New to us 2006 Winnebago

Just a clarification to my post above. Where I said AC (not air conditioner, althogh that will only work when plugged into the generator outlet in the compartment or campground plug) I mean the shore power cord must be plugged in

All good and excellent advice here. I have a 2003 winnebago mini 24v. There is no transfer switch. The AC must be plugged in as shown above for the generator to work with the vehicle.

But not related to this stuff, check your over head bunk area for leaks on the sides. This vintage winni is subject to insuffecitnt seal at the corner molding below the side windows of the over head bunk. Seveal other owners of similiar yoar winnies have share this with me and they were right. Gotta seal it up with Dicor or some other method. I completely removed the molding and coverd the corners with eternabond then replace the aluminum molding.
PM if you want more details.

OP, Regarding using your laptop.
Research it, there is a lot of info out there. Monitor which device you use. I know there are more qualified people on this forum than me that would know and could explain the specifics .

You have to be careful using some adaptors bc they can overheat . You are using a 12v power source to run a 19v laptop. Be aware of heat build up on the adaptor device or the laptop itself.
Also, sometimes a flickering laptop screen will occur if the power supplied is not 'clean PSW power' as it is at home. That might depend on the particular laptop/adaptor circuitry.

IAMICHABOD wrote:

The older style RVs usually had a plug (female receptacle) in one of the storage bays. Probably the bay where the power cord enters. When you plug into shore power, the plug goes to the receptacle on the pedestal.

All depends on the individual rig, the 1998 Gulfstream C I used to own had an auto transfer switch, and even "way back then" they were common.

There are car cords available for laptops that can run from a lighter socket, without the need for a generator or inverter. I got a generic/universal one that comes with connectors for many different laptops from Amazon for about $30, and it works nicely for my ThinkPad.

Air Conditioner.
We have found that running the engine/dash AC cools the coach while driving especially if you crack a roof vent.

Good point to plug in the 30 amp power cord to run the Gen. I forgot to do that when my rig was new.

If you need 120v to run a laptop, Samlex has a 150w PSW inverter that plugs into a 12v outlet. Amazon and others sell it for $130-140.00

https://www.samlexamerica.com/products/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=591

In case your Winnebago did not come with instruction manuals, Winnebago posts operator instructions, the original brochure, various wiring and component diagrams online.

This was a welcome surprise when we bought our used 2006 Aspect.

Norm

Your RV may not have an auto Transfer switch.

The older style RVs usually had a plug (female receptacle) in one of the storage bays. Probably the bay where the power cord enters. When you plug into shore power, the plug goes to the receptacle on the pedestal.

When you need the generator to power up the A/C and other outlets, the plug goes into the receptacle in the storage bay. If you don't plug the cord into the receptacle, the generator will run but will not connect (power up)


Look in your electric bay or one of the others see if you can find something like this


Plug your shore cord into it to power the RV from the generator

Hanick, I am no expert about specific Wini models, but your questions are actually very general, so I will give you the general answers.

hanick5 wrote:
We just purchased a used 2006 Winnebago. I have a few questions about how to use it.

Do we need to run the generator while driving in order to have the AC on in the back?
**If it is a normal roof top unit, yes.

Can we have the refrigerator on propane while driving?
**Yes, but if you are running the generator, why not use that?

Will the outlets work while driving?
**Only if the generator is running.

The rig has 2 solar panels on the roof- are they only used for dry camping or what do they power while driving?
**They will be charging the house bank any time they see sunlight. They don't care about anything else.
We need to be able to plug in a laptop while driving- do we need an inverter for that or how are we able to do that?
**If the generator is running, use that. If it may not be, buy the cheapest 100+ watt inverter you can find. If you find one that plugs into a DC mousehole, make sure it has very good contact. Hard wire is better and more reliable. I hate those mousehole plugs.

Sorry for so many basic questions. We had a travel trailer years ago but this is quite a bit different.

I hope you know that none of us ever had to ask questions. We were all born knowing all about RVing.....

Matt