I have been robbed blind while boondocking for the past three years. It has cost me thousands and untold energy to replace what I lost*. This thief is silent, relentless and resides in about half of the RVs built in this country! What is it? It is a heat strip contained in the majority of Dometic RV refrigerators. It is intended to reduce the formation of condensation and wetness of the door seal, however, the resistive heat strip draws 1 amp (12 watts) of power from your precious battery bank when the refrigerator is turned on. That equates to 24 amps per day or about 1/4 the reserve of most deep cycle RV batteries. That’s ginormous ! To give you an idea on how huge this is, 24 amps would run your furnace nonstop for approximately 4 hours (a night’s worth of heat), a LED light bulb for 10 days and would run your water pump for a week’s worth of showers! In addition, it takes the average RV converter/charger 8 hours to replace those amps. So how do you know if this thief resides in your refrigerator? Open the exterior vent to your refrigerator located on the outside of your RV. There you will see a schematic like the one shown. If you see a little squiggly emblem which designates resistance, you have this parasitic thief and must exorcise it as 12 volt resistance is the nemesis of freedom-loving boondockers everywhere.
Luckily you can rid your RV of this evil by yourself, no priest required. Just click on the following link http://www.rvtravel.com/?q=daily-rv-tips-issue4609139 and follow the easy step-by-step instructions.
Boondocking with less generator run time, that is my kind of adventure in RVing! What will you do with all the amps you save?
*Thousands of lost amps and untold gas consumed running of the generator to replace them.
Dave Helgeson’s many roles in the RV industry started before he even had a driver’s license. His grandparents and father owned an RV dealership before the term “RV” had been coined, and Dave played a pivotal role in nearly every position of an RV dealership. He and his wife Cheri launched their own RV dealership in the Pacific Northwest. The duo also spent 29 years overseeing regional RV shows. Dave has also served as President of a local chapter of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), worked on the board of advisors for the RV Technician Program of a local technical college, and served as a board member of the Manufactured Home and RV Association. Dave’s reputation earned him the title of “The foremost expert on boondocking,” bestowed by RV industry icon, the late Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor). When he’s not out boondocking, you’ll find Dave in the spotlight at RV shows across the country, giving seminars about all things RVing. He and Cheri currently roam in their fifth travel trailer, with Dave doing all the service, repair and modifications to his own unit.
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