Jayfeather inverters?

loriemoms · 08-08-2021, 01:02 PM

We have a 2020 22RK and was wondering if it came with an inverter.. We can't find anything in documentation our dealer isn't sure. We want to put in a 12 volt fridge and some 12 volt plugs (it has none) the slide, lights and awning work on 12 volt so is there an inverter somewhere or is it not required? Any ideas where it might be located?

craigav · 08-08-2021, 01:18 PM

Inverters create 120v out of 12v. Converter create 12v out of 120v. You have from the factory a converter that charges the batteries anytime you are plugged in, that same converter creates 12v for other items when plugged in. When not plugged in, you are running on battery(s). If you have an inverter to create 120v, you would likely have a switch to turn it on somewhere near the tank level monitor and related switches. Most TT's I have seen do not come from the factory with an inverter but all do have a converter. ~CA

Jagiven · 08-08-2021, 01:23 PM

Inverters are for changing the power from 12v dc to 120v ac. Converters are opposite, 120v ac to 12v dc. This also powers you slide, lights, awning, etc when connected to shore power. This will also power your new 12v dc frig, once installed and connected to shore power.

Typically only campers with residential frig and more expensive MHs have Inverters.

I would say no to an inverter.

Edit: checked Jayco's website, and inverters are not listed as an option.

loriemoms · 08-08-2021, 01:45 PM

So would installing a 12 vilt fridge not need an inverter if I am understanding? We could power it from the battery while driving down the road? We mainly wanted it for that as well as they cool down faster and don't have to level from what we understand? We want to do solar someday but not now..we understand we do need an inverter for that? We have zero 12 volt plugs and we're thinking of installing some from the puck lights...am I understanding this correctly? Thanks again..

Grumpy · 08-08-2021, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loriemoms

So would installing a 12 vilt fridge not need an inverter if I am understanding? We could power it from the battery while driving down the road? We mainly wanted it for that as well as they cool down faster and don't have to level from what we understand? We want to do solar someday but not now..we understand we do need an inverter for that? We have zero 12 volt plugs and we're thinking of installing some from the puck lights...am I understanding this correctly? Thanks again..

12 volt plugs?

You will only need an inverter for solar if you want to run a micro, tv or other 120 volt appliances.

Old and soft · 08-08-2021, 02:59 PM

I would not trust any existing wires to the lights to be large enough to run the 12 vdc fridge. Time to do a little homework on wire size and amperage draw of the fridge.

loriemoms · 08-08-2021, 03:25 PM

Yes, we would like to be able to plug in a 12 volt tv...our current tv only works on shore power.

craigav · 08-08-2021, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loriemoms

So would installing a 12 vilt fridge not need an inverter if I am understanding? We could power it from the battery while driving down the road? We mainly wanted it for that as well as they cool down faster and don't have to level from what we understand? We want to do solar someday but not now..we understand we do need an inverter for that? We have zero 12 volt plugs and we're thinking of installing some from the puck lights...am I understanding this correctly? Thanks again..

You should be able to run the fridge you already have installed while driving down the road if that is your main reason for wanting a 12v fridge. Also, unless you always plan to camp where you can plug in, the 12v fridge will not run more than a day or two without you recharging the battery(s) (time depends on how many batteries you have installed), you would likely want to add more batteries, heavier wiring to the fridge, and a way (generator) to charge the batteries if you ever camp where you can't plug in. ~CA

loriemoms · 08-08-2021, 03:31 PM

we weren't going to plug in the 12 volt fridge to the puck lights. We would be taking out our two way fridge and installing a 12 volt fridge in its place. We were just wondering if we had to do anything else (besides cap off the propane line that current runs behind the fridge) There just doesn't seem to be much information out there on this, and our dealer said we wouldn't have enough power currently to do this. So its not really the inverter as to if the wiring is correct in the camper itself? Would we need to have the wiring updated? There is an option to install a 12 volt fridge in our 22RK but our dealer didn't do this, he ordered it with a 2 way fridge. (We weren't about to custom order a new camper when we bought it just for a fridge option) So we assumed if this was an option, there wasn't anything else to needed to be done to the camper. Its very hard to find out any information on these things...Dealers don't seem to know and Jayco doesn't seem to know. Any suggestions on where to find this information out on if we can change the fridge?

