Manual says use on DC while traveling but it runs down my batteries even while truck is supposed to be charging them. Anyone use gas while traveling?

As the thread on "Battery charging while towing" has discussed, the charge line from tow vehicles typically doesn't do a very good job, especially if you are running a refrigerator. The length and gauge of the wire just can't supply sufficient current and voltage to keep up to the demand.

Running the refrigerator on gas will definitely keep things cold and the battery will be kept charged. BUT, there are safety issues that come into play when you run on gas. Some places not to have the refer running on gas are: at the gas station at the pumps, going through tunnels, and on some bridges. Open flames and gas fumes are not too safe. In some areas it may be illegal to have the gas turned on and the gas tank valves open.

If you have everything in the refer cold to start with you can go quite a ways with the refer turned off and still keep things cold.

Also, remember not to have the refer on for more than one hour when the top is in the down position unless the vehicle is in motion.

I agree, running the fridge on gas with the top down is gonna be a real bad thing for a lot of reasons. One of which is that the roof is going to cover over the vent on the back of the fridge. I'm not sure what the result of that would be.

You may want to check and make sure that the trailer battery is actually getting charged during towing. My good friend Rich has just recently straightened me out about which pin is supposed to be hot to charge the battery. You can read this post for complete testing information. Battery charging while towing

I'm still fairly new to much of this, but surly if the trailer battery is good and both it and the connections to the tow vehicle are good and clean, it should keep it charged. We did a short two hour trip this past weekend, we ran the fridge on DC while towing and the trailer battery seemed to still be fully charged by the way it raised the roof on arrival and the fridge was at 35 degrees. Week after next we are taking a long trip, about 8 hours, I'll know for sure at the end of that one how things hold up. I'll keep everyone posted.

BTW - I did make sure that the master power switch (the rocker switch by the lift button) was in the center position. The manual says that only the refridgerator will get power in in this position. This way I know nothing else is drawing power from the battery but the fridge. I turn the external refridgerator fan off.

Neal

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2001 Hi-Lo 22TL
2010 F150

Having the refer (old Army Term) turned on while moving is not a problem because there is allot of air circulation to keep things cooled. If you are going to be stopped for more than an hour either raise the top or turn the refer off, whichever works better at the time. The manual addresses that. NOTE:The operating instructions on DVD specifically state that you are to not operate the refer on gas or are you to have the gas bottles turned on while in the transit.

When we had a regular trailer we did tow with the fridge on gas but made sure to turn off before going to a gas station. We do not do this at all anymore now that we have a Hi-Lo (towing with fridge/gas). I would not recommend doing so with a Hi-Lo due to top half covers the fridge vent in the down position.

We're fine using DC. We generally turn on the fridge (keeping the Hi-Lo raised and plugged in) and let it cool, pack our food, turn to DC, lower and hitch and go. If we have to stop along the way we raise the roof. Never had a problem with our food getting warm. But we generally do not have to travel too far (usually within 2-3 hours) to get to our destination.

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Nancy
2007 Hi-Lo 22T
2006 Jeep Commander

What external refigerator fan?

TJM

Most RV's have a button, usually near the refrigerator, that operates an external fan that is located on the back of the refrigerator, this fan blows air over the coils of the refrigerator, thus increasing its efficiency. This is especially good in hot weather when the fridge needs the extra help.

I don't know which Hi-Lo models have them and which don't, it seems to me that most seem to have them. After market fan kits are also available, so an RV that doesn’t have one, could have one added.

Neal

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2001 Hi-Lo 22TL
2010 F150

We are new to all of this having just bought our 1509 a couple of months ago new. We were given a walk-through by the service people and they told us to put the refrigerator on DC when traveling and to turn the fan switch ON. And we, at least, were not given a DVD containing use information.

In our experience the refrigerator did not run well on DC. Our battery was fully charged when we arrived, but the food in the refrigerator was warm. When we returned I mentioned this to the service people at the dealership they told us to run the refrigerator on gas during the next trip we took. When I asked about safety and getting the pilot light blown out, they said to not worry about it. They said the trailer was designed for the refrigerator to run on gas while being towed. And, indeed, on the next trip we took I left the refrigerator on GAS, turned the fan switch ON and the food was cool when we arrived at every destination.

But after reading this thread I believe that this is not a good policy and I will have to change back to using DC. And, I believe, I will have to have another talk with the service people at the dealership (well, what used to be the dealership since HiLo is now closed). I am just not sure how we will keep our food cool during the trip since we are traveling in central Arizona and during the summer months the temperatures can run well above 100.

Thanks to all of you.

Mike, I suspect you bought your trailer from Dillon's in Apache Junction? It's where I bought mine, anyway.

At the time, I had a Nissan Frontier for the tow vehicle and they had to wire it for the 7-pin tow plug. On our first BIG trip with that, the fuse in the charging circuit blew and the battery, of course was quickly drained. I replaced the fuse, and it blew again.

When I called and told them about the problem, they told me I should have had a 30 Amp fuse in that circuit, but mine was only 20 Amps. On top of that, the battery was defective (not really holding a charge), so the current drain through that circuit was very high.

However, when things are working, the refrigerator stays cold on DC. I always start the refrigerator about 2 days before a trip on "shore power" and we fill it with food on the day we leave. I have 2 pre-frozen ice cube trays in the freezer too. They stay frozen.

According to the thermometer I have inside the fridge, it never stays as cold as a home unit but is normally about 45 degrees in the morning and maybe about 50 degrees after a warm day, regardless of being run on propane, DC or 110V. The freezer always freezes water though, and food does not seem to spoil.

If yours won't work properly on DC, something is wrong. It should. Check the fuse in your tow vehicle. And, I think it's possible to run the thing on DC even if you have the trailer plugged in to AC (which would keep the battery charged). You might try this and see if it works for a day (keep the top up) while it's sitting at home. But, make sure it's been pre-cooled first.

- Jack

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Hi-Lo 1707T
2005 F150 4x4 KR SCrew

Of course you are right. I bought our unit from Dillon's about 4 months ago as a new unit. And given what has happened to HiLo I am looking for some kind of extended warranty.

I had our tow hitch and wiring installed at Cliff's welding where I get most of that sort of thing done. I have not checked our fuse, but I will (as soon as I can figure out where it is!).

Our experience has been that our fridge stays much colder on AC than on GAS and much colder on GAS than on DC. In fact my wife complains that we sometimes freeze water when the fridge is left on AC in a campground and I have to switch to a lower thermostat setting. That does not normally happen on GAS and never happens on DC.

We keep our 1509 in the garage so I cannot raise it up without hooking it up to the car and parking it outside. We are getting ready to get out of the head and head up to the White Mountains, so I will try what you suggest and let you know.

We are towing with a 2009 Jeep Liberty Sport and have been very happy with both the way the vehicle tows and, especially, the gas mileage. The 1509 is small and light, but still I thought it might be a problem for a car as small as the Liberty with only a V6.