Inverter did your rv come with this??

My Beaver came from the factory with a 3000 watt inverter, but like the last poster, the AC was wired to the shorepower only. The inverter fed only the plugs on the Left hand side of the coach, while the right side had shorepower only. Worked well, and the microwave had the only split plug in the coach.

As i've said before, the dealer where I bought had incompetent service people and they had fried a brand new Xantrex (as well the previous owner said the original worked when they traded the coach in), so Xantrex replaced it with a brand new unit under warranty. I installed it myself which was no problem other than covering the hole where the former controller was....I normally left the inverter on, and when the batteries died of old age it had a function to recover the battery 'memory'which was nice.

Installation was a breeze....I bought some aluminium strip and mounted it to the overhead frame in one of the compartments. I'm not strong enough to hold it up with one hand, so I used 1/8 or 3/16" threaded rod to draw it up into place thenreplaced the rods with bolts once it was in place. The electrical was done with truck battery cables sized for the load, so connection was with wingnuts. You probably can't afford an older moterhome if you have to pay someone to do that.

Since they did a free replacement, it was a good investment, but having had it....we don't do enough boondocking to justify the money.

My Monaco gas coach came with a 3000 watt inverter and I can easily run the microwave and my entertainment items at the same time. The way the coach is wired, the AC is not wired to be used by the inverter circuits.
To the OP, here is the math. A 15,000 BTU AC unit uses approximately 1,500 watts of power when running. It uses a little more when it starts the compressor. 1,500 watt 120 volt draw from your inverter means that you are sucking 125+ AMPS from your 12 volt system. This does not take in to consideration the efficiency loss with the inverter. That means that you would probably need an engine alternator to put out well in excess of 125 AMPS, just to break even, which sort of means running the AC when the engine is idling is probably not going to happen. They certainly have automotive alternators that are capable of that output. Mine is 140 AMPS but an alternator is not a free spinning assembly. As the amount of draw goes up, the amount of drag increases on the vehicle engine and this will lower your already poor fuel mileage. Not to mention the heat generated by a continuous alternator output of 125+ AMPS.
Not saying it can't be done, but it doesn't make much sense to do it.

Valkyriebush wrote:
I have a 2000w inverter, four 6 volt house batteries. Powers, Entertainment system, a couple ac outlets, microwave. I never turn it on unless I'm going to use it. Find my self using generator 5-1 compared to the inverter.

Not to be critical of this person, but my use of the inverter is opposite. If I'm boondocking, the only thing I will run my generator for is if I need to run the A/C's or for two or three hours a day to keep the batteries charged. I usually get up in the morning and start the generator and let it run until after coffee and breakfast. Then I'll run it again in the evening for maybe an hour. That keeps the batteries (4 6 volts) charged enough to run all my electrical stuff I may need all day long.

I boondock most of the year and installed two inverters in my trailer and they are used everyday. The main inverter is a 2000 watt Magnum Inverter and it runs most of the trailer: coffee maker, microwave, etc. The second one is a 1000 watt PSW model which I use for my TV, Direct TV DVR,computer, etc.

Some dealers will install them, I don't think most Rv's do not come with it standard. It will not run an AC Unit, because the AC takes too much power.

Do a search for Inverters and spent some time reading up on them to know their limitations.


The information is out there, all you have to do is let it in.

Tkotis5 wrote:
I'm wondering if you have one do you get a lot of use from it? Will a dealer install it and at what cost? Can you shut off your dash board air and run your ac off it? Do most units come with it installed?

My motorhome came with a 2000 watt inverter. And yes, I get a lot of use out of it. Without an inverter you can't run TV's or other appliances without being plugged into power unless you have 12 volt TV's. My inverter will run everything electric except the A/C's and the Fridge. It may actually be able to run the fridge, but they wired the RV so the 120 volt outlet the fridge is plugged into won't get power from the inverter at all. The A/C's also are wired so they can't get power from the inverter. I don't think 2000 watts would be enough to even start the A/C's.

Half kidding, but here's an idea!

A few shots of a homemade air conditioner for a RV with no dash air and a genset that just died. It's design came from necessity as I had to drive north through California's central valley on I-5 a couple of summers ago through that baking summer heat. During that record breaking heat wave. Gasp!



Doesn't draw hardly anything from the 200 Watt inverter I have and with just 10 lbs of ice per day, kept me comfortable in the driver's seat all day over the three days on that trip. Cost maybe $25 to make. I got the fans and the wall cube at a thrift store, the plumbing at Home Depot, and the ice chest at a Dollar Store.

But, I sold that RV, and my new one the dash air and the genset both work. I'll give this to anyone that wants to come get it here in Mesa, Arizona. Hate to throw it away. Nice cool air. Would work at an outside BBQ too.



I stacked two 12V computer muffin fans and held them in place with a couple long sheetrock screws.



Since I left the ice in the bags, when I arrived at my destination, still had some ice for drinks. WINNING!

I was seriously trying to keep things in the real world.It sounds like the Op does not even have a Inverter system so I was trying to keep the answer in the real world and simple. The simple answer is no u cant. the complicated one is yes with a very large alternater, a very large battery bank and a very extra heavy duty inverter along with a ton of cooling capability
In regards to Cost$$ you would never in your entire lifetime of RVing burn enough generator gas $$ wise to ever come anywhere near the cost of what I explained above in my experienced opinion
prevost do it and you know what those units cost

lafrentz wrote:

Tkotis5 wrote:
I'm wondering if you have one do you get a lot of use from it? Will a dealer install it and at what cost? Can you shut off your dash board air and run your ac off it? Do most units come with it installed?

quick answer is yes dealers install them .Price will have a vast range
as it depends on the size of inverter and what you want to run off it
NO u cant run your roof AC off it.

Yes you can run your AC off of it. But you need at least a 3000W inverter and a huge battery bank.

What I'm trying to say is that physically, you can do it. Practically, it's not a good idea.

Tkotis5 wrote:
I'm wondering if you have one do you get a lot of use from it? Will a dealer install it and at what cost? Can you shut off your dash board air and run your ac off it? Do most units come with it installed?

quick answer is yes dealers install them .Price will have a vast range
as it depends on the size of inverter and what you want to run off it
NO u cant run your roof AC off it.

Valkyriebush wrote:
I have a 2000w inverter, four 6 volt house batteries. Powers, Entertainment system, a couple ac outlets, microwave. I never turn it on unless I'm going to use it. Find my self using generator 5-1 compared to the inverter.

Pretty much the same here, except that when in Mexico we leave the Prosine 2.0 PSW inverter on standby mode when watching TV since the shore power is often unstable nd drops in and out. This ensures that if shore power is cutoff we don't loose the satellite signal.

Our actual usage is probably opposite, in that we use the inverter much more often (microwave, etc) but in terms of hours, (heat pump etc) we use the generator.