A friend of mine purchased a 2015 Thor Challenger. It comes standard with a Residential refer and a Xantrex 1800w inverter running off 2 6v deep cycle batteries, as well as a rudimentary Magnum Autogen start. The problem is that the refer will only run if connected to shore power or running the genny. Does this make any sense, or is this a wiring issue? Would an 1800w inverter be large enough to handle the refer load? The inverter is definitely working, as he can watch tv and power the sat receiver off the batteries, however, we were unable to find any hot outlets when only in inverter operation. We were boondocking this past weekend, and he had to run the genny continuously, which kind of defeats the purpose of having quiet time. Unfortunately, I have very little experience with the late model gas coaches.

Not enough batteries to support a residential refrigerator for long periods of time. You got to have at least six to eight house batteries and even then you need solar panels to maintain the batteries charged.

Your assessment is probably accurate but, your not considering the weak part of the equasion...that being the number of batteries. Two six volt batteries would indeed be very marginal in providing the storage needs of that frig and the other dry camping items, lights, tv satellite etc. If the owner doubles the battery capacity, then he would be in a better position to run the frig off of battery power.

My guess is there are TWO outlets BEHIND the fridge. One operates on A/C only and the other is tied into the inverter. The fridge is plugged into the WRONG receptacle. Look behind the fridge and plug the reefer into the OTHER plug....Dennis

That fridge would run on a 1000 watt inverter! New refrigerators sip power and aren't the electric hogs people remember them as . something isn't right the fridge should be plugged into a power outlet that's powered by the inverter perhaps there are two recepticals ? 2 6 volts should run it for hours. A friends large Samsung with 4 6volt batteries runs all night and most of the next day about 20 - 24hours as long as the ice machine isn't running .

Executive wrote:My guess is there are TWO outlets BEHIND the fridge. One operates on A/C only and the other is tied into the inverter. The fridge is plugged into the WRONG receptacle. Look behind the fridge and plug the reefer into the OTHER plug....DennisYup. This is it, either it's plugged into the wrong outlet, or the coach is a bit miswired.Our, (NOT A RESISDENTIAL FRIDGE) has 2 outlets behind it, an inverter outlet for our icemaker, and a "not inverter" outlet for the fridge.The residential fridge needs to be plugged into the inverter outlet.

2015 Thor Challenger Residential Refer | Good Sam Community

mikensallyt
Explorer
Apr 27, 2015
Executive wrote:
My guess is there are TWO outlets BEHIND the fridge. One operates on A/C only and the other is tied into the inverter. The fridge is plugged into the WRONG receptacle. Look behind the fridge and plug the reefer into the OTHER plug....Dennis

6 volt batteries, I thought they were all 12 volt batteries. Am I wrong? Never have had a prob with my fridge yet. I best see if I have any resets (gfi or whatever) just in case. I still haven't been able to find my on/off switch for the outside exterior small fridge, lol. So I don't know if it works or not.
tropical36
Explorer
Apr 27, 2015
Cbones wrote:
A friend of mine purchased a 2015 Thor Challenger. It comes standard with a Residential refer and a Xantrex 1800w inverter running off 2 6v deep cycle batteries, as well as a rudimentary Magnum Autogen start. The problem is that the refer will only run if connected to shore power or running the genny. Does this make any sense, or is this a wiring issue? Would an 1800w inverter be large enough to handle the refer load? The inverter is definitely working, as he can watch tv and power the sat receiver off the batteries, however, we were unable to find any hot outlets when only in inverter operation. We were boondocking this past weekend, and he had to run the genny continuously, which kind of defeats the purpose of having quiet time. Unfortunately, I have very little experience with the late model gas coaches.

Doesn't take much of an inverter to run a fridge of any sort, but adding a couple more 6v golf cart batteries (connected in series for 12v) would sure help on longevity. If you can't find an inverter outlet back there and when all else fails, find a convenient inverter circuit to tap off of and run to an outlet behind the fridge. Not much to that and I did so in a campground with an overnight stop one time, when our RV fridge refused to stay on gas. Once I got back home, I made up a auto relay circuit for switching back and forth on it's own, so no more on gas when going down the road and without even having to think about it.
tropical36
Explorer
Apr 27, 2015
mikensallyt wrote:
Executive wrote:
My guess is there are TWO outlets BEHIND the fridge. One operates on A/C only and the other is tied into the inverter. The fridge is plugged into the WRONG receptacle. Look behind the fridge and plug the reefer into the OTHER plug....Dennis

6 volt batteries, I thought they were all 12 volt batteries. Am I wrong? Never have had a prob with my fridge yet. I best see if I have any resets (gfi or whatever) just in case. I still haven't been able to find my on/off switch for the outside exterior small fridge, lol. So I don't know if it works or not.

Well, you're wrong and you're right. You do need 12vdc with however you might be able to get it, but the preferred and most efficient method is for having two 6v batteries connected in series for a total of 12vdc. For those having more batteries, then these banks of 6v are in turn connected in parallel. This keeps the voltage at 12, but doubles the capacity. True deep cycle or golf cart batteries are also preferred and not the common 12v marine type that you find quite often.
bullydogs1
Explorer
Apr 28, 2015
you said certain outlets were inactive on the inverter..check to make sure one of the inverter circuits is not tripped..that would do it as well... So GFI check, inverter check, outlet check to make sure you are plugged into right outlet....
RayChez
Explorer
Apr 28, 2015
Some coaches do not have all the outlets hooked up to inverter use. They only have a couple. But one of them should be the refrigerator outlet. Maybe Thor figures this coach should only be plugged into shore power in order for the refrigerator to work. Two house batteries is just not enough to run everything in the coach unless you have solar panels. I have seen coaches with four six volt batteries and a 2000 watt inverter have problems keeping the batteries up while dry camping. Generator has to start every eight hours.
mikensallyt
Explorer
Jun 06, 2015
Oops, yes do have two 6v batteries hooked up in a series for power of 12 volts. But why couldn't I just run or replace them with one 12v battery or even 2. I'm not technical savvy at all.

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