377 fridge and heat pump

Palle-man · 01-28-2016, 12:29 AM

After reading through the forums, my wife and I decided to upgrade to the residential fridge and the heat pump. They aren't that much more, so it seems worth it. We will be a full time family of three and dog for about a year, so I feel it's justified. Any other suggestions?

Kahoneys · 01-28-2016, 06:22 AM

We had a tankless water heater put in for the 10 gal water heater is ok for 1 person but didn't cut it for the family. (I am very sad to admit that I haven't had the chance to test it out yet due to the rig being in hibernation).

RobinA · 01-28-2016, 06:27 AM

Those are two worthwhile upgrades. I wish we would have added the slide toppers and we may get them added in the future. We opted out of the backup camera - have never really used one and figured we could always add it later if we find we need it. Camper came wired for it already. So far we have not felt a need to have it but someone that actually has one may have better advice with regards to that.

Magnolia Tom · 01-28-2016, 06:43 AM

I have both. Two of the big reasons we purchased the coach. Heat pump works really well in mild to cold temps. Doesn't work below 40 degrees. Fridge is nice as the one in our home.

Grumpy · 01-28-2016, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kahoneys

We had a tankless water heater put in for the 10 gal water heater is ok for 1 person but didn't cut it for the family.

If you run a regular WH on both gas and elect it increases the output by almost 50%. A 10 gal comes close to a 15.

Bookemdanno · 01-28-2016, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

I have both. Two of the big reasons we purchased the coach. Heat pump works really well in mild to cold temps. Doesn't work below 40 degrees. Fridge is nice as the one in our home.

+1. I have both as well, but haven't used either yet. Tomorrow will be our 1st trip out in it. I will probably try the heat pump this weekend as temps will be 50's at night and 70's during the day.

Grumpy · 01-28-2016, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palle-man

After reading through the forums, my wife and I decided to upgrade to the residential fridge and the heat pump.

You won't regret it.

Palle-man · 01-28-2016, 07:41 AM

Thanks for all the input. The tankless water heater is something I never thought about. Is that an in line heater? Run off propane I presume, or is that electric?

djalbrec · 01-28-2016, 09:28 AM

I have a heat pump and probably would not order it again. Like was said earlier, it doesn't work well below 40 degrees and is as noisy as the A/C when it is running. Also, if the ambient temperature is several degrees below what you have the heat pump thermostat set at, the furnace will kick on until the temperature rises to the preset temp. In other words, it still uses propane, although not enough.

Just remember, the heat pump does not protect the water lines or the holding tanks from freezing. You would need to use the furnace for that protection. My wife and I decided the heat pump would not be an option on our next unit.

Magnolia Tom · 01-28-2016, 10:13 AM

The heat pump in our unit isn't loud. Here are some things to know about the heat pump. It is basically the AC working in reverse. The cool air is sent to the outside and warm air to the inside. It is an electric heater that you can use so you don't need space heaters or use the furnace when temps are mild. The heat pump is not a substitute for the furnace. It is a supplement to it.

The heat pump comes on when the t-stat is set to within 5 degrees of the interior temp. If the spread is more than 5 degrees, the furnace kicks on first to bring the interior temp up to within the 5* then the heat pump takes over. Also, if you have the heat pump running and the temps outside dip below 40*, the furnace automatically kicks on.
As long as you know what the heat pump is, how it works and it's limitations, you'll be happy with it. We live in Texas and camp year round. It rarely gets really cold so the heat pump is great because no more space heaters, and a comfy trailer using CG electricity versus costly propane.

Palle-man · 01-28-2016, 10:23 AM

We will be living by lake Travis in ours. Hopefully camping all over Texas throughout the year, figuring out where we are going to live. I'm going to go ahead on the pump. Thanks!

Magnolia Tom · 01-28-2016, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palle-man

We will be living by lake Travis in ours. Hopefully camping all over Texas throughout the year, figuring out where we are going to live. I'm going to go ahead on the pump. Thanks!

Good call!

Hoojs12840 · 01-28-2016, 05:00 PM

We have the heat pump. It works good to 40deg sometimes lower depending on sun/humidity etc.

We didn't get the residential fridge because we travel a lot and everyone I talked to said it would run 4-8hrs on the battery's. We even have the generator but I don't want to run it all the time for one appliance.

It probably holds more, but we can put a week or mores worth of grocery's in our gas/electric one.

Hoojs12840 · 01-28-2016, 05:01 PM

I recommend the awning toppers as well. We just had 36 inches of snow and then warming and refreezing and they keep the slides clean and dry.

Palle-man · 01-28-2016, 05:24 PM

Already got those, but thank you.

Grumpy · 01-28-2016, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoojs12840

We didn't get the residential fridge because we travel a lot and everyone I talked to said it would run 4-8hrs on the battery's. .

JAYCO said 14-18 hrs and if your on the road the TV keeps the batteries charged. We've never had to run the geny for the fridge and we've pulled it about 15,000 miles so far. You have to remember the compressor does not run constantly.

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