Does anyone have a Jayco tent trailer?

[Joe Bob]

I seem to have inherited one.....need some advice on the electrics. The stoopid book isn't real clear on some things.....

[Hugh R]

I used to, sold it to my brother who lives down the street. What's up?

[vash]

my bro has a fleetwood. they are all the same. what's happening?

[syncroid]

I have a 1995 Jayco pop up. What year is yours and what sort of info do you need?

[Joe Bob]

It's a 1990, not hooked to a tow vehicle.

1) The 110v when plugged in makes a "clunk" sound.....it seems to only power the wall outlets. There is a box (where the noise came from) just under the dinette cushion, now referred to as the "hummer".

Is that a converter/surge protector or something else? Lights only work on 12v or is the hummer supposed to provide 12v and charge the battery and it's not working?

2) Fridge, AC/DC/Propane. Doesn't seem to work on 12v or 110. Any secrets? Dometic RM 2201. It's on a level area, switch inside exterior door has been set to 12v or 110 and no humm, or cooling in evidence. Haven't used propane yet except for the stove which works.....

3) Battery was fully charged, had all the lights off, the 12v battery connected, and 110 hooked up, drained itself in one day. I'm charging it now....almost done. What would be a power drain?

4) I put a Fluke on the electrical hook up, it shows about 11.5v (battery at 13v) which leads me to believe that the tow vehicle can charge the trailer battery?

5) With the trailer battery drain, I don't want it to kill the tow vehicle battery when I'm on the road and camping.

6) If I can't fix the fridge, I'm thinking of ripping it out and installing a 110 shop fridge I have, it's about the same size and using hook ups and/or getting a generator for dry camp.

Comments?

[Hugh R]

Except for the wall outlets, everything is 12V and that is indeed an AC 120V to DC 12V converter. The light bulbs are 12V as well. Yes the tow vehicle should charge the trailer battery. Frig uses heat to cool it, a heating element or propane. No moving parts inside, only ammonia gas in a tube. Takes a good day to cool it down. My old trailer was elec, which was 12V DC only, or propane. You should only have a selector switch to turn from elec. to gas or propane. You have a piezo electric with a mirror reflector to see the flame on propane. Do you have a water heater? Need to light the pilot with a gas match like for a BBQ, can take a while to get the air out of the line. If you have a stove, it helps to bleed the air out of the lines by opening the gas valve on the stove until it lights. You can run the refrigerator on gas or elect. while you drive the tow vehicle, and yes, it will drain the battery if you leave it connected when parked.

Depending on model, there is a spring loaded push button switch inside that will not allow the lights to come on when the unit is closed. Could be behind the flip up stove or somewhere else. Its so the lights can't start a fire when the unit is closed and the battery is connected.

Battery may just not be holding a charge. Take to Wallymart and have them load test it. Get the biggest deep discharge one you can fit in the box.

The electrical outlets only work when the big black electrical plug is connected to shore power. It will also charge the battery. Everything water pump toilet if you have one, shower pumps are 12V.

[syncroid]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

It's a 1990, not hooked to a tow vehicle.

1) The 110v when plugged in makes a "clunk" sound.....it seems to only power the wall outlets. There is a box (where the noise came from) just under the dinette cushion, now referred to as the "hummer".
Ours does the same thing. When using "full hook up" it only powers the plug sockets.

Is that a converter/surge protector or something else? Lights only work on 12v or is the hummer supposed to provide 12v and charge the battery and it's not working?

Good question. I think it is supposed to be an invertor. We usually just go by battery power. (usually good for a week of good camping when being conservative.)

2) Fridge, AC/DC/Propane. Doesn't seem to work on 12v or 110. Any secrets? Dometic RM 2201. It's on a level area, switch inside exterior door has been set to 12v or 110 and no humm, or cooling in evidence. Haven't used propane yet except for the stove which works.....

The fridge you have is a dual energy use fridge. It will run on either propane or full hook up.

3) Battery was fully charged, had all the lights off, the 12v battery connected, and 110 hooked up, drained itself in one day. I'm charging it now....almost done. What would be a power drain?

Laughing really hard on this one. I found out the hard way too. Turn the fridge settings OFF for the electrical settings of the fridge unless you are at a full hook up site. There won't be any current draw while the fridge is running on propane, but once you turn off the gas, the fridge tries to go electric again and draws over 6 amps on the battery. Kills it almost immediately! I chased this problem on ours for over a year. I felt like a total nimwit when I finally figured it out. Doh!

4) I put a Fluke on the electrical hook up, it shows about 11.5v (battery at 13v) which leads me to believe that the tow vehicle can charge the trailer battery?

You could set it up this way. I haven't. I keep my battery on a tender so its always ready when we need it.

