D&J

We made our run from Yuma to Nebraska and the 20 amp DC to DC charger worked perfectly. With the refrigerator, freezer and disk brake actuator running I checked the voltage when we stopped with truck off and it was between 13.6 to 13.8 every time. Because of cold weather we had hookups every night and started with 13.46 volts, that's the normal holding voltage for the converter. I did load tests on the batteries when we were sitting in Yuma so I know they are up to the task but I may still add on more one more. I'm more than happy with the upgrade and would recommend it. Denny .

This is our site in Coyote Ranch #226, this is our 3rd year here and plan on a few more. They only rent by the month 1st to 1st, the site are 60x80 and not all are RV friendly but they will supply 50 amp extension cords along with sewer hoses to but we don't need because we have our own. It's a gated community but we have a opener so we don't need to use the keyed pad entry

We stayed at Kaibab Camper Village, would not call it a resort but it was fine for the few days we were there. Everything else is dry camping in the area. Denny

For years we used our locals through Dish Network because at our homebase we just couldn't get them until a couple of years ago when I started to experiment with different styles of DIY antennas. I think I built at least 5 before I was ready to give up and continue paying $12 a month but then I tried it one last time. Using just part of one of the antenna's I tried and that was two 14" pieces of #6 copper wire and a short piece of vinyl fence I had laying around. I formed a loop one each end of the wire the size of the screw I was using to attach it to the vinyl. I attached the coax shield to one wire and the copper core to the other without a matching transformer (tried one and it killed the signal) and ran it into the house through a splitter and run two TVs off it. The one at the house is on a piece of 1" rigid conduit that is setup so it can be turned and locked into place because it is directional but it can receive a signal from the front or back. The one on the trailer is mounted on the existing antenna and it works way better than the Winegard. At home I'm pulling signals from 65 miles without any problems and it's the only one we are using in the trailer. If you have to straighten the wire clamp one end and chuck the other one into a drill and slowly twist it. Denny

One other thing to check is the ground, remove the igniter and clean the area where it's screwed to the bracket. In the past I would just run a ground wire to the control panel. Denny

Use a stud finder or take one of your vent trims down and locate a roof truss and get a measurement to the edge of the vent and then go on the roof and use the measurement to find a truss, after you find one just to measure to find the rest. Denny

I did some more digging and my Power Dynamics PD9160ALV converter goes into a charge mode every 3 weeks if batteries are in storage mode like ours are now so I should be good to go. The only thing I have left to do is install a switch so I can turn off to he DC to DC charger if I needed to, this is a 5th wheel so it's not controlled by the trucks ignition switch. On Fords the 12V from the truck is not energized when the truck is off so I ran a wire from the incoming 12V to the ignition port to turn it on when truck is running. Denny

This is off my inverter with the refrigerator running balanced out, the freezer draws about 10 watts more. I have everything installed and working and have done a few load tests and it all works great, even better than expected. The only question I have is will it hurt to leave the batteries hooked up after the converter charges them and drops off to 13.6 volts (100% charge) over a long period when we are sitting for the winter in AZ. The way I understand it the converter stops charging when it drops back off to 13.6 volts. Denny

Yes the other outlets are feed off the GFCI that has gone bad, make sure that the breaker feeding the GFCI is on because they won't reset without power. Denny

My refrigerator draws 56 Watts after it starts up and the freezer just a little more. I've keep my Optima AGM batteries up with the truck for years but my 8 year AGMs are slowly failing and aren't up to the job anymore so I'm looking at changing over to lithium. One of my old Optima batteries will used to start my 5K generator for a starting battery, the old one died and the other will go to my small boat. Denny

My plans so far is a Renogy 12v 20 amp DC to DC charger, my truck has a 30 amp fused circuit going to the trailer. I just need it to keep batteries up when traveling, we run a residential frig and small freezer. The converter is a Progressive Dynamics 60 amp PF9160ALV with two LiTime 100AH Mini batteries. Does this sound like a good setup. Denny

What amperage converter will I need for two or three 100ah batteries. Same with a DC to DC charger for 12v from the truck. Denny

You mean the service person you had look at it never when on the roof and checked the condenser coil, never call him again. The very first thing that should be checked is the condenser. The cover has to be removed because the way the air flows in the sides and out the back so you can't see if the coil is plugged. 18 to 20 differential is perfect. Denny

Like I said it's all depends of your skill level to do it yourself. If you take it to a dealership I'm sure it would totaled. The repair I did on mine would have been 3K at the Hitchhiker service center but I did it for under $200 in materials. Where to start is to tear it apart until all the rot is gone, mine also didn't start at the roof so I didn't have to tear it up to high. I also have a building to house it in. Also keep in mind how it was built and how your going to rebuild it. Denny

Photo of new beam. If you look close you can see to the inside of the trailer after all the rot was cleaned out.

Yes the short answer is yes it can be repaired depending on your skill level but very expensive if you have someone else do it. This is a photo of our right front side of our 5th wheel trailer after I cleaned all the rot out. There was a support beam there originally that was totally rotted away. I made a new one and with a lot of screws, glue and time you can't tell it's been fixed unless you go in the closet and see where I replaced some of the paneling that was rotted away. Denny

Let's face it there is no way the Dish will start using a satellite in a new position that existing equipment won't pick up. The 118 sat will probably be moved into some existing position like where 129 was and then renamed. Denny

That heater is in the freezer door for condensation and that's not your problem. Denny

The only thing that is 120v is the electric heater. Denny

You may be able to purchase the freezer side but when they are built they are in a jig and injected with open cell foam that glues it all together and insulates at the same time so replacing it would be more work than the refrigerator is worth. I've replaced the cooling unit in ours a couple of times and they aren't made to take apart, after the second time both with Amish cooling units it went into the trash where it belonged. Replaced with residential. Denny

Building that much frost in 6 weeks means you probably have an air leak in the freezer compartment. It may be the door seal but by the location and frost getting behind the liner I'm thinking it's were the cold plate is attach to the case. The only way I know of fixing it would be to remove the cooling unit and reseal the case but the bubble will be there to stay because the liner has separated from the foam insulation. Denny

Looks like frost buildup behind the plastic liner causing the bubble. Have you ever defrosted the freezer in 3 years? It doesn't look like it. Denny

We have a Power Dynamics 60 amp converter charging 2 AGM Optima Blue tops and I just plug my converter into my very old Honda 650 watt generator., it makes it grunt but it's old and doesn't seem to care and it doesn't trip the overload. It burns a lot less fuel than my build in 5KW generator. Denny

Just plug your converter into the generator to bring the batteries up. Denny

They don't use R134A because it's not a good high temp gas and R410A was designed to be a A/C gas to replace R22 that's now one of the refrigerants phased out by the EPA. You will also see R134 phased out in the coming years and be replaced by R1234YF in automotive units. Like I said check the suction line at the compressor before condemning the unit. Denny