Bounder: Just picked up a 2015 Bounder 34T

[KevinB]

Hi..picked up the new Bounder on Saturday. I am a bit overwhelmed with a lot of little questions not addressed by the owners manual or dealer.

One question that leads to a bunch of others is how long will my residential frig run on inverter alone.

With this option a 2000 watt inverter was added ( or upgraded) along with two additional batteries. What are the size of these batteries and do they form a third bank after chassis and house batteries or are they just added to the house bank?

Driving down the road will the alternator charge all batteries in the coach or will I have to run the generator?

We are going on a Maiden Voyage for a couple of days this week so I am sure I will be back with more questions.

Cheers

Kevin

[lfdeluca2]

Congratulations on the new rig!
On our 2015 those extra batteries are house batteries. The combined output of those high amp-hour batteries power that big inverter which in turn powers your residential refrigerator as well as a few other things.

[CLIFFTALL]

Welcome to irv2. Yes , the engine alternator will charge your batteries. You should get at least an overnight use of the refrigerator without any worries. Others who have that set up will chime in and correct me if necessary .Congrats.
Cliff

[BounderDan]

FYI: I,ve noted some comments about batteries lasting 24 hours. We've never went over about 8 hours (overnite w/o hookups). I set the generator on auto start and it did not start so batteries stayed above the low voltage threshold. The next evening we had power and I checked and the batteries were in "float" so a day's driving brought them back to full charge.

[gigamanx]

2002 Fleetwood and I usually run the fridge off LP when the generator is turned off. Uses fairly small amount of gas over a few days compared to worrying about batteries. Next morning, generator is up and running again.

[WOODYDEL]

Can you tell me where they put the two extra batteries?

[CLIFFTALL]

You might get a quicker answer by calling FW as the OP has not returned to this thread since posting it on 6/9.
800-322-8216

Originally Posted by WOODYDEL

Can you tell me where they put the two extra batteries?

[z3406]

This subject was brought up this past Tuesday when I was at the factory. The rep said the Res fridge as installed with the extra house batteries should last at least 2 days on batteries alone.

[Napabeth]

We have a 2015 Southwind 34A and are trying to figure out just how to get 8-12 hours with the residential fridge. 2 days? No way! (We have (4) 6V batteries and a 2,000 watt inverter)

[WOODYDEL]

Originally Posted by Napabeth

We have a 2015 Southwind 34A and are trying to figure out just how to get 8-12 hours with the residential fridge. 2 days? No way! (We have (4) 6V batteries and a 2,000 watt inverter)

A residential refrigerator costs the motorhome companies less. That is why they are being installed.

In one week which started from 12 PM Wednesday I will have my data on my Dometic RM1350 refrigerator's total electric usage. Propane usage ,with the math to back it up, will be projected. This matters to someone like me who travels without being tied to a campground with full or even partial hookups.

I could do a one day test but a week is better to determine the average kilowatt usage of the RM1350 per day. I spent too many years using refrigerators which required no electricity whatsoever, unless I chose to do so, to be tied to an only electric refrigerator.

6 more days.


The only reason I just started this was the fake heat wave we're supposed to be having here in NY. It's finally acting a little like summer and everyone is ready to pass out. So, the heat will make for a worst case experiment.


By the way, the RM1350 is having no problem maintaining 33 degrees all day long.

[z3406]

All I can relay is what the factory rep told us. If you are boondocking and using the inverter and related 12 volt accessories there are other drains on the batteries, Lighting. water pump, antenna booster, vacuflush if equipped, propane furnace and any entertainment systems running off the inverter. I haven't really spent any time boondocking so I don't have any experience on how much those systems will drain the battery bank but I imagine it all adds up. A question for those of you with the residential refrigerators, will the microwave run off the inverter??

[jondrew55]

Originally Posted by WOODYDEL

A residential refrigerator costs the motorhome companies less.

I have to take issue with that statement. In addition to the residential fridge, a decent inverter and enough coach batteries must be added. Not sure if that offsets the price difference between a res fridge and a propane/electric, not it's probably close. Also, residential fridges are more popular today as people like the larger size and generally have shoe power for them (maybe not the case with boondockers). I always liked propane/electric fridges in my campers but now that I have a residential fridge in my excursion I can't ever see going back

[WOODYDEL]

I use math to figure everything out. No seat of the pants rough guesses. My good friend Charlie bought his 2014 Excursion at the same time I purchased my 2014 Bounder. He cannot compete. For him, an actual campground owner, being hooked up all the time is how he thinks. Most federal campgrounds have no hookups.


I would also advise people to pick up their operation manual for their inverters and actually read how they work. Pay extra attention to charge modes. You will guaranteed be shocked how long your generator will have to be running to replace what was used from the batteries correctly.


My RM1350 holds plenty of food and has an ice maker. When we travel, it's for two months or better at a time.

[Napabeth]

No, microwave will not run off the inverter. You need to fire up the generator to use the microwave (or any of its functions like the light, fan, etc.)