5) With the trailer battery drain, I don't want it to kill the tow vehicle battery when I'm on the road and camping.

Again see #3

6) If I can't fix the fridge, I'm thinking of ripping it out and installing a 110 shop fridge I have, it's about the same size and using hook ups and/or getting a generator for dry camp.

Comments?

Don't rip it out. Have fun with your Jayco. They are one of the best pop ups made. We love ours. It gets used at least once a month.

[syncroid]

Hugh gives good advise too. Forgot about the water heater. Good call Hugh!

[Joe Bob]

No water heater....I'll try propane on the fridge tomorrow. Looks like the inverter, if there is one is wonky.

[Hugh R]

Important!! If you have hydraulic brakes on that thing, pull the drums and repack the bearings, and the brake shoes have to be manually adjusted and most people never do this. When I got mine they looked like they had never been adjusted, the gap between the shoes and the drum was so great that the brake cyl pistons had popped out. If ruined, I know where the mfgr. of the entire unit is in LA and they sold the complete hub, spindle, bearings, shoes the entire thing for about 1/4 of what the dealers want. Let me know if you want me to find that contact. To bleed the brakes use a long screwdriver with an assistant to push on the brake master cylinder behind the hitch and bleed in the normal way.

[Hugh R]

These refrigs, need to be level, very level to work. They can't adapt to heat changes quickly. Don't put warm food in them, let it cool first, they get cold, just take a while to get there.

[Joe Bob]

No brakes...this is the little one. No toilet, no shower, no H2O heater, 8 inch wheels, no suspension. There IS a 3 burner stove, the aforementioned fridge, a heater, two slide out beds, a dinette/bed combo. The stove can be disconnected and set up on the side of the trailer. Looks like it got hot once and melted the plastic badges near the door.

I spent the day cleaning and fixing particle/press board doors, hinges and cabinets. Yellow glue and wood screws are my friends.

Gotta trouble shoot that AC to DC transformer.

[Hugh R]

Jayco Travel Trailers - Jayco Owner Forums

Magic Erasers from any Home Depot/Smart&Final,etc. are a sponge that does an amazing job of cleaning the white exterior. Hose off the canvas every time you get home. You'll dramatically improve the life of it. When you need light fixtures or the water tank drain valve, buy from a Jayco dealer it's too much trouble to try and adapt something else when there stuff fits the same holes. A lot less hassle.

[Joe Bob]

Thanks for the forum link. Yes I agree to use Jayco parts.....I've seen to many aftermarket universal crap to know that close don't cut it.

Any idea where the GFI might be? I'm thinking it got tripped and needs to be reset or replaced.

[Hugh R]

No GFI on my old one that I can recall. Do you have push button breakers on the front of "the hummer"?

Repack the wheel bearings/replace as necessary. NO ONE, well almost no one, ever repacks them. If it's been sitting look very carefully at the tires. The best way to extend the life of the tires is to put the trailer on jackstands when parked for extended periods of time. On my newer trailer I have screw-type leveling jacks and I use a 120V drill to get the torque to lift all four corners off the ground, with the Jayco ones that use a rod, you won't be able to do that.

[Joe Bob]

The hummer is boxed in. Gonna have to do a "Ducky" on it.

Screws, glue and pressboard surround it.

[Hugh R]

You've got to have some other easier access to the hummer. My old one had a couple of fuses and a couple of push button breakers. Look for an access panel, it can't be sealed in Jayco wouldn't do that. Look on the outside for an access door. If its under the seat at the dinette, lift the seat cushion and look for an access panel.

[Joe Bob]

The only access port is for the fridge and the heater which forward of the driver's side wheel. The transformer is BEHIND the wheel, same side and no access port. There are two access hatches on the rear for storage, one on the passenger side.

No breakers or GFIs.

BTW, the model is a Jaythrush 6.

[Red88Carrera]

The "Hummer" is a 110VAC to 12VDC converter. The one in my old '92 Jayco would make a "clunk" noise when I hooked up shore power. Normal. The fridge will cool down the fastest on propane, but neither mode cools really fast. I would never run mine on 12VDC because of the draw. When hooked to shore power, I run the fridge on 110VAC. As stated above, look for a reset switch or a fuse for the converter. If you were hooked to shore power, the battery should not have drained by running the fridge on 12VDC. I had a converter go bad in an old '72 pop-up. I sold this Jayco pop-up 3 years ago and moved up to a 5th wheel.

[Hugh R]

Dual axles are nice. If you have a flat you have a chance off getting off the freeway, as opposed to flipping it over at speed.

Mike, it has drain valves underneath for the water supply. Don't want to freeze the pipes and crack the lines where you live.