Adding a 12 volt USB-C power delivery port to a camper

[Mike Lewis]

I bought a couple of USB-C jacks from Amazon in order to have a place to plug in my MacBook Air, which gets power via USB-C. Although the ports were marked "PD", they didn't work. Apparently the MBA doesn't want to charge from them. I did a bit of research and found this:

https://senormisterioso.wordpress.co...t-to-a-camper/

I have not yet tried the product mentioned on this website, but I intend to do so. FYI.

[John in Santa Cruz]

THey probably are PD but not enough watts for your macbook.

my pixel 3a uses up to 18 watts to charge, my wife's new pixel 6pro, the charging stand uses 30W PD. my dell xps13 needs at least a 65 watt PD supply PD can be up over 100 watts.

[cpaharley2008]

Speaking of MacAir computers, just bought one and using it now. There are no USB ports, just 2 micro ports and a headphone jack. Been looking for adapters all morning....I should have read the spec's more carefully.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Speaking of MacAir computers, just bought one and using it now. There are no USB ports, just 2 micro ports and a headphone jack. Been looking for adapters all morning....I should have read the spec's more carefully.

I can find no other id other that Amazonbasics. I think you need another term other than micro port. Try USB-C to Lightning.

[Vermilye]

The ports on a MacAir as well as any of the new Macs is called a Thunderbolt port. It is also functions as a USB C / USB 4 port.

[John in Santa Cruz]

USB C is a thin oval connector, can be plugged in turned either way and it supports both 'master' (computer) and 'device' (io device such as a mouse, external disk, etc).

newest USB C 3/4 / Thunderbolt 3/4 stuff can support an external 'dock' with dual 4K video outputs as well as lots more IO. on my Dell XPS 13, this dock has its own power supply, and its cable will power the laptop, so its just one plug to dock the laptop and use desktop monitor+keyboard+mouse+audio etc. stuff.

[Hawkeye Ed]

Here's what I've learned about charging computers from RV 12 volt outlets. This involves a bit of math and electrical calculations!

1. Your RV 12 Volt circuits are probably wired for and fused with 15 Amp fuses. Most electrical resources I've consulted say you should limit current draw to 80% of circuit rating. That means you're limited to a TOTAL of 12 Amps (15 Amps x .8) per circuit.

2. Remember: Watts = Volts X Amps. So 12 Volts X 12 Amps = 144 Watts. That's the theoretical maximum for the TOTAL electric wattage draw for one of your 12 Volt, 15 Amp RV circuits. (For those of us who grew up with old-style incandescent light bulbs: for comparison, 144 watts isn't even enough to power three 60-watt light bulbs.)

3. Escape has recently been installing in trailers Magnadyne USB/12 Volt outlets : <https://magnadyne.com/content/manuals/MagnadyneWC-12V-W_InstallationManual_Manual.pdf>. Remember, anything you plug into the USB outlets reduces the wattage available for the 12 volt outlet.

4. Computers can draw a LOT of watts. For instance, my Apple MacBook Pro comes with a 140 watt charger. That's equal to basically ALL of the practical capacity of an RV 15 Amp circuit.

5. Here are some USB-C chargers that plug into 12 Volt outlets like those found on the Magnadyne product or standard cigarette lighter outlets: Nekteck USB Car Charger with 45W Power Delivery and 12W USB A <https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075WQQG7C/>, USB C Car Charger Adapter 120W, WOTOBEUS 100W Type C PD 30W PPS 45W <https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GJTF54Z/>

6. You'll see that there are more and more available USB-C chargers for 12 Volt outlets that will output enough wattage to keep a laptop running if not also charging at the same time. New products are coming on the market all the time.

Hope this helps.

Ed

[Hawkeye Ed]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Speaking of MacAir computers, just bought one and using it now. There are no USB ports, just 2 micro ports and a headphone jack. Been looking for adapters all morning....I should have read the spec's more carefully.

What you call "micro ports" are USB-C ports. No problem. Check out my post above about USB-C chargers that plug into Escape 12 Volt outlets.

[Hawkeye Ed]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I bought a couple of USB-C jacks from Amazon in order to have a place to plug in my MacBook Air, which gets power via USB-C. Although the ports were marked "PD", they didn't work. Apparently the MBA doesn't want to charge from them. I did a bit of research and found this:

https://senormisterioso.wordpress.co...t-to-a-camper/

I have not yet tried the product mentioned on this website, but I intend to do so. FYI.

Mike, it would be helpful to know the details about the "USB-C jacks" you bought that won't charge your MacBook Air. As I mention in my post above there are plenty of USB-C chargers that plug into the Escape's 12 Volt receptacles.

Let me know if you need more help.

Ed

[Hawkeye Ed]

Use this adapter so you can use your older-style USB device (like a CD burner) with a newer computer that uses USB-C connectors (nothing to do with charging here).

https://www.amazon.com/JSAUX-Adapter.../dp/B07BS8SRWH

[cpaharley2008]

Just ordered those pictured, will be here tomorrow and I will report back.....

[Bobbie54]

I bought and use this for my Macbookpro. Works in the 17b.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye Ed

Mike, it would be helpful to know the details about the "USB-C jacks" you bought that won't charge your MacBook Air.

