GEO PRO Inverter Issue (Bad Install)

[Fladitchdoc]

Only one major problem came up during our trip weekend trip to a State Park with our new Geo Pro 19FBS. We tripped the breaker on the Inverter (not the converter) that our trailer came from the factory with. This killed power to every 110v outlet in the trailer, inside and out.

First, if comes from the factory with solar panels on the roof and a solar controller on the wall, it HAS an inverter also, or is supposed to, otherwise you don't get 110v from solar system. The inverter makes 110v power from the 12v house batteries. ( I know most of you know this, I am speaking to the novices out there. Normally tripping a breaker is no big deal. Unplug the devices and reset the breaker, but here is the problem with that theory. You have to be able to GET TO the breaker, and the gest of the problem.

The breaker is mounted on the BACK BOTTOM, side of the inverter housing, and some (bleep) person at Rockwood thought it was a good idea to mount the inverter under the bed deck which is glued and screwed down, in a corner on the front side of the entertainment center/ wardrobe cabinet and then install the furnace and duct work in front of that, then enclose the entire compartment with a bulkhead…To find the inverter, I went to YouTube…thanks for the video by the way. But to reset the breaker I had to remove the drawer under the bed, crawl inside, unplug the 120v wring to the house system, move the duct work and contortion my arm over the back side of the inverter and down to the breaker…If the need to replace this inverter ever arises, as a New Yorker would say…Fuhgettaboutit. You would have to remove the bed deck and furnace at a minimum to reach the screws that mount it.

This is a classic example of a production flaw that was done by someone that has never used an RV before, much less had to maintain one. And I welcome all you field experts that tell me all I have to do is press the power button on the control panel outside the cabinet and wait 30 seconds, that did not work. That will not reset a tripped breaker.

My final question to the production department at Rockwood is this. The inverter has a very nice LCD display that gives the status, load & other information to the user, why would you bury this under a wooden deck in an obscure corner so the user could not read it and operate it?

I plan to remedy this access problem by cutting an access panel in the bed deck and putting a screwed down removable panel directly over the inverter large enough to reach the breaker, if the need ever arises again. As for the reason the breaker tripped to began with, I fault operator error and the dealer not even understanding the trailer came with an inverter…

P.S. The service department at my dealer told me “it does not have one…

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Fladitchdoc

My final question to the production department at Rockwood is this. The inverter has a very nice LCD display that gives the status, load & other information to the user, why would you bury this under a wooden deck in an obscure corner so the user could not read it and operate it?

You do know that no one from Rockwood production will see this, because this Forum has NO affiliation with Forest River Inc.
This is stated at the bottom of each Forum page.

The Forum is simply a community of owners of Forest River products.

[Fladitchdoc]

It was not my intention to reach Forrest River's production department through this thread, but to inform other 19FBS owners of the issue they may have someday. While I did read the bottom of the Forum page, I am also aware that there are Forrest River employees and managers that own their products, camp and also read these post to get a feel of the community they build for. And besides, my email to Forrest River's production department for this line would not be fit to print in a public venue such as this.

[MichaelE]

What YouTube video? I'd like to see it.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Fladitchdoc

While I did read the bottom of the Forum page, I am also aware that there are Forrest River employees and managers that own their products, camp and also read these post to get a feel of the community they build for. And besides, my email to Forrest River's production department for this line would not be fit to print in a public venue such as this.

Well, there are only 3 or 4 FR employees that are members here.
Brian Clemens is the most active and a shining example of someone who volunteers to help those that own Dynamax products.
So, other than him, I rarely see any of the others post.

[Fladitchdoc]

Watch this one, this guy installed his own. The factory one is behind the furnace in the picture. You have to remove several screws on the bulkhead in the pass through to access that area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98SxwS4rJwY

[MichaelE]

Originally Posted by Fladitchdoc

Watch this one, this guy installed his own. The factory one is behind the furnace in the picture. You have to remove several screws on the bulkhead in the pass through to access that area.

Thanks! I had seen his video. There aren't very many videos on these models that aren't dealers haha. Always an option to run dedicated inverter outlets, but I like how yours is integrated.

Another user has a 2019 updated E Pro 19FD and posted pictures of his inverter - http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1908662

As you can see it seems to be in a much more convenient location, compared to the FBS floor plan. Based on how the FD is wired as a switched inverter, passing the AC through when available, I was curious how it was wired in the FBS. While I have no intentions of trying to match the wire paths, it is just curiousness more than anything.

I had an opportunity to look inside an updated FBS and took a video under the bed area, behind the inverter control panel but just could not see it, it only shows the control panel wire going towards the floor and a thicker wire curved under the duct. But I didn't pull the drawer out nor move anything around as it was on my dealers lot.

[YBLee]

Originally Posted by Fladitchdoc

Only one major problem came up during our trip weekend trip to a State Park with our new Geo Pro 19FBS. We tripped the breaker on the Inverter (not the converter) that our trailer came from the factory with. This killed power to every 110v outlet in the trailer, inside and out.

First, if comes from the factory with solar panels on the roof and a solar controller on the wall, it HAS an inverter also, or is supposed to, otherwise you don't get 110v from solar system. The inverter makes 110v power from the 12v house batteries. ( I know most of you know this, I am speaking to the novices out there. Normally tripping a breaker is no big deal. Unplug the devices and reset the breaker, but here is the problem with that theory. You have to be able to GET TO the breaker, and the gest of the problem.

The breaker is mounted on the BACK BOTTOM, side of the inverter housing, and some (bleep) person at Rockwood thought it was a good idea to mount the inverter under the bed deck which is glued and screwed down, in a corner on the front side of the entertainment center/ wardrobe cabinet and then install the furnace and duct work in front of that, then enclose the entire compartment with a bulkhead…To find the inverter, I went to YouTube…thanks for the video by the way. But to reset the breaker I had to remove the drawer under the bed, crawl inside, unplug the 120v wring to the house system, move the duct work and contortion my arm over the back side of the inverter and down to the breaker…If the need to replace this inverter ever arises, as a New Yorker would say…Fuhgettaboutit. You would have to remove the bed deck and furnace at a minimum to reach the screws that mount it.

This is a classic example of a production flaw that was done by someone that has never used an RV before, much less had to maintain one. And I welcome all you field experts that tell me all I have to do is press the power button on the control panel outside the cabinet and wait 30 seconds, that did not work. That will not reset a tripped breaker.

My final question to the production department at Rockwood is this. The inverter has a very nice LCD display that gives the status, load & other information to the user, why would you bury this under a wooden deck in an obscure corner so the user could not read it and operate it?

I plan to remedy this access problem by cutting an access panel in the bed deck and putting a screwed down removable panel directly over the inverter large enough to reach the breaker, if the need ever arises again. As for the reason the breaker tripped to began with, I fault operator error and the dealer not even understanding the trailer came with an inverter…

P.S. The service department at my dealer told me “it does not have one…

To me this is a DESIGN issue and probably not the Production Assemblers fault - at least in the case of your inverter. They can take credit for their own quality issues which appear to be many such as cleaning up after themselves. A Management & Quality Assurance issue.