DanNJanice · 08-08-2021, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loriemoms

we weren't going to plug in the 12 volt fridge to the puck lights. We would be taking out our two way fridge and installing a 12 volt fridge in its place. We were just wondering if we had to do anything else (besides cap off the propane line that current runs behind the fridge) There just doesn't seem to be much information out there on this, and our dealer said we wouldn't have enough power currently to do this. So its not really the inverter as to if the wiring is correct in the camper itself? Would we need to have the wiring updated? There is an option to install a 12 volt fridge in our 22RK but our dealer didn't do this, he ordered it with a 2 way fridge. (We weren't about to custom order a new camper when we bought it just for a fridge option) So we assumed if this was an option, there wasn't anything else to needed to be done to the camper. Its very hard to find out any information on these things...Dealers don't seem to know and Jayco doesn't seem to know. Any suggestions on where to find this information out on if we can change the fridge?

I would like to know your reasoning for wanting a 12V refridge. I am not disagreeing, but I don't understand it. To answer your first question.

No, you do not need an inverter to run a 12V refridge. Just a good connection to the 12V circuit.

12V refridges usually drain the batteries MUCH faster than running the refridge on propane, this is the part that confuses me. You already can run on propane or 120VAC. Unless you do not have any propane tanks or are afraid of propane, I can't think of any real reason to run from 12V.

The answer to this might give people a better understanding of what you are trying to accomplish and then they can give you better answers.

loriemoms · 08-08-2021, 04:22 PM

Sure lots of reasons!! We want a 12 volt because you cannot drive with the propane. It's not only dangerous It's illegal in many states and illegal on bridges and tunnels. We aren't thinking for boondocking. As long as we are plugged into shore power the battery usage doesn't matter. It's also a lot better for power outages!
A 12 volt fridge gets cold much faster and doesn't require the camper to be perfectly level because they use a compressor instead of absorption like a two way fridge. They also have a lot more space inside because they don't have the fins using up all that space. We are mainly weekend warriors and waiting a day for our fridge to get cold is a major hassle. Yes even with propane it takes 6 to 8 hours to get cold.

DanNJanice · 08-08-2021, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loriemoms

Sure lots of reasons!! We want a 12 volt because you cannot drive with the propane. It's not only dangerous It's illegal in many states and illegal on bridges and tunnels. We aren't thinking for boondocking. As long as we are plugged into shore power the battery usage doesn't matter. It's also a lot better for power outages!
A 12 volt fridge gets cold much faster and doesn't require the camper to be perfectly level because they use a compressor instead of absorption like a two way fridge. They also have a lot more space inside because they don't have the fins using up all that space. We are mainly weekend warriors and waiting a day for our fridge to get cold is a major hassle. Yes even with propane it takes 6 to 8 hours to get cold.

Ahh, I see, thanks for clarifying. Most of the reasons you listed do not apply to the style of camping we do (boondocking) and our refridge is fairly large so we almost never have a space issue.
When you are plugged in, your convertor (which all campers have) will be supplying the 12V power for the refridge. When traveling your tow vehicle will supply some of the power (I usually only get about 5amps or so from my tow vehicle) if your refridge needs more than that then you batteries would supply the rest.

Jay2504 · 08-08-2021, 09:43 PM

When you install the 12 volt fridge, make sure that you put a switch in the wall that can handle a 12 volt 20 amp load. Some 12 volt fridges are difficult to turn off, this make it easy. Make sure that you can access any fuse without having to pull the fridge out. There are some stories about people that had to pull the fridge out to access a fuse. Not sure what the best option would be for the side and roof vent that are no longer needed. Factory installs just dump the heat from the condenser into the camper. Could you do better having it dump the heat out of the side vent? Is that possible? On our home fridge, the heat dumps out underneath the front of the unit. I’m not sure how the 12volt fridges dump the heat from the condenser. I’m pretty sure that you will want to block off the roof vent used for the propane fridge. I would also add extra insulation around the top and sides of the new fridge. Jay

dmatt · 08-11-2021, 12:33 PM

I would advise against getting 12v ONLY fridge. I just purchased a brand new 2021 Jayco x213 and didn't bother checking the fridge due to the fact I had a camper before and am familiar with rv fridges so I just opened it to look at all the space and then closed the door without checking if it is a 3 way or not. I only have 1 battery on my camper and the 12v only Furrion drains it quick. Recent trip went like this:

