A little discouraged
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Topic: A little discouraged
Posted By: Danny boy
Subject: A little discouraged
Date Posted: 17 Jun 2016 at 7:54pm
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I just got off the phone with the dealership I brought my R POD to get checked out and they talked to me like I was the problem, even after I had to explain twice to the gentleman why I brought it in in the first place. When I brought it in I explained to them the battery would not charge when hooked up to 110 AC at the RV park. They told me when they turned on the fridge it was set to 12 volts and I told them I had to turn the fridge completely off even when hooked up to my truck driving cause the battery would drain if the fridge was on (which according to the manual it should not). I have a 180 and I'm thinking the battery that was supplied is to weak for the unit. I even tried running the fridge on gas one night and it still drained the battery. I am a little frustrated since we want to dry camp and even with gas running the fridge I'm afraid I might loose battery, and let me tell from experience it's no fun having a dead battery on your trailer since nothing works. I'm thinking about 2 deep cycle 6 volt batteries and a solar panel to keep them up and running. Anybody out there have problem like this with there trailer. Thanks for any info, Dan |
Replies:
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 17 Jun 2016 at 8:16pm
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There are two 40 Ampere fuses on the 12V side of your power panel. Please check those. It is possible that when the battery was installed, that it was connected wrong and those are blown. It is also possible that there is a bad converter. There are a couple of other message threads I have seen which would indicate that Forest River might have gotten a bad batch. The symptoms you describe are similar to what I read here: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=8155&KW=converter&PID=77110&title=battery-not-charging#77110 - Battery Not Charging and http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=8146&KW=converter&PID=77010&title=c-t-trailer-bozeman-montana#77010 - C & T Trailer, Bozeman Montana If you decide to do this test, please make sure that the terminals do NOT touch anything metal or each other! Your dealer should have told you to bring it in so it could be checked. Please leave a review of this dealer. I'm sure others would like to know. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Mountainrev
Date Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 12:08pm
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If your battery doesn't charge while towing, it's very possible that the problem is with your tow vehicle. If your battery was completely drained, it may be shot. Have your tow vehicle's wiring checked to be sure that it is charging. Have the battery checked to see if it's dead and needs to be replaced. Even when using propane, the fridge's "brains" do draw a small amount of power from the battery, but it's very little. With judicious use of lights, fan, furnace, etc., you should be able to dry camp for a couple of days on one 12 volt battery. Two twelve volts are better. Two six volts are best.
------------- 2014 177 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee Turbodiesel "I lift my eyes to the hills." 
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Posted By: Funky
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2016 at 1:06am
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In our 2017 R Pod 180 we had a problem with the battery not charging while connected to "shore power". It charged while connected to the tow vehicle, but not shore power. I found the tray on which the converter sits sags (converter tray is located in the bottom of the fuse box cabinet). The sagging caused a short with the wires/connectors under the tray. I added a couple of shims/wedges underneath the sagging tray. The shims/wedges maintain the air gap beneath the tray. So far, this has solved the problem. Since we were on the road with no other options available to us, I had to trouble shoot this myself. This solution worked for me, maybe it will work for you (I wish you good luck with the repair and hope your vacation is not negatively impacted). ------------- Funky 2017 R pod 180 |
Posted By: computerfixitguy
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2016 at 1:43am
| My 2017 176 seems to have small things. Stick not screwed in under the bench seats, vent covers popping off inside. All in all really little things, but the number of really little things is really surprising. |
Posted By: Jazz trumpet
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2016 at 11:45am
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Thanks for the post. Was this problem straight from the factory? As in 'Brand New'? I'm getting delivery of my 2016 Rpod July 11 and will check this sagging shelf out.
Are there any differences on the 2017 from the 2016 that you're aware of? Thanks John ------------- John and Marilyn 2016 Rpod 180 2001 Chevrolet Suburban |
Posted By: Jazz trumpet
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2016 at 11:53am
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Why are two 6 volt batteries better and preferred than one or two 12 volts? Sorry if I seem naive, Newbie here.
------------- John and Marilyn 2016 Rpod 180 2001 Chevrolet Suburban |
Posted By: computerfixitguy
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2016 at 11:55am
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So my 176 2017 is 14" longer than the 16, it has a closet and bigger bunks. The TV is by the door and not by the bunks, thats how they did it. The TV is really annoying by the door too, but I like the extra space. It also holds 2 batteries on the tongue. No shelf needed. Apparently the axles are different but I would have to compare pictures or something. There is also a outdoor shower thingy, but that is apparently on the 16's if they were built in the fall. Derek
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Posted By: Funky
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2016 at 11:58am
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Yes, we bought it brand new. We specifically looked for 2017 versus 2016 model since some minor updates were made for the 2017 model. The 2017 updates that I can recall at this time include: smaller 15" television (which for us is more convenient), the shower is updated (has curtain which attaches to bottom of shower), the axle is updated (sits higher). There were others, I think, that I cannot recall at this time. In general, we wanted all of the most recent "tweaks". ------------- Funky 2017 R pod 180 |
Posted By: Jazz trumpet
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2016 at 12:02pm
I didn't know of those improvements. All tweaks are great. Congrats on doing your homework. We were just thrilled to get a good price and a dry bathroom. 
------------- John and Marilyn 2016 Rpod 180 2001 Chevrolet Suburban |
Posted By: Mountainrev
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2016 at 1:47pm
The short answer is, more amp hours. I'm no expert in things electrical, so perhaps others will chime in to give a more detailed, technical answer, but my understanding is 6 volt batteries are true "deep cycle," having much thicker and heavier lead plates inside, etc. Wiring two of them together in series produces 12 volts. The downside with going that route is that 6 volt batteries are pretty expensive and heavy. Most folks don't need the extra amp hours, since they don't camp without electric hookups that often or for that long. For many, the single 12 volt (typically a group 24) battery that generally comes with R-pods is sufficient. Since we do a bit more dry camping than many, but not typically for more than three nights in a row, I went with adding a second 12 volt (wired in parallel), doubling the amp hours of a single 12 volt, but not getting as many amp hours as two 6 volts. It was a much cheaper route, since I only had to purchase one 12 volt (plus another battery box and a couple of cables to wire the batteries together). ------------- 2014 177 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee Turbodiesel "I lift my eyes to the hills."
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Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2016 at 3:11pm
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Mountainrev is basically correct, the biggest advantage to a pair of GC2 golf cart batteries is more stored energy. The common group 24 battery supplied with campers is rated at 86 Ampere Hours (AH). Adding the second in parallel provides 12 volts at 2X86=172AH . A pair of GC2s in series provides 12 volts at 225AH. There are also some arcane technical reasons that charging and discharging cells in series is better than parallel, but that's for us geeks. If you camp in CGs with electric hookups or for short periods the added 12V GP24 is the cheapest solution, but ultimately the two GC2s is better. The best solution is to specify the dealer puts in the two GC2s and gives you credit for the OEM battery. Batteries are always supplied by the dealer so he can do that.
------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |