Forum Discussion
MEXICOWANDERER
Mar 07, 2016Explorer
Wonderful a 7'2" teenager and a 2cf apartment size refrigerator...
WHY in the world do you need a 2,000 watt inverter? Cables, switches and controls are WAY more expensive. Most importantly that 7'2" 15-year old needs feeding and you ain't seen EXPENSES until you get into big amperage chargers and alternators and control systems, never mind wire.
DOWNSIZE things to a more rational size. That motorhome came equipped with a 60-amp Chrysler round back alternator, and TEN GAUGE alternator wire. Oh wait! Were not finished! That 10-gauge wire passes through the bulkhead connector via a THIRTY AMP rated Delco Packard Faston terminal, goes to the amp gauge then to loads and back to the battery.
You need a savvy local mentor. Someone who can guide you through all this with a minimum of uproar and stacks of money being pitched on a blazing bonfire. That factory electrical system design screwup made me a LOT of money back in the 70s and 80's. It wasn't one of MoPar's "Better Ideas".
Find a local non-blowhard RV'er who will tame your ambitions so every cent counts. Sixty-amps in an alternator is like trying to power a generator with a WenMac 049 engine. The ENTIRE CHARGING SYSTEM needs to be ripped out by its roots and replaced with a sane system. For god's sake a Suzuki Samurai alternator has twice the power, and many RV's today have a minimum of two to four times the charging capacity. Into the scrap goes the isolator, voltage regulator, the pitifully small original wiring to the house batteries, the ammeter gets deep sixed - to be replaced with a volt meter. You can do almost all this stuff yourself - with proper guidance
WHY in the world do you need a 2,000 watt inverter? Cables, switches and controls are WAY more expensive. Most importantly that 7'2" 15-year old needs feeding and you ain't seen EXPENSES until you get into big amperage chargers and alternators and control systems, never mind wire.
DOWNSIZE things to a more rational size. That motorhome came equipped with a 60-amp Chrysler round back alternator, and TEN GAUGE alternator wire. Oh wait! Were not finished! That 10-gauge wire passes through the bulkhead connector via a THIRTY AMP rated Delco Packard Faston terminal, goes to the amp gauge then to loads and back to the battery.
You need a savvy local mentor. Someone who can guide you through all this with a minimum of uproar and stacks of money being pitched on a blazing bonfire. That factory electrical system design screwup made me a LOT of money back in the 70s and 80's. It wasn't one of MoPar's "Better Ideas".
Find a local non-blowhard RV'er who will tame your ambitions so every cent counts. Sixty-amps in an alternator is like trying to power a generator with a WenMac 049 engine. The ENTIRE CHARGING SYSTEM needs to be ripped out by its roots and replaced with a sane system. For god's sake a Suzuki Samurai alternator has twice the power, and many RV's today have a minimum of two to four times the charging capacity. Into the scrap goes the isolator, voltage regulator, the pitifully small original wiring to the house batteries, the ammeter gets deep sixed - to be replaced with a volt meter. You can do almost all this stuff yourself - with proper guidance
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