Kirk W

If you have access to one of the mini-backhoe units it may well be. A friend of mine used to have one of the tracked versions with a bucket that was only 6" wide and it was great, but requires more skill to get a nice trench than does a trencher. If you plan to rent, take a look at what Ditch Witch has.

Welcome to the Escapee forums! As you shop for a class C you will quickly find that the majority are powered by gasoline engines with diesels onlhey available in a few models, unless you go to one on the Sprinter chassis or move up to one of the super C models. I'm not sure why, but diesel engines are not often available in the van chassis that are most commonly found under the typical class C. As to which is best, there is a really hot debate over that, especially in the class A crowd. We were fulltime in a gasoline powered class A for nearly 12 years and if I had it to do over, I would probably buy the same rig that I have if availability were then same as then. Gasoline does cost less but most diesels get better mileage. Of course the diesels also cost considerably more to buy but they also have a much longer useful life, although most gasoline engines today will make at least 200k miles if properly cared for and maintained. If the class C's built on the Sprinter chassis work for your budget and needs, I would probably go that route. If a typical class C, I would not hesitate to go with gasoline as long as it was not excessively high mileage and checked out as sound with a trusted mechanic. As a footnote, I would love to own a super C but they are beyond my budget comfort.

Which is exactly the comment that I made when you first responded to me. The 120V refrigerators have a much larger capacity for the same physical size because the compressor is smaller than the absorption cooling units.

The spring on awnings is wound up as the awning is deployed. In the extended position, it is would to it tightest. The rotation is such that the awning winds on to the tube over the top when retracting. When completely unwound, the tube should rotate in the same direction to wind the spring as it would to roll up the awning.

There are usually groups of Escapee members parked together, even if they are not part of a club sponsored group.

If it has the same physical size as the existing RV refrigerator, it would hold significantly more than the present refrigerator. How does she get by with the RV refrigerator now?

It would indicate that the city water supply has a very low supply pressure if you are able to pump water from the tank to the city system. Most RV park hydrants have a back flow preventer on the hydrant and in most cases are required to have that. In addition, the city water connection should also have a check valve in it to prevent that from happening. In this case, both would have to fail or be missing. The first is what is typically found on a city water hydrant, the second is a typical RV fitting. There are several different styles of each of them. An easy way to see if water is going into the city supply is to just turn it off at the hydrant, leaving everything connected as it is. If that is where the water is going the pump should quickly stop.

Do you have something with a circuit diagram for it? Applying power & bypassing the controller is OK as long as you do not over do things. It is possible that the control system monitors current and turns it off if the current draw exceeds design limits, You could destroy the motor if you aren't careful.

Check out the level indications from Garnet Instruments. Slowly there are RV builders that are starting to install them at the factory. The first that I saw them in was from New Horizons, about 15 or 20 years ago. Today they list 17 companies as using their system, including Tiffin, Grand Design, Jayco, and even Keystone. The type of level sensing technology has been in existence for many years. They use an inductive sensing system which works on any polyethylene or ABS tank. They also make capacitance level sensors and probably some others. The capacitance level sensing technology was in existence on submarines in the early 1960's as it was part of the equipment that I used to maintain. Unfortunately, the RV industry for the most part will use whatever is cheapest as long as not too many others break ranks and start to spend more to get something of better quality. That is beginning to happen at last with tank level sensing systems so most likely there will soon be other companies get into the market for RV systems.

I did a Google search on "Dometic cfx 95 DZW manual: and the link that I tried to post goes directly to Dometic and downloads the operator's manual automatically. Try this link from Cool Tech Leisure that comes from the UK but seems to work better. The Google search gets several other sources. If he were to hard wire it that would mean it was no longer portable and might also mean he could not use the cable for 120V power when available.

But there are plenty of small 120V, apartment style refrigerators that would fit well and cost less. The lower price would probably pay for a second battery and a small inverter/charge to replace the existing converters.

Best of luck on that one! The last one I used was a self-propelled, Ditch-Witch and even that was not easy. Be careful and stay healthy.

If it is like the vast majority of 120V circuit breakers that I have worked with you must fully open the breaker, then close it. If you have an owner's manual, the directions on resetting the circuit breaker can be found on page 16 and there is a picture of it's location in figure 7, page 17. If you do not have a copy of the owner's manual, you can download a .pdf copy from this link.

