Surveyor 2021 19BHLE - no 12v wall plugs?

[wyman74]

Hi all. We've had our 19BHLE for about 6 months now. It was optioned with the solar package which is great for the 12v-only fridge. I don't have any experience with solar in RVs though. Is it normal to have no active wall jacks when running off of battery only?

[bob213]

That is normal. Wall outlets require 115v or an inverter connected to your batteries.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by wyman74

Hi all. We've had our 19BHLE for about 6 months now. It was optioned with the solar package which is great for the 12v-only fridge. I don't have any experience with solar in RVs though. Is it normal to have no active wall jacks when running off of battery only?

Only RVs with whole house inverters can have 110v outlets that work off the batteries. And those are usually motorhomes and large 5th wheels.
Don't think any Surveyors come with factory INverters, just the standard CONverters.
Your dealer should have explained this to you, during the PDI/walk-through. Bad on them if they didn't.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by wyman74

Hi all. We've had our 19BHLE for about 6 months now. It was optioned with the solar package which is great for the 12v-only fridge. I don't have any experience with solar in RVs though. Is it normal to have no active wall jacks when running off of battery only?

As others have noted, you usually need an inverter for outlets to work off of 12 volt DC.


When I glanced at the FR website for your surveyor, I did not see mention of any inverters....just converters.


https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/trave...urveyor-legend


ELECTRICAL

• 30 AMP Marine Grade Detachable Power Cord
• 55 AMP Converter w/Charger (35 AMP Sub-4s)
• Battery Disconnect Mounted Front A-Frame
• Cable & Satellite Ready
• GFI 120V Exterior Receptacle Doorside
• LED Amber Patio Light
• LED Interior/Exterior Lighting

This thread may help understand the differences between a converter and inverter:


https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...nt-152813.html

[wyman74]

Thank everyone. I understood(at a very rudimentary level) the need for an inverter but wasn't 100% sure if this unit came with one. The dealer did not cover converters/inverters with me. I thought maybe due to the solar it would have one, but I guess thats just a quick upgrade and not a core feature of this unit.(I guess its pretty much to keep that fridge running!)

Originally Posted by wmtire

This thread may help understand the differences between a converter and inverter:


https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...nt-152813.html

Thanks for this. Very helpful.

Another uninformed question. The built in USB jacks work. Are they just 12volt jacks?

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by wyman74

Thank everyone. I understood(at a very rudimentary level) the need for an inverter but wasn't 100% sure if this unit came with one. The dealer did not cover converters/inverters with me. I thought maybe due to the solar it would have one, but I guess thats just a quick upgrade and not a core feature of this unit.(I guess its pretty much to keep that fridge running!)




Thanks for this. Very helpful.

Another uninformed question. The built in USB jacks work. Are they just 12volt jacks?

The answer for the USB jacks should be that they can operate off 12 volts DC.

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by wyman74

Hi all. We've had our 19BHLE for about 6 months now. It was optioned with the solar package which is great for the 12v-only fridge. I don't have any experience with solar in RVs though. Is it normal to have no active wall jacks when running off of battery only?

The thread title is Surveyor 2021 19BHLE - no 12v wall plugs?

12 volt wall "plugs" or jacks, if you have any, should be active when running off of battery. I'm not sure why you are getting answers about 110 volt and 115 volt outlets, as they were never mentioned in your first post.

Originally Posted by wyman74

Thank everyone. I understood(at a very rudimentary level) the need for an inverter but wasn't 100% sure if this unit came with one. The dealer did not cover converters/inverters with me. I thought maybe due to the solar it would have one, but I guess thats just a quick upgrade and not a core feature of this unit.(I guess its pretty much to keep that fridge running!)

If you have a 12 volt only refrigerator (as stated in your first post), there is no need to have an inverter to run that refrigerator from the 12 volt battery system

Originally Posted by wyman74

Another uninformed question. The built in USB jacks work. Are they just 12volt jacks?

5 volt USB jacks are usually powered from the 12 volt system, so they will likely work on battery power.

[FrankG]

The 19Bhle and 19rble come with a 80w solar package from Go Power. Also included is the Norcold 12V 10cf compressor refrigerator and a 12V TV as a option. If no TV is provided it is still equipped with a 12V outlet at the TV mounting location.

