Community Forums

Putter1 · 10-21-2019, 11:58 AM

Just picked up a 2019 Tiffin Breeze 31BR with the dinette. When the slides are IN the table makes passage to the rear of the coach just a bit difficult. Has anyone cut the "table" and installed a hinge so it will fold? I know that will block the cabinets below and there is still the issue of the chairs to deal with but I would like to know if you have installed a hinge OR has anyone taken the solid surface "table" out and installed a lighter, say, "butcher block" table with a folding top?

ALSO....I am sure this question has been asked and answered a million times, but....do the house batteries get charged while the coach is running OR ONLY while on shore power or generator? Our old coach had a 3 way fridge and I could easily switch it to BATTERY while underway to keep power to the fridge. The house batteries got charges when the old coach was running. With the residential fridge inout new Breeze I have to have the inverter ON to keep power to the fridge but not sure if the batteries are getting a charge.

Sorry about the duplicate question on the batteries but any help would be appreciated and if you have modified the pull out table with a hinge please send a pic or 2 if you can!

Thanks,

Stan and Janice
2019 Tiffin Allegro Breeze 31BR

okcnewbie · 10-21-2019, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Putter1

Just picked up a 2019 Tiffin Breeze 31BR with the dinette. When the slides are IN the table makes passage to the rear of the coach just a bit difficult. Has anyone cut the "table" and installed a hinge so it will fold? I know that will block the cabinets below and there is still the issue of the chairs to deal with but I would like to know if you have installed a hinge OR has anyone taken the solid surface "table" out and installed a lighter, say, "butcher block" table with a folding top?

I've noticed that almost no one includes a pic of the MH with all the slides closed. My wife and I want the MH to be usable during travel. I would personally have to modify the table if it's in the way during travel.

I believe most MH's charge the house batteries after the chassis batteries are charged.

I would highly suggest getting a quality meter/shunt. This will allow you to see what is coming into or out of your batteries.

RVingSince16 · 10-28-2019, 09:04 PM

I don't know about your Breeze but my 2018 Phaeton charges both batteries while driving

Putter1 · 10-29-2019, 05:16 AM

I thought that should be the case but upon delivery our tech said we would only have about 4 hours of battery while driving and that we will have to run the gen.
I know the inverter needs to be on to power the fridge so there will an a power drain and sometimes we drive for the better part of the day which IF the batteries are not getting charged could be a problem. Maybe I misunderstood as there was a ton of info at delivery.
Our old coach DID charge the house batteries but we didn’t have a residential fridge. It was a 3 way and would work with OUT the inverted being on.

We have yet to have the new coach out for a trip so I will have to figure it out.
I assume you leave the inverter ON so the fridge has power while you are disconnected from shore power.?
Thanks
Stan and Janice

luvlabs · 10-29-2019, 07:38 AM

Your tech was wrong. Your house and chassis batteries are both charged by the alternator while the engine is running. The residential fridge/inverter setup will run forever as long as the engine is running. Your battery lifetime running the refrigerator with the engine off and not on shorepower should be at least 24 hours.

Leave your inverter on - however, when you store your motorhome, turn off the inverter and disconnect the batteries.

Putter1 · 10-30-2019, 07:13 AM

Luvlabs,
Thanks for the response and information. Just to clarify....the inverter has to be ON for the fridge to run when NOT on shore or gen power, this is know. So, does the inverter have to be ON for the house batteries to be charged by the alternator? I am assuming it does have to be ON. Your last statement seems to infer that you should leave the inverter on essentially always and only turn it off when in storage. Is that correct?

How about when when on shore power or gen? Inverter ON or OFF?

Thank you for your information and help! I had all of this figured out on our last coach. I left the inverter OFF almost all of the time. Both battey banks charged from the engine, fridge ran off battery with the inverter OFF while traveling, etc. Only turned the inverter ON if we were dry camping (not very often) or tailgating and had the TV's on, etc.

Thank you for helping me flatten the learning curve with our new Breeze.

Stan and Janice

RVingSince16 · 10-31-2019, 12:07 PM

You are making it to complicated. It is a set an forget system. When plugged into shore/gen power the inverter will go into passthru mode, when not on shore/gen power it will supply the power. You don't need to do anything except as you pointed when putting coach in storage. The charger in not influenced by the inverter.

For storage you should turn off the inverter and charger (if not plugged in) and disconnect the neg cable of the house batteries. Even with everything turned off there is a small draw and after several weeks that will drain your batteries

luvlabs · 11-01-2019, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Putter1

Luvlabs,
Thanks for the response and information. Just to clarify....the inverter has to be ON for the fridge to run when NOT on shore or gen power, this is know. So, does the inverter have to be ON for the house batteries to be charged by the alternator? No, the batteries are connected directly to the alternator.I am assuming it does have to be ON. Your last statement seems to infer that you should leave the inverter on essentially always and only turn it off when in storage. Is that correct? Yes, that is pretty much it. In normal use, you are almost always either running the engine, plugged into shorepower, or running the generator.

How about when when on shore power or gen? Inverter ON or OFF? On

Thank you for your information and help! I had all of this figured out on our last coach. I left the inverter OFF almost all of the time. Both battey banks charged from the engine, fridge ran off battery with the inverter OFF while traveling, etc. Only turned the inverter ON if we were dry camping (not very often) or tailgating and had the TV's on, etc. In my class C with a propane refrigerator I rarely use the inverter - only when boondocking.

Thank you for helping me flatten the learning curve with our new Breeze.

Stan and Janice

Not too complicated I hope. Getting used to a residential refrigerator shouldn't be too difficult. It needs 120V power and that is what the inverter does for you. When on generator or shorepower, the inverter normally passes the 120V current directly to the appliance. At all other times, the inverter is using 12VDC to make 120VAC. So if you leave it on, it will take care of things on its own.

brandss · 11-01-2019, 12:16 PM

As a response to your first question about hinging the table, I thought I'd offer a suggestion. I used to have a wood shop as a hobby/spending cash in my past life. I've done a lot of different jobs for friends and strangers. You might try looking locally for someone with a wood shop and see what they could come up with and what they would charge. It doesn't sound like a huge ordeal nor a huge expense. Just a thought.