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Dometic 2862 refrigerator at 9200' elevation...any issues?
I have a 2015 Dometic 2862 refrigerator (propane/electric) in my 23' Class C RV. I was recently camping (boondocking) at elevation for 5 nights. At 6000' and level it worked fine. At 8200' it worked fine. The next night, I was at 9200' (maybe as high as 9500') for 24hrs camping and in the morning the refrigerator/freezer were warm (freezer at 35F and fridge at 55F). Outside temps were ~40F at night and 65F during the day. During this 24hr period at ~9200', the RV was parked off level, front to rear of the RV which was side to side for the refrigerator. The campsite was very remote/small and had a slope to it (the front of the RV was higher than the rear of the RV). I put all the leveling blocks under the rear wheels that I could. I think I probably would have needed another 4-5 inches higher on the rear to make it mostly level. To give you an idea about the slope, I was able to sleep in the rear bed (which faces rear to front, not side to side) with my head at the rear which had me sleeping slightly sloped downward (ie. blood flowing to my head) and it didn't bother me terribly. I've heard the expression/generalization, "If it is comfortable enough to sleep in (level-wise), then it probably isn't far enough out of level for the refrigerator to not work properly".
Here is a pic of the RV parked...
https://i.imgur.com/mPxkklIl.jpg
So my question is this: Do these refrigerators have a hard time working properly above a certain elevation? (9200'+)
Or do you think it was just too out of level to function properly? Or perhaps a combination of both?
The next night I was back down to 8200' and level and the refrigerator quickly cooled back to regular temps (5-10F in the freezer, and 33-39F in the fridge). Worked fine the next night at 4000' also.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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09/23/23 02:17pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
After having my 23A for over a year I thought I would check in.
I haven't had really any negative issues with the RV until recently, and it concerns the house battery. It seems I haven't been giving the battery the love it deserves. CA said they put a new battery in the unit before I bought it, and the battery is a rather expensive battery (Lifeline 100 AH AGM), but since I can't find anything on the battery telling me when it was made, and I suspect that if the battery was "new" a year before I purchased the rv, it probably wasn't charged or maintained as it should have been.
When I first got the rv, I put a number of long trips on it, which should have fully charged the AGM battery. It's only been lately that I think it doesn't hold a charge as it should. But then, how I'm using the rv now has changed, With the cost of gas, I don't make the long trips anymore.
So I think either the battery has seen better days due to the way it's been used prior to my ownership, and/or the way I've been charging the battery hasn't done it any good. For example, I thought that simply driving the rv a long distance would fully charge the battery. No, the alternator will only give it a bulk charge; to fully charge the battery up to 100%, I need to trickle charge it for a couple of days. Who would have thought that?
For a while I've been researching adding solar power to help fully charge the battery. I've learned a ton of information on batteries and solar on the Sportsmobile website. I realize there's information available on various RV sites, but I found that after reading them, they didn't answer all of my questions. On the Sportsmobile site, all of the information I was looking for was in one spot.
the link-->https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/forums/f20/faq-s-battery-problems-and-common-power-calculators-1940.html
Hopefully, this link will help someone discover everything they need to know about how to take care of their house batteries.
Lead acid batteries of any type self discharge somewhat rapidly. When it sits, leave it plugged in if possible. If not have a solar panel charge it if possible. If not put a trickle charger on it. If not... just cruise in it every month.
I just brought the cheapest Walmart battery (now about $129) which has not been a problem over several years using solar and an invertor whilst travelling. leaving in storage with a 10w small solar charger for 5 months whilst in Europe I had the battery go flat. Ever since I used to disconnect it from the vehicle terminals and the small solar charger worked.
There is always some parasitic draw unless you disconnect your battery terminals. I'm not aware of Cruise America (for example) RVs having any battery disconnect switch. Your propane/Carbon monoxide detector is always on at a minimum, but there are usually some other phantom draws. I haven't looked recently, but my battery monitor seems to show between -.1amp and -.3amp at night when I think I have everything off. (I have solar that charges during the day). A 10w trickle charge likely will not even keep up with this small parasitic draw. A minimum of 50w (100w would be better) would be a great start to keep your batteries fully charged during months of storage. But if you are going to put 50-100w of solar on your roof, you might as well put 200-300w for not much more and then you'll actually have some boondocking capacity (assuming you aren't power hungry when you camp).