-Dropped wife and kids off to campground on Saturday 90 minutes away from my house and came back home in my wifes car because I have to work. Wifes friend and kids join her.
- Get a call on Sunday saying AC doesn't work while hooked up to generator(3100W Champion) and its hot and wifes friend is complaining. Strange because that gen always ran 13.5k AC on previous camper. Now the generator is running but in Overload mode and not putting out any power. Hard for me to troubleshoot over the phone. Is it the Generator or is there a problem with the brand new camper/AC. Regardless had her check and the battery is dead.
- Sitting home now thinking who cares if they don't have AC, tough it out. HOWEVER I know we have the 12V only fridge that needs battery power and there are no hookups at the site. With a 3 way it would be no problem, just use gas. But no its 12v only with dead battery and possible broken generator. Now I know I have to make the drive back to campground.
- Before I head out there I am thinking I have to get another generator in case the existing one is the issue. There is nowhere near the campground(Montauk NY) that sells generators that I know of. So I spend 2 hours driving around near my place to stores that say that have Honda 2200is in stock but really don't until I find one. Spend $1400 on new generator and drive 90 minutes back to campground I drove back and forth from yesterday.
- Get to the campsite on late Sunday afternoon with new Generator. Run AC in camper on 3100w champion to see what the problem is. As she said it runs for 5-10 minutes and goes to Overload and outputs no power. Try the new Honda 2200w and same thing happens, runs and then overload. Keep playing around and after a starting and stopping both generators they will run just without the AC. Turns out the AC in the camper is 15k BTU vs the old 13k and it combined with whatever else they had running (IE 12v fridge, cell phones) was overloading the gens. So no AC for them and I drive back home, problem half solved as now at least they can charge the battery and keep the 12V only fridge running and cold.

After this long ramble, the moral of the story is if we had a 3way fridge I would have just told her to forget about the AC and charge your phones in the car and I would look at it when I came out in 3 days. Because it was 12v only fridge I had to spend 8 hours on a sunday and $1400 just so I could keep the fridge going. Yes I cursed that 12v only fridge ALL DAY LONG.

As a follow-up and to end the story I put a softstart in the 15k btu AC which allows it to run on both the old 3100w Champion as well as the brand new 2200w Honda(that I dont need) without overloading. Also I got a Renogy 100w solar suitcase to keep the battery charged during the day for $200 on craigslist.

loriemoms · 08-11-2021, 01:07 PM

Sorry you had so many problems! We love our habour freight 3500 and it's runs our a/c 15 K no issues. We only use it for backyard camping as many campgrounds do not allow generators. We really aren't boondockets but if we were we wouldn't buy a furion anything. We are looking at Dometic as well as other brands that have energy efficient compressors. The danfoss compressors will run on one battery for 3 to 4 days and with a solar setup with two batteries 10 to 14 days! We have a small 12 volt that we use in the truck and it barely draws anything. Many van campers use them full time. Another reason we hate 2 way..currently there is a recall on jayco propane regulators and jayco says to not use propane until the regulator is replaced. This affects years 2017 to 2020. So right now we are waiting for a new regulator (our dealer said it could be months) ..so we can only use our fridge on shore power. Our fridge also has cooling fans that run on electric..not propane..a lot of ppl don't seem to realize Jayco has put those in the top vent to help keep the cheap furrion fridge cool. It's LOUD and eats up ampage as well....again sorry you had issues..sounds like you should have done a shake down trip with shore power first! Highly recommend it!

dmatt · 08-11-2021, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loriemoms

