Adding Inverter for dry camping
I would like to add an additional battery (have one group 27 now), possibly a solar charging system and an inverter. I hate that the 120V outlets don't work on battery power. Seems crazy you can't...
Forum Discussion
If your inverter is "whole house" running everything 120v in the RV, then the converter must be turned off (various ways to do that) or it will use more battery juice than it can put back in, and your batteries will go flat--this takes a while so you do get a chance to notice the converter is still on and shut it off :)
You will want your fridge on gas, not auto, or else it will see 120v and run on that. Water heater on propane whenever you have that on. Air conditioner off. DW trained in use of microwave and hairdryer (you too :) )
Then for whole house, just plug the shore cord into the inverter.
Another way is to have just certain things run off inverter which runs a sub-panel (which does NOT include the converter!)
Another way is to have an inverter with a transfer switch so you can be whole or part house on inverter and the rest (or all of it) on shore power or gen
You can do anything you want really. Here is what I do as an example only, not recommending it unless it suits you too. In this case one inverter is whole house with shore cord into it and the other does only certain items that have been displaced from whole house for when off-grid (they usually go back to whole house when we have shore power but don't have to be--can still use the inverter method for them)
http://forums.trailerlife.com/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26237237.cfm
You will want your fridge on gas, not auto, or else it will see 120v and run on that. Water heater on propane whenever you have that on. Air conditioner off. DW trained in use of microwave and hairdryer (you too :) )
Then for whole house, just plug the shore cord into the inverter.
Another way is to have just certain things run off inverter which runs a sub-panel (which does NOT include the converter!)
Another way is to have an inverter with a transfer switch so you can be whole or part house on inverter and the rest (or all of it) on shore power or gen
You can do anything you want really. Here is what I do as an example only, not recommending it unless it suits you too. In this case one inverter is whole house with shore cord into it and the other does only certain items that have been displaced from whole house for when off-grid (they usually go back to whole house when we have shore power but don't have to be--can still use the inverter method for them)
http://forums.trailerlife.com/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26237237.cfm
