BearAK,
Yours is one of the more "engineer-like" explanations that I've seen, as well as wa8xym's. This appeals to the engineer in me, and makes sense. Now I understand how they do this.
Slight thread-drift, I'm thinking this may also be how they get electricity from multiple windmills in a windmill farm? That's something that always bothered me too. Along with, how the heck do they "switch the grid" and maintain phase polarity? But I digress, and that's a discussion waaaaay beyond this one.
I'll be sharing this thread with the GF's parents and will give them my opinions as appropriate. One of the wiser opinions here is to get them out using their RV, that way they'll figure out firsthand how it's used and what they'll need, just like we-all have. What's right for me may not be for them.