Good luck!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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09/23/23 01:43pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Steering problem...looking for ideas/causes
Update: I went out to the RV to help them out. Sent them home via airline. The were no longer interested in finishing their RV vacation. It was the first time they had driven/used an RV before and they had a couple of user error problems that caused them much stress, so they were done. One mobile mechanic (in a video they shared with me) showed that one of the tie rods could move just a little (when he tugged on it). There was another mechanic in town who test drove it and looked at it and said the steering was fine/normal and that there is usually a little play in the steering. I think what probably happened was they were driving along the long desert highway and the side winds were pushing them hard (30' RV) so it felt like they were constantly steering (turning the wheel a bit) to adjust for the side wind. I drove it home 650 miles without incident and the steering didn't feel abnormal to me during the drive. I will have my local mechanic take a look and confirm all is good. Thanks all for your suggestions and feedback!
Safe travels!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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09/23/23 01:28pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Steering problem...looking for ideas/causes
Ball joint or tie rod failure. Solid pothole hit or curb or other front end stress may be the root cause.
Brief update: I heard mention from a video snipet that the person using my RV sent me where a mechanic is underneath the front end (RV jacked up) and he says something about the tie rod. That's not something I'm familiar with. What goes wrong with them? How easy/hard is it to fix? How much should I expect this type of repair to cost me?
Thanks for any explanations/info you can provide.
-Chris
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SJ-Chris
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09/10/23 12:35am |
Class C Motorhomes
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Steering problem...looking for ideas/causes
One of my 2015 Thor Majestic 28a Class C RVs is out on the road with a friend (currently near West Wendover, Nevada). Zero issues up to this point. They just reported to me that there is a steering issue. They told me that something happened such that in order to drive straight on a flat smooth road they need to keep the steering wheel turned 30 degrees to the right. They turned around and headed back to the nearest town. On the way to that town, the steering got even worse.
Tire pressure is fine on all tires.
This is all I know at this point. I told them to bring it to a shop (if safe to drive) and/or have a mobile mechanic come to them. They are parked in town in a safe location. They are about 600 miles from my location so there isn't much I can do to help them.
Without any other info, could any of you give me your best guess as to what sorts of issues could cause the steering to get "funky" like that?
Thanks in advance! I will be sure to report back updates. As always, I appreciate your knowledge and sharing!
-Chris
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SJ-Chris
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09/09/23 07:17pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Educated guess !
swag....
Googling, I see that a 13000btu RV AC draws about 13amps at 120v. If your 12v battery is providing this through an inverter, it will be drawing roughly 130amps from the battery. There are also inefficiencies running through your inverter that will probably result in 5-10% more amps needed. So my swag/guesstimate is that your AC will be drawing ~140amps from your battery. Assuming your battery can handle this and that all wiring is adequately sized to reduce voltage drop/etc, it looks like your battery will power your AC for about 1hr 20 minutes. This assumes that your battery was fully charged and you aren't drawing significant power running anything else.
Summary: Not long at all. Use a generator to run your AC
Good luck!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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09/01/23 11:47am |
Tech Issues
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RE: RTX2000 Solar A/C......weekend update!
I love projects like these. Sounds like you got some great additional cooling.
I think instead of voltage drop data points (...with Lithium the voltage discharge profile is very flat) it would be great to know how many AHs the unit used from your battery bank. Do you have a battery monitor?
Can you share with us the install process/details? Any risk of leaking (hopefully not)?
-Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/31/23 11:35am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Solar Power forTrailer
Test it out with an inexpensive portable system and see how you like it...
Buy USED solar panels for up to 90% less than new solar panels. Just need to test them first with a voltmeter and amp-meter to make sure they are good. Then get ~30' of wire, 2 inline fuses, and in inexpensive solar charge controller. Then set it up portable-style the next time you are camping and see how you like it.
Suggestion: 150w for every 100AH of battery in your battery bank.
Here's a step by step DIY install if you are interested...
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/30217540.cfm
I agree with the others who are suggesting an energy audit first to calculate roughly what your overall needs are.
Questions welcome.
Good luck!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/28/23 12:15am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Adding fan behind refrigerator...worthwhile??
SJ-Chris: Thanks a bunch for the info and clearing a few things up for me as I also am trying to gain more efficiency from my Dometic 3 way fridge.
I'm not going to hijack this thread but I feel compelled to mention only briefly what I have done to gain more efficiency from my fridge. After noticing that the refrigerator in my 2018 PW would always run warmer by about 8 deg.F when it was on propane versus 120v shore power or inverter. Puzzled by this since normally when on propane a refrigerator will usually perform better than when on 120v ac I decided to experiment. I took the jet out of the burner and had it drilled out .003" and reinstalled it. The refrigerator performed much better but I stopped the experiment with this jet because I felt there was too much heat blowing into the burner. This a seat of the pants feeling only.