Sorry you had so many problems! We love our habour freight 3500 and it's runs our a/c 15 K no issues. We only use it for backyard camping as many campgrounds do not allow generators. We really aren't boondockets but if we were we wouldn't buy a furion anything. We are looking at Dometic as well as other brands that have energy efficient compressors. The danfoss compressors will run on one battery for 3 to 4 days and with a solar setup with two batteries 10 to 14 days! We have a small 12 volt that we use in the truck and it barely draws anything. Many van campers use them full time. Another reason we hate 2 way..currently there is a recall on jayco propane regulators and jayco says to not use propane until the regulator is replaced. This affects years 2017 to 2020. So right now we are waiting for a new regulator (our dealer said it could be months) ..so we can only use our fridge on shore power. Our fridge also has cooling fans that run on electric..not propane..a lot of ppl don't seem to realize Jayco has put those in the top vent to help keep the cheap furrion fridge cool. It's LOUD and eats up ampage as well....again sorry you had issues..sounds like you should have done a shake down trip with shore power first! Highly recommend it!

The funny thing is we did 2 trips in it boondocking before this time. First trip was memorial day and it was raining and cold all weekend long and the 2nd was July 4th weekend with 2 days of rain and then 2 without rain. I don't remember if we ran the AC or not but maybe only for a couple minutes because the weather was so bad, but we had no problem with the generator. I did notice on the first 2 trips that we went to bed with a full or 3/4 full battery and by the morning it would be almost dead. I'm guessing the kids had their phones plugged into the 12v USB ports as well but other than that I knew the fridge was putting a major drain on the single battery overnight. We boondock 90% of the time so I know with this camper and fridge we will always need to bring either generator or solar if we want to actually have a working fridge. Our previous camper had a 3way fridge and we never had any battery issues other than the battery was old and had to get replaced. This battery is brand new. If I could have my time back and did more research I would pay to get the brand new 12v only furrion fridge replaced with a 3 way fridge before I picked it up from the dealer.

loriemoms · 08-11-2021, 02:44 PM

Maybe there is an issue with your battery shutoff..if it's on your battery will not charge when plugged into shore power/generator the generator should be charging your battery.. I would check that! I haven't seen a 3 way fridge an rv in years!! I don't think anyone offers them anymore..either it's 12 volt two way or residential. Your fridge should have worked plugged into the generator if the a/c is off and battery should have stayed charged. Something sounds off..

dmatt · 08-11-2021, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loriemoms

Maybe there is an issue with your battery shutoff..if it's on your battery will not charge when plugged into shore power/generator the generator should be charging your battery.. I would check that! I haven't seen a 3 way fridge an rv in years!! I don't think anyone offers them anymore..either it's 12 volt two way or residential. Your fridge should have worked plugged into the generator if the a/c is off and battery should have stayed charged. Something sounds off..

Everything works fine. My point is that if you have a freak electrical issue(even though in my case it was simply the gen couldn't handle the AC and I wasn't there to troubleshoot) its nice to know that you can keep your food cold by using gas. In our old pop up the battery died one night and the O2 sensor started chirping. No big deal, unplug the battery and go back to bed. Everything important including the fridge worked on gas.

jnpj6279 · 08-14-2021, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanNJanice

I would like to know your reasoning for wanting a 12V refridge. I am not disagreeing, but I don't understand it. To answer your first question.

No, you do not need an inverter to run a 12V refridge. Just a good connection to the 12V circuit.

12V refridges usually drain the batteries MUCH faster than running the refridge on propane, this is the part that confuses me. You already can run on propane or 120VAC. Unless you do not have any propane tanks or are afraid of propane, I can't think of any real reason to run from 12V.

The answer to this might give people a better understanding of what you are trying to accomplish and then they can give you better answers.

The need for 12v fridge is if the setup only has gas and ac, none of which should be running while driving!duh ac won’t work while driving!!!

jeffmcpa · 08-15-2021, 06:34 AM

In over 20 years I have NOT YET towed a trailer without the Fridge running on Propane...and I am guessing that 90% of the rig's you see on the road are the same as I.

I have never seen evidence of any incident caused by someone doing likewise.

I rarely run my 2 way on electric even when available, as the gas works and cools so much better in my case.

You may also like: