Auto level and Residential fridge?

[GBuilders]

As I have looked at some of the new 5th wheels like the Jayco Pinnicle some things I really like are the auto level and the residential fridge. But after talking to service guys about them seams like there are some problems with them. My current 05 Jayco Eagle fridge and freezer work great and the freezer gets below -10 deg. The new res fridge has a hard time working while driving with the inverter and the truck batteries just don't keep it charged or what? Trailer Life had a article about that and the new fridge sometimes won't stay on during long road trips. Has anyone had a problem with theirs? As for the Auto leveling I have talked with a guy that had theirs lock-up during a trip and could not get it fixed and had to have a service company come out and repair. I wondering if I just stay with my 05 or buy a newer trailer without all the tricks? The service guys said they are great when they work correctly.

[GBuilders]

Thanks for all the replies it's good to know that what your hear is not always the case at these dealers.

[Hunter11]

Our residential fridge draws 8.5 amps when running the compressor and runs on a 1000 PSW inverter with dual batteries. We have been on the road for up to 8 hours and no issues with it keeping the fridge at the temps we have set.

The LevelUp has worked fine for us so far.

[RustyJC]

We power the residential fridge in our 5th wheel with a 1500 watt PSW inverter when traveling. The inverter and coach batteries handle this without a problem for the 10-12 hours that we might be on the road; of course, the batteries are getting some recharge from the truck's alternator through the trailer umbilical.

The 6-point LevelUp system has worked flawlessly. Any problems have been due to the operator not reading the instructions....

Rusty

[Learjet]

Michelle.S wrote:
Per the remote for our inverter, the fridge through the inverter draws approx 10 amps when running, when the compressor shuts down, 0 draw.
These new residential fridges are very low current draw especially with the ability to keep the internal heater turned off.

DC amps or AC amps?

[Michelle_S]

Per the remote for our inverter, the fridge through the inverter draws approx 10 amps when running, when the compressor shuts down, 0 draw.
These new residential fridges are very low current draw especially with the ability to keep the internal heater turned off.

[wkswenson]

We have a Cedar Creek 38FL with both 6-Point Level Up system and Residential fridge (Frigidaire).

Configuration to support the fridge: 4x6-Volt batteries with a 2000 W inverter.

We boondock and travel up to 9 hours at a time. So we tested in the driveway - we have left the fridge on for up to 3 days with no problems at all. When boondocking we have gone 19 hours with lights, 12V TV, etc without running the generator with no problems. We do run the generator to cool and inside of the rig down and charge the batteries. Again we have had no problems with the inverter supporting the fridge. (Level or not)

The Level Up system has been almost flawless... the 2 issues we have had were the learning curve (ok I didn't read the user manual to start) and one cylinder that developed a leak but Lippert replaced it right away.

[John___Angela]

GrumpyandGrandma wrote:

Learjet wrote:

Me Again wrote:
3.9 amps at 120V AC takes at least 39 amp DC to keep up via an inverter.

Chris

you are forgetting that it is not running all the time...duty cycle

That is also "compressor start" amperage

Howdy. Obviously the current use varies from fridge to fridge. In our case the startup current jumps to 8 to 9 amps on my Fluke but is so brief it is not part of any power budget calculation. Amazing how much fridges have changed in 10 years.

[GrumpyandGrandm]

Learjet wrote:

Me Again wrote:
3.9 amps at 120V AC takes at least 39 amp DC to keep up via an inverter.

Chris

you are forgetting that it is not running all the time...duty cycle

That is also "compressor start" amperage

[Learjet]

Me Again wrote:
3.9 amps at 120V AC takes at least 39 amp DC to keep up via an inverter. It is hard in most rigs to get that much current to the trailer from the TV. Do to the distance and wire size 10 -15 AMPs is about the most you will see. So a good deep cycle battery bank in the trailer will help. Now for the other side of the coin, a refrig should go 6-10 hours if not opened with very little increase in temp, WITHOUT running.

Chris

you are forgetting that it is not running all the time...duty cycle

[Me_Again]

3.9 amps at 120V AC takes at least 39 amp DC to keep up via an inverter. It is hard in most rigs to get that much current to the trailer from the TV. Do to the distance and wire size 10 -15 AMPs is about the most you will see. So a good deep cycle battery bank in the trailer will help. Now for the other side of the coin, a refrig should go 6-10 hours if not opened with very little increase in temp, WITHOUT running.

Chris

[John___Angela]

Well, we have had our residential for a few years and quite often stop in parking lots, box stores, casinos, etc. Many are not level and we haven't had a problem with the fridge yet. Ours runs from an inverted sine wave inverter and draws around 1 amp at 120 volts when the compressor is on and pretty much nothing when its off. I haven't heard of any problems from friends with a residential in unlevel applications but who knows. We are full timers so the fridge hasn't been off for almost 3 years now. Hopefully she'll go for another 10. 🙂

[GBuilders]

It was in the last month Trailer Life in the repair section I believe. Thanks for clearing that up you usually only hear about the problems.

[Dennis_M_M]

The BjgFoot leveler is the best RV investment we ever made!

[GrumpyandGrandm]

The residential fridge only draws 3.9 amps and works fine with the 1,000 watt inverter when driving, don't know where the info that it has a hard time running is coming from.The PINNACLE even comes with two batteries and the fridge can run about 4 hours without the truck connected. Many of the "extended stay" FW are using residential fridges and I have not seen any complaints here or on the JAYCO owners forum about problems. As to the 6 point leveling system every jack can be operated with a crank if the motor fails so how did it "LOCK" up.