Next, I bought a new original sized jet for $70 and drilled it out only .001" and reinstalled it . So far I tested it for weeks at a time and I am now at a point where when I'm running the fridge on propane it's about 8 deg.F cooler than when on 120v ac and I'm really happy but am still experimenting. I think I've gained 16 deg.F of cooling. Oh yes, I have three fans in the outside rear and two inside the cooling area.
So that's it. So that I don't hijack this thread and put unproven experimental ideas into others heads which will cause a dangerous condition, I done discussing this experiment of mine.
Interesting.
I learn so much from these forums... I hadn't really thought much about refrigerator performance DIFFERENCES when using propane vs 120v. Would others agree that refrigerators generally run cooler on propane vs 120v? I hadn't heard that. On my RVs, I have the option to run on gas even if connected to shore power....I wonder if that is why the option exists (it's on a standard Dometic refrigerator).
If there is a difference in performance, does anyone know fundamentally WHY? My current understanding would make me think that the primary (only?) difference would be how HOT the boiler gets. Is my thinking correct?
One of my next DIY projects is going to install a simple high-temp thermostat to protect the boiler from getting too hot (overheating, as in when out of level). My understanding is that under normal operation it runs between 380F-400F. Now I will have to put on my to-do list to run an experiment to see how hot the boiler gets when on propane vs on 120v. We'll see...
-Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/27/23 11:48pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Adding fan behind refrigerator...worthwhile??
Added a 3rd fan and repositioned a few things. Cleaned up the wiring. I'll be taking it out in a week and we'll see how it does. This next trip will only be in ~80 degree weather, so I don't know if the fans will come on often and/or be of much help. The real test will be the next time I am boondocking in 95F+ temps.
https://i.imgur.com/p6CH92al.jpg
These 3 fans will move 15cfm x 3 = 45cfm in theory. Running a test right now in ~94F temps while in storage.
-Chris
Depending on the baffle setup those fans may not make a difference. The normal way to install them is at the top vent sucking out and to insure you have the baffle setup properly around the fins on the heat exchanger to the air is directed through the fins. the reason the top sucking out is more effective is a bunch of laminar airflow and thermal dynamics stuff that would take me fore ever to type but essentially if you baffle the top exchanger section properly and just have one fan drawing out (maybe two depending on the space size) this will direct the air flow over the fins and ensure proper heat exchange. Just using a bunch of fans at the bottom and forcing more air in will force more air through but you're not controlling where you want it or getting a smooth high velocity air flow. you're getting chaotic and slow flow which won't cool as effectively.
Thanks for the feedback.
If I had the choice (translation: If it were easy enough to do), I would rather have a fan or two at the top roof vent sucking air from the behind the fridge area below and blowing it out the roof vent more directly, as I believe that would be more effective at forcing hot air out of the refrigerator area. But installing down below on the side panel was a lot easier.
The way that my side vent fans are set up is that they are sucking air from right next to the side vent slot openings. I believe this will pull cooler air in from outside, blowing it up behind the backside of the refrigerator. There is nowhere (practically speaking) for the air to flow but up out the roof vent. In doing so, it will pull heat from everywhere behind the refrigerator. This will aide in better cooling.
I ran a somewhat controlled test with just 2 of the fans installed. Ran the fridge for 24hrs on back to back 90F days. One day without the fans on. One day with the fans on. When the fans were on, at 3pm at the peak heat of the day, the freezer and fridge were both 6F cooler on the day the fans were running. So it seems like they are helping. I added a 3rd fan just because and I'm hoping that helps even more. We'll see.
Happy Camping!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/27/23 11:35pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Adding fan behind refrigerator...worthwhile??
Am I to understand that the cycling temps of the cooling fans are 95degF on and 130degF off?
No.
I'm not sure what the best on/off temps are, but I'll share my findings and thoughts...Over the coming year I'll test out a few different strategies with these fans to see what works best.
Assumption for my situation: I am ONLY trying to make it so that my fridge temps stay under 10F in the freezer and 40F and below in the fridge section. I am not trying to reduce propane use (although that could happen a bit) and I'm not worried about battery usage (I've got more than enough solar and the fans are low power).
First off, When the ambient temps outside are 60-70F it seems the behind the fridge fans are not even needed. Inside temps of the freezer and fridge are fine (cool enough). The cooling fans are really only NEEDED when the outside ambient temps are probably 80-85F or higher.
