Replacing the USB charger

[North of 49°]

Last fall while I was winterizing, I discovered that the factory installed USB charger had died. I checked it out and it had power right to the circuit board, but nothing at the ports. I remember reading here that these things are prone to failure, so I didn't want to go through the bother of making a warranty claim just to have them replace it with one exactly the same -- which would most likely die again when the trailer is off warranty, and I'd be right back where I started.

Over the winter I ordered this from Amazon:

Cigarette Lighter Socket Splitter 12V Dual USB Charger Power Adapter Car

And I installed it today. The hole the factory put into the side of the cabinet for the dead USB charger was naturally the wrong size, so I had to come up with a way to both make it bigger and cover it up. A piece of 1/8" hardboard worked just fine.

Removing the old charger. It was just held in by two screws, and Scotch Locks for the wiring:



Installing the new charger. I just used Scotch locks for the wiring. They're not my favorite, but in a situation like this, they'll work just fine. I used a circuit tester to verify which wire was positive and which one was ground. I know there's industry standards, but I go by the philosophy of "Trust but verify." It only takes a few seconds.

You can see how I had to make the hole bigger for the new charger, and the 1'8" hardboard attached to the new parts. It works as a trim piece to make it pretty again:



This gives me both two USB ports and a 12 volt port for whatever I want to hook up to it.



The finished look. The next time I have some black or brown paint handy I'll disassemble this and give it a coat. Or not.



Cross another one off the list.

[M&A]

Great mod. I need to do this since my XRB doesn't have any of these at all.That 12V outlet looks like it might hold the plug better that most.

[Jagiven]

Great job!

I added three more these spring. One on each end of our bed, and one for the rear bunk.

[Preacher87]

Personally with your black utilities fixtures, I would have used a black blank double wall plate used to cover up a utilities box in household use rather than wallboard.
Would match better aesthetically

[ctbailey]

Nice job. I like that dual dual outlet.

It never ceases to amaze, though... I swear the manufacturers employ gerbils to gnaw the holes in paneling. [emoji4]


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[Homersimpson]

If I copied the photo correctly, on the right is a standard AC outlet. And on the left is a combo 12 volt outlet and double USB port. Look closely since they look the same. Available at Amazon and wired to the battery by me. (or you)

[North of 49°]

Originally Posted by Preacher87

Personally with your black utilities fixtures, I would have used a black blank double wall plate used to cover up a utilities box in household use rather than wallboard.
Would match better aesthetically

Thanks for the tip. I may look into that.

[us71na]

Another option would be to replace some of your duplex electrical outlets with new USB equipped receptacles, which also come in various colors.

[rsday75]

I did similar to the above, but did not need a 12v outlet. So, I got this to monitor voltage when boondocking:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by us71na

Another option would be to replace some of your duplex electrical outlets with new USB equipped receptacles, which also come in various colors.

I have a few of these in the house. they are great, the kids cannot take them and wonder off. But you do have to have 120V to make them work. Not so good for boondocking. They are also expensive

[bdreinv]

Nice job, amen on the Trust but Verify.My pre-wire solar plug in on the roof, wires were reversed! Happy Trails

[North of 49°]

We never boondock, and DW has told me that a site with at least power is a must; if I book a basic site with no services, pretty much guaranteed I'd be camping alone. That's why I didn't get one with a volt meter. But I still have some 12 volt appliances that I'd like to use, and besides the one beside the television, there aren't any in the trailer.

My portable 12 volt air compressor doesn't have a long enough cord to reach from the truck in case I need it for the trailer tires. With a 12 volt outlet in this location, the compressor will reach the trailer tires quite easily, on either side of the trailer.

I use the USB ports for charging up my digital camera, plugging in my cell phone to stream music to the trailer's stereo, stuff like that.

[bwft57]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

I have a few of these in the house. they are great, the kids cannot take them and wonder off. But you do have to have 120V to make them work. Not so good for boondocking. They are also expensive

You also can't "turn them off".
The 120v to 5v converter is always on.
So it will pull a constant draw on the inverter.
I went with converting my phono plug to 12v lighter plug, then can use chargers or 12v fans there.

Power drain will kill you quick on these....

[jloco]

I have that same USB port under the sink. The guts pulled right out when unplugging a cable. I taped it back in with gorilla tape for now. Definitely need to replace the whole fixture when I have time.


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[X213_2015]

I added one of these on my bench of the X23B. I tapped into the 12V wiring that was there. Made great use of these boondocking and plugged in.

Dual 12V socket 2.1A USB charger

We boondocked over two weeks this summer and had a blast....that being said the weather was awesome. Without these our phones and tablets would have died (We took 15000 pics this summer....)

[bdreinv]

Originally Posted by X213_2015

I added one of these on my bench of the X23B. I tapped into the 12V wiring that was there. Made great use of these boondocking and plugged in.

Dual 12V socket 2.1A USB charger

We boondocked over two weeks this summer and had a blast....that being said the weather was awesome. Without these our phones and tablets would have died (We took 15000 pics this summer....)

They are handy they don't get lost!We do solar any ideas on how to shut them down?A battery drain 24-7 Thanks

[X213_2015]

I do solar too. The draw is negligible when not being used. While not being used there probably isn't a draw bigger than 0.07 W or so (70mW). I haven't had a dead battery yet! The 2.1A+1A draw is only there if a devices are plugged in and "fast charging"

I think the propane leak detector draws more than that. If you are truly concerned you could always put a toggle switch on it. I have a fuse on mine (proper install) inline that I can unplug as well.

My camper still easily float charges every day with the 200W of panels on mine - even with all the little parasitic current draws.

[bdreinv]

Originally Posted by X213_2015

I do solar too. The draw is negligible when not being used. While not being used there probably isn't a draw bigger than 0.07 W or so (70mW). I haven't had a dead battery yet! The 2.1A+1A draw is only there if a devices are plugged in and "fast charging"

I think the propane leak detector draws more than that. If you are truly concerned you could always put a toggle switch on it. I have a fuse on mine (proper install) inline that I can unplug as well.

My camper still easily float charges every day with the 200W of panels on mine - even with all the little parasitic current draws.

Your right we have a 275 watt 60 cell industrial panel.In Arizona we have a lot of sun shine don''t even know why I worry about it! Thanks

[bono]

Looking for a replacement for my USB charger in the bedroom (same as OP). I bought this charger, but the space is too shallow and I cannot fit it. Do you know any similar chargers which that much space behind the wall? The original charger is poor quality and I would prefer not to replace it with the same one. Thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0_E_Asin_Title

[dewey02]

Originally Posted by bdreinv

They are handy they don't get lost!We do solar any ideas on how to shut them down?A battery drain 24-7 Thanks

I installed a 3 port unit on the bedroom wall with USB, 12 volt plug (for an O2 Cool fan) and a voltage meter. Then I added a separate rocker switch to turn the whole thing off when not using it. A bonus of the rocker switch is that it turns off the rather bright voltage meter. That way it doesn't bother my sleeping at night. Note: you can also get multipanels that have a rocker switch included as part of the panel.