how to use my generator

plab wrote:
hello all I'm new to the forum and the RV world.
My wife and I just purchased a 2012 KZ hybrid and we're looking forward to enjoying it in the back woods of remote Maine. So I have a question that I'm hoping someone can answer. I have a 1000 watt portable gas generator/inverter I want to use this to supply my 12V needs for an extended stay out. should I just plug my camper right into it ? I'm wondering if it has enough power output(7.5amps) to feed all the campers 12V power needs. i.e. the furnace,smoke alarm, and the various other little doo dads in the coach that will use 12V power .... or should I just hook it up directly to the battery and charge it that way
I question what the minimum power input need is for the on board inverter

thanks Plab

1000W gen most likely will be a bit on the light side.

IF you have a group24 size 12V RV/marine battery it should be sufficient size to run your furnace overnight and some lights for an evening. Anything else and you will need to run your gen to recharge the battery more often.

Depending on how many days and how much stuff you want to run you may need to consider upgrading your battery size.

Plug shore cord into the 120V outlet on the gen.

You will need to make sure the fridge is set to propane only.

You will need to make sure if equipped the water heater electric element is turned off.

The built in 12V "converter" will then start charging your trailer battery, but depending on how deeply discharged it is and how many amps the converter can supply you might trip the gen overload a couple of times at first..

DO NOT use the 12V output that is on the generator, it is not regulated and it will not provide as much charging current as the built in 12V converter and because of that will take many more hrs of having to run the generator...