Data point: Without the fans running, and with outside ambient temperature of 90F, I notice WHERE I HAVE MY THERMOSTAT PROBE POSITIONED, the probe reads a max of 120F (after the boiler has been on for its cycle). Note: This will be HIGHLY dependent on where you put your thermostat probe. So I would suggest that if you add cooling fans like this, you must first determine what the NORMAL (non-fan cooled) temps are behind your fridge on a hot day with the fridge boiler on and your probe placement. For me and my placement, that temp is 120F max (in 90F ambient temps). So it gets 30F higher than ambient outside temps.
With my 120F high temp data point in mind, I have currently set my cooling fans to go on at 98F and turn off at 96F. How did I pick those temps? Let me explain... I only really want the fans to be on and running when the temps BEHIND the fridge are above 98F. So on a warmish day and the boiler on, it will heat up in the space behind the fridge and I want the cooling fans to turn on and move some of this hot air out. What I have found is that when the boiler is on (which lasts for many minutes) the cooling fans don't cool the behind the fridge cavity as much as you might think. It might cool it 5-10F compared to what it would be without cooling fans. But moving this hot air out helps the fridge to cool better and lower internal freezer/fridge temps. That is the goal afterall.
I have the cooling fans set to turn OFF at 96F. The reason for this is because I don't want to hear the fans in the morning or in the evening and the temps where I live/camp will be down to the 60-80F range when the sun isn't at its warmest/highest (mid-day).
Another data point: Overnight, with night time temps of ~60F and nobody going in/out of the fridge/freezer, (and I assume no cooling fans going on based on my 98F setting), my freezer in the morning was at 5F and my fridge was at 33F.
Hope that helps.
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/27/23 02:00pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Adding fan behind refrigerator...worthwhile??
Have you checked the distance between the cooling unit and the rig's outside wall? Normally installation direction say it should be only about 3/4 of an inch.
I closed mine up with foam board attached with Liquid Nails type material.
On my RVs, the spacing looks correct.
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SJ-Chris
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08/16/23 11:47pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Adding fan behind refrigerator...worthwhile??
Test update: I just went and checked on my refrigerator temps (...the RV is sitting in storage and the refrigerator has been running for 24hrs). Checked at 3pm. The temps outside are 96F degrees (...pretty toasty!). The freezer temp was at 10F degrees and the refrigerator was at 40F degrees. I can see that the refrigerator low temp overnight was 33F degrees. I think overall this is about the best I can hope for.
-Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/16/23 05:45pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Adding fan behind refrigerator...worthwhile??
Added a 3rd fan and repositioned a few things. Cleaned up the wiring. I'll be taking it out in a week and we'll see how it does. This next trip will only be in ~80 degree weather, so I don't know if the fans will come on often and/or be of much help. The real test will be the next time I am boondocking in 95F+ temps.
https://i.imgur.com/p6CH92al.jpg
These 3 fans will move 15cfm x 3 = 45cfm in theory. Running a test right now in ~94F temps while in storage.
-Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/14/23 04:57pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
(On Majestic RVs from Cruise America....,but I suppose could apply to any former rental Class C or any Class C in general...)
Does anyone have experience with making changes to the front end steering stabilizer on their Thor Majestic from Cruise America?
I was recently reading about the risks/challenges of a front tire blowout on Class C RVs. During a sudden blowout, there will be a strong pull on the steering that could easily pull the RV off the road (right front tire blowout) or towards oncoming traffic (left front tire blowout). I'm very interested in safety, so I want to do what I can to reduce a potential catastrophic event.
When I look underneath my RV, I see that there is a steering stabilizer already on the RV. I assume this is "from the factory". Here is a picture...
https://i.imgur.com/GLkCfGNl.jpg
Does anyone know how good, or how NOT good, this steering stabilizer is (especially in the event of a front tire blowout)?
Do ALL Class C RVs come with this type of steering stabilizer? Does this factory stabilizer significantly protect against vehicle pulling during a front tire blowout??
I am considering replacing what is on the RV with a Safe-T-Plus or a Roadmaster steering stabilizer. Ignoring the "return to center" spring assistance, do these devices actually help during a blowout MORE THAN what the factory default does?
Have any of you Majestic owners had a front tire blowout and if so would you like to share your experience (with an emphasis on how much your RV pulled or didn't pull in the direction of the blowout tire)?
Have any of you Majestic owners replaced your factory steering stabilizer and if so can you give us details and tell us about the impact during your highway driving?
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!
Thanks!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/13/23 05:40pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Adding fan behind refrigerator...worthwhile??
Roof vent systems vent themselves.
