Alternators - what are your thoughts?

cptqueeg wrote:
Using power generated by an alternator seems to be pretty common while in transit. How do you equip your truck - a single high output, dual alternators, or stock?

Basic needs are pre-heating, or pre-cooling the living space and the fridge while driving. Having a 2nd alternator presumably would allow one to do it all at a fairly low initial price and some sacrifice of mileage.

I don't think it's pretty common.

Almost never hear of people running heat or air/con off the trucks 12v system. While operating, the air/con is going to be pulling somewhere around 120amps @ 12v. The wiring and inverter to generate and then get that power back to the trailer and converted to 120v AC is possible but highly impractical.

The furnace is propane powered with just a small amount of 12v power to run the controls and the fan but the fan doesn't consume a lot. Problem is at 60mph, you will have a horrible wind chill effect meaning you will likely burn a ton of propane.

You can run the fridge but usually not a big issue. Most travel in propane mode. If you even have a 12v option (most RV fridges don't), a decent battery with trickle charging from the hitch plug will generally handle the needs for a few hours of driving.

If you have a true 12v fridge, it's only pulling 2-3 amps, so no need to upgrade anything.