I bought these. The MacBook Air ignores them:


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095YSDCCR...roduct_details

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

newest USB C 3/4 / Thunderbolt 3/4 stuff can support an external 'dock' with dual 4K video outputs as well as lots more IO. on my Dell XPS 13, this dock has its own power supply, and its cable will power the laptop, so its just one plug to dock the laptop and use desktop monitor+keyboard+mouse+audio etc. stuff.

John- I'm assuming this dock is an item you purchased separately from your Dell laptop. If that's the case, could you give us more information, such as a link for where to buy one? thanks.

[HarleyD]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Just ordered those pictured, will be here tomorrow and I will report back.....

I have a Sirocco II fan that I am trying to make into a portable fan for use at the front of the trailer or the back of the trailer. I have hard wired a male cigar lighter plug to the fan on the appropriate lugs. Apparently !2V is not always 12V? It will not work. I contacted Sirocco and they said it will only work one way, hard wired to the 12V system in the trailer. It will not work in the trailer as it is, at either cigar female connector in the truck or in the female cigar connection that is part of my ski boot heater system. The male part of the fan connector has a red light to show current at that point and it is lit. What might I be missing?
THX!

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

... this dock ... a link for where to buy one? thanks.

FYI Hyper products seem to garner many positive reviews, offering hubs, docks, etc. for PC and Apple computers, laptops, tablets, etc.

Available through many vendors including Amazon if you must.

[Hawkeye Ed]

Originally Posted by HarleyD

I have a Sirocco II fan that I am trying to make into a portable fan for use at the front of the trailer or the back of the trailer. I have hard wired a male cigar lighter plug to the fan on the appropriate lugs. Apparently !2V is not always 12V? It will not work. I contacted Sirocco and they said it will only work one way, hard wired to the 12V system in the trailer. It will not work in the trailer as it is, at either cigar female connector in the truck or in the female cigar connection that is part of my ski boot heater system. The male part of the fan connector has a red light to show current at that point and it is lit. What might I be missing?
THX!

Harley, check out the operating instructions for the Sirocco II fan. They are available online if you don't have yours handy:

https://www.caframobrands.com/mwdown...oad/link/id/8/

The Sirocco II fan surprisingly draws very little current, only .35 amps when running at high speed on 12 volts. If I had to guess, I'd say your problem is one of two things. Either there's a reverse polarity connection or the fan's defective. Try switching the two wires; the instructions say the fan has reverse polarity protection so switching polarity won't hurt the fan. If that doesn't help I can think of one more thing to try before sending it back. Connect it directly to your truck or car 12 volt battery; reverse the wires and try again if necessary. If the fan still doesn't work, it's defective. Good luck. Ed

[HarleyD]

ED,
Thanks much for the information. I do have the instructions and and have tried most things I could think of, I will try and reverse the hook up and see what happens and go from there. Once again this forum shows it is well worth the price of a subscription and the information in many cases is more accurate and extensive than you can get from the selling company or the manufacturer.

[HarleyD]

Ed,
As in most cases the info on this forum was right on. Reversed the wiring and it runs like a champ. In a long ago and former life I was a cable slicer for the local Mountain Bell (At the time) Phone company. I recall the red, ring, right, hot saying so thought the black lead would be the neg lead, but as in most cases I was wrong.
I can recall blue orange green brown slate : white red black yellow violet designations. The things that are not relevant any more.
Thanks for the suggestion I knew it had to be out there some where.
Next beer on me!

[CarinaPDX]

USB-C charging is a can of worms, and now you opened it .

Before diving into it, I recommend you install quality cigarette-lighter style sockets, not USB ports, because the standards keep changing and it is far easier to just swap plug-ins than replace built-in adapters. I've been down this road a few times...

Your MacBook Air apparently requires a 30W minimum USB-C PD (Power Delivery) 3.0 charger. It is not clear if it requires PPS (Programmable Power Supply) capability. To explain, PD 3.0 offers discrete charge voltages (5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, 20V) which are negotiated over the data lines. PPS is an optional capability that allows a much finer-grained voltage control in 20mV steps. Whether or not the Air needs PPS I would buy a PPS charger for future-proofing. Most PD chargers are not PPS but that is quickly changing.

NB: You can't just use any old USB-C cable to charge with higher power USB-C PD. You need a charging cable that can support the higher power, which also has special ICs inside as well as heavier power wires. Charging cables typically have USB 2 (480mb/s) data lines intended for negotiating the power delivery, and make lousy data cables for connecting external drives and such (and can go to 40Gb/s). It is possible to find charging cables that also have high speed data but they are the exception. Personally I am buying 100W (highest PD 3.0 power) charge cables with USB 2 data for the car charger, and 10Gb/s charging cables for home use. Cables that support Thunderbolt 3 and 4, and USB 4, are special and are also less common. Some USB-C cables support external displays, and some not. USB-C cables are also a huge can of worms...

Back to charging. You will probably want to charge your cell phone as well. Many of these use QuickCharge 3 (QC3) although some, such as my Pixel 5a, use 18W PD 3.0. Older iPhones use Apple's proprietary charging but that is changing to PD as well. Many flagship phones use proprietary fast charging methods, though they should work fine with most USB chargers at 2.1A of 2.4A. Many chargers are able to handle a broad range of charging protocols and it may be worth your while to confirm that your phone is covered.

I recently purchased a cigarette-lighter style charger that supports 100W PD 3.0 with PPS, with a second 30W PD port and a USB-A QC3 port (that supports up to QC5 and other charge protocols). This should handle my charge needs for the next 5+ years. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003400586617.html