New Gemini 23TR owner

[Locknut]

Congrats on the new coach and welcome to the Forums.

[RDJeff]

Originally Posted by talktodean

I'm looking at the 23TB, which is a side slide. The generator in that unit is easily accessible from rear outside compartment door on passenger's side.
I believe in the 23TR, rear slide, the generator is in the middle on the chassis in the rear. I don't have all the answers, but something to consider, yes.

Yeah, I can see the generator exhaust pipe in the photos, but don't see an access door to get to the generator itself.

[smoothrider]

I just drove my new gemini 1200 miles and be advised: The chasis battery is under the drivers seat! If you smell rotten eggs pull off the road and get out of the vehicle. My battery shorted out in route and my unit became a rolling gas chamber. I thought it was the Diesel particulate filter replenishing until I started wheezing and finally pulled off. Has anyone had trouble with the hot water heater? Mine is either hot or cold and fluctuates between the two every ten seconds.

[nmcmilla]

Originally Posted by smoothrider

I just drove my new gemini 1200 miles and be advised: The chasis battery is under the drivers seat! If you smell rotten eggs pull off the road and get out of the vehicle. My battery shorted out in route and my unit became a rolling gas chamber. I thought it was the Diesel particulate filter replenishing until I started wheezing and finally pulled off. Has anyone had trouble with the hot water heater? Mine is either hot or cold and fluctuates between the two every ten seconds.

Yikes, that is terrible! Glad you figured it out. I am at about 4600 miles with no chasis battery issues (I did have problems with the 2 house batteries -- have had them replaced). I could not get water to heat at all and the dealership changed out the solenoid valve (other Gemini owners have reported valve problems on their tankless hot water heaters) but also mention other issues that can cause problems like constant water pressure.

[Laco]

We have the 24TX Gemini, which is on the Mercedes chassis. The chassis battery for it is also under the driver, though I believe its more under the floor. As far as the gerard water heater, it has some idiosyncrasies that take a bit of getting used to vs hot water from a hot water tank. One thing about its functionality is, it must have a minimum amount of water flow through it to maintain hot water, if it drops below, whatever that minimum is, the heat cuts off, and you have only cold water. I discovered that one morning in the shower, used the water cut-off on the shower head, and wound up finishing that shower with cold water. Leaving the water on, solves that problem. Otherwise its seems to work ok.

[Logisnews]

I'm looking to get input on questions that I'm wondering about each time I use the Gemini. I'm hoping users can point me in the right direction just on day to day issues like:

• How long does it take to charge the two batteries under different conditions (shore-power, generator-only, just running the vehicle)
• would I (could I?) be better off trying to replace the LP generator with a diesel one? I thought that's what I was getting> I'm planning on boondocking a lot and the small LP tank worries me. diesel seems like it would be a far better choice
• how do you run heat when boondocking? you can't unless the generator is on, right?

Anyway, I hope to find the answer to these questions and more in here. thanks everyone.

Jim
Tucson, AZ

[yukongrant]

We have a 2019 23tr Compass. (Very similar to yours). We don't boondock much so can't comment on those questions. But we have a propane furnace for heat. The fan can work off battery. Unless you use the heat pump, no generator is required.
I really like the propane generator. (Not everyone agrees.) The propane tank is not gigantic - only 16 gallons which works out to about 3.5 20 lb tanks. Not a lot when you're cooking, fridge and heat. But neither is 25 gallons of diesel - and you can only use 3/4s of that.
But I think the propane generator runs quieter than diesel and I think maintenance is less. It runs cleaner and the fuel lasts longer without deteriorating. (I may be corrected on that.)
Generators will wear out. I would wait until it wears out and then switch over.

[atreis]

How long to charge battery on shore/generator: Shore and generator are the same. It's being charged by the converter in both cases. How long it takes depends on how dead it is, and how big your batteries are. If you have 200 Ah that are totally dead, and a 55 amp converter, it would take about 4 hours.

How long to charge batteries from engine: No idea.

Yes, you can replace your generator with a diesel one, but you have to really want to. $$$$$ Take a look at a propane extend a stay as a less expensive option. (If your build sheet said you were getting a diesel generator, you need to get that fixed by your dealer. It's a very expensive option!)

Your propane furnace runs off 12V power for the blower and control electronics. It will run off the batteries just fine, but will drain them pretty quickly. The blower fan takes a fair amount of power. How long you can run it before you need to recharge the batteries (assuming you don't have solar) will depend on how much it actually needs to run, but generally speaking, a couple nights is all you can get.

[Logisnews]

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply I am slowly figuring all of this out.

[MinaEricFunBox]

Anyone know about using the Thor Gemini 23 TR in the winter. We have owned ours since 2018 but we have only used it a couple of times and none in the winter. We are geting a tow car and plan to use it more because we are both retired. I the mixed information about towing so we bought the lightest manual transmission we could find (2021 versa s).
I think it should be fine... Please let us know if anyone has use it in the south during the winter. We did have an issue with the water heater last year due to an unexpected freeze in Alabama. Any information would be helpful.....

[yukongrant]

It depends what you mean by "winter" camping. I would not even think about using ours where we live. But if you mean the temperature dropping to just below freezing at night, you'll be fine.
When I brought our rig home in early May, it did freeze overnight. I used the tank heaters. Do not hook up to city water. (I did this the first night and the water hose froze.) The propane heater will keep you comfortable. Just open all the cabinets where water lines are located.
But if it's below freezing all day, don't use the water system at all. Take jugs of water. The heater will be running lots. These rigs are not well insulated.

[MinaEricFunBox]

I am hopefully not going to camp in freezing weather… by winter I mean cold enough for the heat pump to come on…. Thank you for the information it is helpful…

[yukongrant]

You should not have any problems. I don't use the heat pump. It's the propane heater for us. That keeps us nice and warm. These rigs are not well insulated. But a lot better than a tent - and I've slept many nights at or just below freezing in a tent. (It was the snow on the ground heading to the outhouse in the middle of the night that was the worst.)