Anyone using a Dometic PLB40 in their Tacoma?

I have the PLB40. Love it. No need for dual batteries. Switch between vehicles easily. Works like a charm. Never had a problem with it discharging too much or not fully charging. During the day while driving I keep it plugged in to recharge, at night I disconnect the charger from car battery and my ARB50 fridge always stays cool. And I switch between 2 vehicles when needed. Love this thing.

 

Thank you for the update. Glad to hear that you are enjoying it!

DOMETIC
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I had a similar issue when I first got the PLB40. I plugged it in at home and charged to 100% and then turned it off and left it. 3-5 days later it would be at 90%...

Not as bad as @jowybyo is seeing but still worse than @Dometic claims. I have since kept it in my truck constantly plugged into roof top solar and so it charges every day.

Not sure if this helps but just sharing experience.

 

Hi Joe,

Can you do the following for me and shoot the information over to me via private message?

Power the PLB40 on.
1) Find the reset button by the input sockets, labeled RST. Press it.
2) Use the AC adapter to charge PLB to 100% and unplug. Take photo. Don’t do anything else.
3) Leave for 3 hours. Tap power button to show display. Take photo.

We can verify the time stamps on the photos, and see the behavior a controlled manner. I'll get this information over to the team so they can see what's happening.

Thanks!

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
shop.dometic.com
Use promo code TacomaW20 for $25 off your order of $75+

 

I had something annoying start happening...

A couple of times over the last few weeks the temp over night has dropped below freezing. When it gets to cold the battery turns off which makes the fridge turn off. Well, it turn off sometime in the middle of the night when the battery was at 90% or something. So the next morning I figure, "It was so could it only used 10% of the battery". The screen would still turn on when I tapped the power button but it did not charge from the solar that I leave plugged in and it did not power the fridge for a few days until i realized everything in the fridge was warm and I started trouble shooting. Nothing worked until I held down the power button to turn the battery off and then back on again. This has happened twice now.

So, when ever you are in cold weather, check to make sure your fridge is still on. Ive just been checking the battery. And apparently the batter screen will still show you the percentage but won't charge or power anything until you turn it off and then back on again.

 

Update to previous post:

On top of the temperature problem, something else happened 3-4 times that I saw this last week.

I have a 100w solar panel plugged in DC, and fridge screwed into the two prong dc as well. These are always plugged in.
I have a domestic fantastic fan rigged to the other 12 v and this only runs sometimes.

Multiple mornings I had the fan running to dry out the camper and then I plugged my phone in to charge from the USB. Not 5 seconds after I plugged my phone in, the PLB would beep and stop power to all appliances. the screen only showed the battery, percentage and arrow coming into the battery. I tried unplugging and plugging back in, but the battery would not power anything. I had to hold the power button down until it beeped, I believe that turned it off because I had to hold it down a second time to turn it back on. I also tried to pushing the reset button but got the same response.

Is this to much power going through? I didn't blow a fuse...

Any advise would be great!

@Dometic

 

For those keeping it in the truck, where do you keep it? I don't have a topper and don't really want to keep it in the back. Thinking behind the back seat, run power to the bed for the fridge, and cable to solar on the roof or hood. Once I set up camp, fold down the back seat to charge phones, computers....etc.

Thoughts?

 

@Dometic

I can’t for the life of me find a MC4 to

$11 Anderson SB50 Connector Kit, 50 Amps, 36V Gray Housing, w/ 6 AWG, 6319 (Pair)

Anderson SB50 plug time charge my PLB40 from a 100 watt solar panel. Know of one? Or do I need to make one????

 

@Dometic I have a PLB40 in my tacoma with solar plugged into it all the time. Can i Also have the AC plugged into the outlet in my truck bed and charge it off of that at the same time? Im guessing it would take which ever is giving more energy? or what is the situation with that?

I know this is a big no go on the new CFX3s to have AC and DC plugged in at the same time...

 

For those looking for a carrying/storage case, my awesome wife noticed that the PLB40 is roughly the size and shape of a bowling ball. Got this and fits perfectly! (side pocket for the shoes can store the cables

KR Strikeforce Rook Single Tote with Side Shoe Compartment - Holds One Ball and Pair of Shoes up to Size 11 Orange

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KW9H18S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

No issue with the PLB40. It supports pass-thru charging so you should be good

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
shop.dometic.com
Use promo code TacomaW20 for $25 off your order of $75+

 

@Dometic please help!

I bought a dometic fridge and plb40, and this is my first time trying anything solar.

I bought A jackery 100w solarsaga which has an 8mm output. I called dometic to ask what adapter to use and they told me to call jackery. Jackery just told me it’s an 8mm.

I called powerwerx, and they said it’s impossible to make 8mm to sb50 Anderson.

then I bought a rock pals panel bc it had Anderson plugs, but it’s a red black one and much smaller than the holes on the plb40.

I saw overland solar has a panel that will plug into the plb40, but it’s $595 for 130w and that is too much.

long story short, please help. I just want to find how to plug a foldable type 100w panel into my plb40.

 

From our questions section on our PLB40 product page

The PLB40 should be charged using the SB50 Anderson connectors on the back of the unit. Most solar panels will use SAE, MC4, or 8mm pin connectors and adapters can be found on most solar panel websites.

Hope this helps!

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
shop.dometic.com
Use promo code TacomaW20 for $25 off your order of $75+

 

Just a quick note if you are interested in a PLB40.

We've got more inbound, but we'll likely have low or no inventory available until early November. Like our sliders for the CFX3, we're recommending you backorder one through our site or via one of our distributors to hold your spot in line.

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
shop.dometic.com
Use promo code TacomaW20 for $25 off your order of $75+

 

My setup with PLB40, CFX3 75, and the dometic hardwire kit. All under a Diamondback HD cover.

thanks @Dometic !!!

 

Excellent! Great looking build and I'm glad to see that the CFX3 75 works well with the Diamondback HD.

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
shop.dometic.com
Use promo code TacomaW20 for $25 off your order of $75+

 

@Dometic

here’s a video of it also charged the battery this past weekend with the rockpals foldable 100 solar panel.

https://youtu.be/2vH4UsJvCEk

 

@Dometic Here is my setup in my Tacoma (Follow New Holland Overland for more content with photos of the setup).

I have the PLB40 hooked up to my CFX65, powered off of an aux Odyssey Group 35 which connects to a Redarc BCDC1225 and a 100W panel.

One big thing ive struggled with the PLB40 is mounting it inside the back, I currently used some small straps which hold it ok...but in a month or so ill be creating some aluminum brackets that will tie into the existing handle mounts to give it a permanent home in the back. Another big area that the PLB40 struggles is cold weather (I dont run the fridge in the winter), but I do run accessories and lights off of the battery and warming it up to get it to turn on is difficult somedays. But other than those items its an amazing battery! Ive ran the fridge off the battery for over 50 hours a couple of times and its held up fantastic throughout the last year ive used it.

 

That's a great looking build!

As for winter use of the PLB40, cold definitely impacts most batteries. If you could remote mount it in your cab (given that your cab stays warmer longer) it would help as would insulating the battery in some type of blanket.

Thanks for using both our PLB40 and CFX65!

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
shop.dometic.com
Use promo code TacomaW20 for $25 off your order of $75+

 

Thanks for sharing the video and your set up! How was your trip?

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
shop.dometic.com
Use promo code TacomaW20 for $25 off your order of $75+