Let me suggest that you slow down some and read the manual for this portable refrigerator/freezer.

The model that he has is a compressor type, portable refrigerator capable of power by 12/24V-DC or 120/240V-AC power. His problem was when operating on 12V power from his popup travel trailer. I think that I would hesitate to just replace the wire without some input from the manufacturer. The cord that it came with should be sufficient to carry the load unless there is some sort of problem. I am rather surprised that the unit is shutting down without blowing the fuse that is in the power plug, unless the problem is that the under voltage sensing is triggering, which could be the cause of the flashing light, according to the operating manual. The other thing that reading the manual brings to mind that could possibly cause it to draw too much current is poor ventilation. Is it in a place with ample room for air movement? Have you measured the voltage that is available when the problem happens? Is the unit still under warranty?

That may be the new standard. I don't believe that I have ever done any work on one of the newer RVs that came with the home type of refrigerator. I consider the improvements in technology that have lead to the frequency of using a house type refrigerator to be one of the most significant changes in the RV world since I have been a part of it. Between the improvement in batteries and in refrigerator efficiency, I really wonder why we are still not seeing them in the smaller travel trailers yet. Lithium batteries and solar are another area that is bringing about major changes of RV design.

But frequently there is one device which does both functions from a single box. It is called and inverter/charger.

That would be when the batteries get charged. When it is operating as an inverter and you have no shore power the inverter gets power from the batteries and makes 120V for whatever it supplies.

You really shouldn't need to and probably should not, if it is connected as most I am familiar with. In those I have worked with the device is an inverter/charger and when shore power is connected it then supplies 12V for the lights and RV appliances and to recharge the battery. In such case, disconnecting it from the system would cause you to operate the 12V lights and appliances from your battery.

That is the benefit of my sons thinking that I'm too old to do some things. I ask them if they can help, or should I just do the project myself?

Welcome to the Escapee open forums! An I correct in assuming that your portable refrigerator cord is getting hot only when it operates from the 12V power source in the heat of the day. While I have no experience with any of the small, 12V compressor type of refrigerators, I do have more than 40 years of electrical service background. Based on that experience I am betting that the problem is your refrigerator is running too long at too high an amperage for the wire size of the cord. If the power plug is overheating, then it could be that the problem is the outlet and not the cord but one of them is exceeding the capability of it's construction. A cord will overheat when the current load is too much for it's capability and it begins to act like a resistance due to the excess load. The power required by the compressor is in watts, which is the voltage multiplied by the current. That means that at 12V it will require twice as many amps as it would at 24V and ten times the amps of a 120V power supply. In addition, as you draw power from your batteries the voltage actually changes, starting at fully charged with 13.6V and slowly falling with 10.5V when near maximum useful output. That means that if your refrigerator needs 75 watts of power it will draw 5.5A when the battery is fully charged and 7.2A when the battery falls to 10.5V. The specs for the refrigerator calls for an input of 9.2A so I suspect that peak requirement is more than the math shows. In reading the instructions that the operator's manual has, I see that it has a voltage monitor to prevent completely discharging of the battery. Might that be what is happening to your refrigerator? Another issue might be the temperature where the refrigerator is when traveling. From the operating manual: That makes a peak operating temperature issue a possibility, especially if the 12V use in in an enclosed area that is not air conditioned.

That really stinks!

Of all things that are found in nearly all RVs, the worst reliability is the monitor panel in the typical RV. It is because most manufacturers go cheap and so the tank monitors are the metal button type that send a small current through to detect a level and only work when clean so fresh water usually works, others not so much. The battery meter is no better as most of those are just a cheap voltmeter attached to the power supply of the panel and it is far too inaccurate to tell you much more than you can tell by turning on your ceiling lights. If they are dim the battery is down, if they don't work it is discharged. There are a few high end RVs that come with Sea Level tank monitors that actually work and fewer have a real battery level indication that works. Other appliances are generally much better and supplied by vendors who warrant them usually longer than the RV warranty. Most appliances will last 10 years or so if used heavily, longer for vacation & weekend use.

It may not be required, but every driver should get rest. I used to drive far beyond what was safe in my younger days and got lucky.

I probably could, but I have found a much better way now. I have 2 son's nearby who come over and I supervise.