The provided 80W Go Power system is only capable of adding one additional 80W solar panel for a total of 160W. From my understanding this would be very marginal for keeping up with an inverter powering small 115VAC loads.

[bob213]

Originally Posted by BehindBars

The thread title is Surveyor 2021 19BHLE - no 12v wall plugs?

I'm not sure why you are getting answers about 110 volt and 115 volt outlets, as they were never mentioned in your first post.

It could be because the text of his post said there were "no active wall jacks" while on 12 volt.

[mnoland30]

If you're boondocking, then you generally don't want to use 115 volt appliances unless you are running a generator. We prefer to boondock, so we took out our microwae to gain more food storage space. Our trailer came with no USB ports or even 12v cigarette ligher sockets, so we added some. We have a 12v TV instead of a 115v one. The only thing I run off an inverter is a DVD player. We make coffee with a pour through filter, and toast or tottillas on a comal or iron skillet. If your into smoothies or daquiris, you can even get a 12v blender.

[m2mikegolf]

I just took possession of a 2021 19 RBLE yesterday. The service guy confirmed there is no inverter in the 19RBLE, I would assume the same for BHLE. The USB ports do run off 12v, but he said the amperage is so low on those, it will take a long time to charge even a phone. But I immediately noticed the TV is 12V with a cigarette lighter type plug. Never saw that in the videos and pictures before. So, in a pinch, you would have access to 12V with that socket if needed. The 80w panel is enough for the fridge and such but I asked for an extra 100w panel and AGM batteries so I shouldn’t have to worry about running the TV, fridge, lights and heat with batteries, hopefully ever. I asked Go Power, they said I could add any size solar panel I wanted, but I do see you may get reduced wattage as it rates off the 80w. That’s why they recommend you match panels by wattage; go power has a calculator for it on their website.

[MtBiker]

Originally Posted by m2mikegolf

I just took possession of a 2021 19 RBLE yesterday. The service guy confirmed there is no inverter in the 19RBLE, I would assume the same for BHLE. The USB ports do run off 12v, but he said the amperage is so low on those, it will take a long time to charge even a phone. But I immediately noticed the TV is 12V with a cigarette lighter type plug. Never saw that in the videos and pictures before. So, in a pinch, you would have access to 12V with that socket if needed. The 80w panel is enough for the fridge and such but I asked for an extra 100w panel and AGM batteries so I shouldn’t have to worry about running the TV, fridge, lights and heat with batteries, hopefully ever. I asked Go Power, they said I could add any size solar panel I wanted, but I do see you may get reduced wattage as it rates off the 80w. That’s why they recommend you match panels by wattage; go power has a calculator for it on their website.

Swap out the factory USB ports to USB 3.0 ports and your newer phone will charge the way it was designed. It does not matter that it is powered from 12v. The factory installs a $2.00 junk port.

[m2mikegolf]

Originally Posted by MtBiker

Swap out the factory USB ports to USB 3.0 ports and your newer phone will charge the way it was designed. It does not matter that it is powered from 12v. The factory installs a $2.00 junk port.

My wife found that info later, I plan on doing that. I think the service guy says that factory one is .6 amp or something like that. His exact description was “if your phone is at 50% and you plug it in when you go to sleep, it might be at 60% when you wake up” 😋

[m2mikegolf]

A small update to this. We finally picked up our 19RBLE this last weekend and immediately took it to an RV park for a shakedown two nighter. Everything went well. So, I tried both USB ports and they charge normally. The service department guy had waned us how weak they would be, and can’t tell you what they are pushing, but they charged iPhones and iPads quickly. Don’t know if it’s a mid year improvement, but we are entirely satisfied with them as is.

[point08]

Originally Posted by MtBiker

Swap out the factory USB ports to USB 3.0 ports and your newer phone will charge the way it was designed. It does not matter that it is powered from 12v. The factory installs a $2.00 junk port.

Have any recommendations? None of the ones in our trailer work well and we all fight over the wall chargers. Would rather put in reliable ones in the bunks for the kiddos.


Thx!

[MtBiker]

Originally Posted by point08

Have any recommendations? None of the ones in our trailer work well and we all fight over the wall chargers. Would rather put in reliable ones in the bunks for the kiddos.


Thx!

Search for 12v usb port 3.0 on Amazon or eBay. Needs to be 3.0 spec.