I want to be able to hook up shore power to run my van lights and TV while docked and not kill my battery. It's a 1999 ford conversion van.Thanks for any advice.

Assuming you have a functioning converter, coach battery & chassis battery, why do you think that would kill your battery ?

I don't have a chassis battery and my wife likes to leave the TV on all night.

Assuming you are asking about hooking up to 120VAC maybe at home where you do not have a camp ground type pedestal around.All you need to do is run a good quality preferably a 10-gauge construction grade YELLOW extension cord (10-3) into the 120VAC RECEPTACLE in your garage. You can use a 12-GAUGE (12-3) but I would not go any smaller gauge wiring extension cord (Like the red ones at WALMARTS)... All three wires must be connected in the receptacle to provide HOT-NEUTRAL-GROUND to your shore power connection. At the other end of the extension you will need to purchase a RV30A-15A long DOGBONE type adapter from WALMART that looks like this...DO NOT USE any of the small 30A-15A round type adapters otherwise your shore power cable prongs will melt down on you.We do this all the time with our two trailers sitting in my back yard. We can run most anything in the trailer with the 20AMP SERVICE we are plugged into. The problem is you can only one high wattage at a time. I.E. if you are running the air conditioner then when you turn on the microwave it will trip your house breaker.We always use a RV 120VAC Plug In voltmeter in a good spot inside the trailer so we can get a good glance at it before turning on any high wattage item. This meter has the SAFE ZONE printed on the faceplate. If the AC VOLTAGE is not inside the GREEN SAFE ZONE then we will not turn on anything that is high wattage...works good for us. Also is a good idea to carry these items with you on trips. You never know when you might need to plug-in to a 120VAC 15A/20A circuit. when we visit the kids we do this in their garage and sleep in our trailer when visiting.Roy Ken

My assumption was apparently wrong - You will need to install a couple of batteries in your van and purchase a 300WATT PSW INVERTER to be able to do what you ask.You will also have to watch your battery charge status and if you drain them down below 12.0VDC and not recharge right away they will not last very long. i.e. you will need to come up with a good way to re-charge your batteries.What you don't want to do is tap into your VAN START BATTERY system otherwise you will run it down and be stranded somewhere and probably have to replace that battery as well...You need a PLAN B called a small generatorRoy Ken

I am looking to use the power at the campground will not be plugging it in at home. Thanks for the info much appreciated.

hooking up shore power to my conversion van | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

stan909
Explorer
May 24, 2015
BTW. I never had to plugin to do anything in the van.we didn't have a microwave or airconditioner. Non electric sites are cheaper.
stan909
Explorer
May 24, 2015
Your best bet is a really good charger for your starter battery but it may be bad for it and cut it's service life down. It is called a starter battery for a reason but it could work. My last van had everything going to the starter battery and I added AGM deepcycle batteries and a smart charger. I ran a positive wire through the fire wall to the Deep cycles and grounded the deep cycles to the van. I then routed the conversion stuff to the batteries via a fuse box. The batteries worked whether plugged in or not and no worry about drawing down the starter battery.
salvatorejrm
Explorer
May 24, 2015
Yes the whole van is 12v I don't want to bring 110 into the van just want to power everything in the van already with out killing the battery.
Dakota98
Explorer
May 24, 2015
salvatorejrm wrote:
I don't have a chassis battery and my wife likes to leave the TV on all night.

So, the TV is 12-volt ????

And you'll be plugged into shore power at the CG, correct.
RoyB
Explorer II
May 24, 2015
I guess you know most camp grounds with electric will have a regular 120VAC 20AMP Receptacle on their pedestal.

You can just plug-in an extension cord and run it inside the VAN and plug in what ever you want to run...

Roy Ken
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
May 24, 2015
salvatorejrm wrote:
I have a 10 amp diehard charger that I use to charge my car barrettes will this work?
Yes but it may not have adequate amps, try it.

You may want a larger charger that is a 2 or 3 stage charger to better maintain the batteries.
drsolo
Nomad
May 24, 2015
salvatorejrm wrote:
I don't have a chassis battery and my wife likes to leave the TV on all night.

The 15 amp electrical outlet outside my RVan rusted/shorted out. I just plugged my surge protector/power strip into one of those 12 gauge/3 prong extension cords, tossed it out the window and plugged it in. When my overhead heater/AC went out I called in a mobile "fixer" to the campground and he went in and replaced the rusted wiring AND replaced the outside hookup thingy and sealed it well with silicone to prevent future rusting.
I dont have any other batteries since I always hook up to shore power. When I hook up to 15 or 30 amp I can run my AC and one of the other high draw items like microwave, electric fry pan, coffee pot, toaster. Like your wife, I too like the TV on all night but I got one of those surge protecting, brown out protecting battery backups that I plug my electronic stuff into. When I am watching TV I am hooked to my DISH satellite and if there is a power out it will require I go thru the whole setup, a pain.
salvatorejrm
Explorer
May 24, 2015
I have a 10 amp diehard charger that I use to charge my car barrettes will this work? I just bought the van so I'm not sure if it has one but I will check.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
May 24, 2015
Also wondering if you already have a charger but it's not working for some reason.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
May 24, 2015
Yes, since from your description the chassis battery also supplies the interior lights etc (house equipment). And of course while plugged into shore power.