Side vent systems normally found in slides need help which is shy those systems have fans as they don't self vent as well as reef vent designs.
While it is true roof vent systems vent themselves (via the fact that hot air naturally rises), assisting this airflow (ie. adding fans) helps the process and appears to make the cooling happen faster, colder, and also using less propane when not hooked up to electric. My motivation was 99% just trying to make my fridge/freezer a little colder. With the 2 fans I added, the fridge/freezer is running 6 degrees F colder. For a $25 modification, I consider that a success/worthwhile.
I don't have a side vent system (found in slides), but it is easy to understand that naturally they will not vent as well since they don't have a roof vent. For those designs assist fans would appear to be even more helpful (or necessary).
Obviously, if someone is happy with their fridge/freezer temps then no modification is necessary.
Stay cool!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/13/23 12:57pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Adding fan behind refrigerator...worthwhile??
I would not tap any wires. Power the fans up off the 12-volt Red and Black. Install a manual switch or route through small thermostat.
It is running through a thermostat. But as currently wired, the thermostat always has power, and if the temps rise enough (even if the refrigerator isn't on), the fans will go on....even if the RV is in storage. Yes, I can open the side panel and disconnect the power to the thermostat (...I have easy connectors on the power lines to the thermostat), but I'd rather just have it wired to the "Fridge on/off" power so that it will never be on if the fridge is not on.
-Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/12/23 11:47pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Adding fan behind refrigerator...worthwhile??
Finally got around to adding some fans behind one of my Class C RV's refrigerators to try it out.
Two of these fans....
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FBP2ZM5
0.25amp, 15CFM, 32.8 dBA (Each)
$9 each
One of these thermostats....
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2WTPJ3G
~$4
~$3 worth of other wire, zip-ties, etc.
$9 + $9 + $4 + $3 = $25 modification
Tested this on back to back days that had identical daytime high 90 degree temps.
Started with the refrigerator on for 24hrs prior to starting the test. Only opened the doors to check the temp after they had been closed for 24hrs.
With the fans OFF, at 3pm in the peak of the afternoon heat, the freezer was 11 degrees F and the refrigerator was 43 degrees F. (warmer than I would like)
With the fans ON (the next day), at 3pm in the peak of the afternoon heat, the freezer was 6 degrees F and the refrigerator was 37 degrees F.
Result: 6 degrees cooler with the fans on (thermostatically controlled) behind the refrigerator.
I consider it a win. I plan on adding one more fan (...might help another 1-2 degrees) and cleaning up the wires a bit. Will probably add to one of my other RVs that has a fridge that runs at about 40 degrees F during the heat of the day.
https://i.imgur.com/xPqGcRFl.jpg
One last thing for me to figure out....I'm sure someone here can assist...
Currently, I am tapping 12v power off some easy to access wires (the orange and white wires coming from the right side of the photo). I thought they would only be hot (have power) when the refrigerator was on. I was wrong though...they are always hot/on.
Can someone tell me which of these wires is ONLY hot/12v when the fridge is turned on inside the RV? Is it the red wire that I marked with the yellow "A"?
https://i.imgur.com/mX6y82nl.jpg
Thanks!
-Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/12/23 08:39pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Need new tires
On my 30'+ Class C RVs I always put 225/75r16 COMMERCIAL (121) load rated tires. These each carry roughly 500lbs more than e-Load (115) rated tires. That's 2000lbs more weight buffer on the rear axle. I'm always surprised (disappointed) at how little weight buffer E-load rated tires have on the rear axle of a 30-31' Class C RV straight out of the manufacturers.
Note: You should never overload your axles. But all else being equal, I would rather have tires (Commercial 121 rated) that can carry 2000lbs extra. You never know when you might have a situation where they are slightly underinflated. Or you might have one get a leak and it takes some time to notice/etc (TPMS helps with this).
The last set I bought was from Big-O tires. I believe I paid ~$180/tire.
Good luck!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/10/23 07:08pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Firestone TransForce HT2 LT225 /75 R16 115R E1 ?
How long is your RV? What is the weight?
Not sure if you bought these already or not.
On my 30' or larger RVs I upgraded my tires to Commercial load (121) to give 500lbs of extra weight carrying buffer per tire (2000lb total). I find the E-rated tires do not have enough carrying capacity buffer for my comfort level.
Note: You should never overload your axle. But all else being equal, Commercial rated (121) tires can more easily carry the load and therefore I feel they are less likely to have a blowout.
Safe travels!
Chris
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SJ-Chris
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08/04/23 02:19pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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