nice folks

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Klem

Some might say it's your horoscope ... I'd say it's because you are such nice folks

Back at you ! Pat

[bdornbush]

We just came from Northern CA to Southern CA. Today's trip was 330 miles. We had the refrigerator on 12v while driving. We also have the 150w solar panel but it was cloudy and occasionally rainy today, rare for this time of year in CA. When we got to our destination, I checked the battery. We have a TriMetric Battery Monitor, and it reported that the dual 6v batteries in the trailer were 100% charged and 13.2v when we arrived, so I feel very comfortable running on 12v while traveling. We stopped only for gas and a sandwich at a rest stop, so no extensive stops but the battery was left connected to the Jeep while stopped.

We used to have a trailer with a 120v/propane refrigerator and I installed a 200W inverter to power the refrigerator on 12v while traveling, and it worked fine. We once drove all day then camped off the grid for 4 days with good battery the whole time. Of course, that trailer only used its single 12v battery for lights.

[Boots]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

Actually, if you are stopping for fuel, no need to run it on 12v, just shut it off, then turn it on again. It's not going to get hot in the 5 or 10 minutes you are pumping fuel.

Oh, of course! Thanks.

[Dave & Penny Smith]

Folks:
I'm more than a little confused as to the best option for running the frig (while towing). I've read most of the existing threads on this question and remain more than a little confused. Escape's orientation video clearly recommends running on 12V (after pre-cooling on 120V) and indicates the frig will use little power if it is already cool. If this is possible without draining the trailer battery (ies)? If so, it would seem to me to have the advantage of not having to remember to turn off the frig (if running on propane) at fuel stops. As reported in this thread, people's experiences seem to vary quite a bit. We have a 17B (new last year) with a 150W solar panel and dual 6V batteries. We have the 4.3 cu. ft. frig. Our tow vehicle is a 2008 Toyota 4Runner (V6). What experience do people have running the frig on 12V for drives of say 5-6 hrs. with simiiar equipment? We normally only have short stops for fuel or restroom breaks but would switch to propane if stopping for longer periods. Most responders seem to recommend running on propane, but will 12V (as recommended by Escape) work--without significantly discharging the trailer batteries?
Thans for your help.
Dave

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by Dave & Penny Smith

Folks:
I'm more than a little confused as to the best option for running the frig (while towing)............... We have a 17B (new last year) with a 150W solar panel and dual 6V batteries. .............
Dave

Dave,
We have 2015-17A with the stock frig. (3.0), and the 150W. solar/Grp 29 battery. We started out on propane for the first 3 days. In the morning when we took the ferry across to the Olympic Peninsula, I switched to 12V. DC, then forgot to switch back. Sun, then rain in the afternoon. That night (deep in the Olympic rainforest where direct sunlight occurs at noon only) the battery was down to close to 12.0V. Switched to propane, and left it there for the next 2 weeks; everything was fine.
Sorry I don't have quantitative answers; I run on propane all the time now.

[cpaharley2008]

You know it never hurts to experiment sometimes. With dual six and solar you should be fine. Cool it down and try it, then report back your results. Be sure and get a good inside/outside thermometer and install one in freezer and one in refer for observations.

[PGDriver]

Dave we have always run our RVs on propane when travelling with no problems. When we take ferries we switch to 12 volt, then switch back once departing the ferry. While fuelling the truck I usually stop at small stations or card locks and pull up to the first pump thus the trailer is quite a distance away from the pump.

Cheers
Doug

[Jean]

If set on battery, I don't think you have to turn fridge off when stop briefly, but you do need to unplug the 7-way cable or your car battery and/or trailer battery would drain (see response from senior member at beginning of thread).
Also, I would think dangerous to have propane on while driving, sparks could fly up from chain dragging and explode.
Alternative - night before trip, plug in and cold, load up on morn, while off, stays cold 4-5 hours.

[bdornbush]

We have a 19 with dual 6v batteries and 150W solar panel. Our tow vehicle is a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the battery and alternator in the TV connected through the 7 pin plug. We took a 3 week trip recently to southwest national parks, and ran the trailer refrigerator on 12v all the time while traveling. We had no problem with the battery draining. We had sun most of the time while traveling and the battery was always fully charged when we arrived. We usually stop every 2-3 hours for breaks or lunch and never disconnected the 7-pin. We always turn the propane off while traveling. When we stop for the night, as part of our unhooking, we turn on the propane and if we are dry camping, turn the refrigerator to propane, or if we have electric, turn it to 120v. It works so well, we see no reason to change. The power is basically free (sun and tow vehicle running anyway) and we don't use any propane while traveling.

[Dave Walter]

We have never used the 12V option for powering our fridge. Majority of the time (probably >90%) we use propane, and the other 50% of the time we use 120V AC power.

[bdornbush]

What I take from this discussion is that either way works. It comes down to your level of comfort with the risk of using propane while traveling vs. the risk of any battery drain while traveling.

[Scuba55]

We always run propane when traveling, never had any problems. And, it hardly uses any propane even on a 8 hour drive. When we are parked, I use 120V.