Powering trailer with an alternator
This is something that's been kicking around in my head. I've been researching alternators and i've seen 2 that have an output of 370 amps at 1200 rpm. If my math is correct then that is 4440 watts @ ...
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I previously used my Tacoma alternator to charge our batteries, either via the 7 pin while travelling, (marginal), or via booster cables, or the built in 400 watt inverter to run a battery charger.
Charging via the booster cables worked well, to a point. The truck was able to sustain enough wattage to run our window AC through our inverter. The weakness of this setup was the 13.3ish volts that the Tacoma like to settle at, it would belt out the amps, when the inverter was drawing power, or the batteries were low. With independant control of the voltage, it would have worked better.
The Tacoma's inverter was good for running a good quality charger, as the charger would ramp up the voltage to over 15 volts to rapidly finish up the last 15% of the charge. Nowhere near as good a system for more than a couple batteries, the advantage was in the ability to "steal" power from the Tacomas battery to charge the trailer when sitting. Also, totally silent, and as soon as we go somewhere, the truck battery would recharge itself.
It seems that folks like to poopoo using the alternator, but the fact is the Tacoma would run on about .4 gallons an hour, while puting out anywhere from 15-80 or so amps. I now have a small genset, and it's a cheap pain in the ass. We haul an ATV, an extra water tank, and all the usual camping stuff. The generator is an extra 70#, plus jerry can, plus the space. There is no way I would ever be able to amortize the cost of a Honda 2000,(which is a slick machine) over just idling our current truck, a 3.7L F150. And I'm not sure why anyone posted that vehicles "don't like to idle for extended periods". Not an issue with a modern engine. The F150 uses around .3 GPH, and I plan to go back to using setup.
And guess what, you can run a truck, anytime, anywhere, no extra fuel can, maintenance, or noise. Our setup was a godsend in the "no generators" loop at the grand canyon. Oh yeah, the new F150 comes with a beast of an alternator, over 150 amps.
Charging via the booster cables worked well, to a point. The truck was able to sustain enough wattage to run our window AC through our inverter. The weakness of this setup was the 13.3ish volts that the Tacoma like to settle at, it would belt out the amps, when the inverter was drawing power, or the batteries were low. With independant control of the voltage, it would have worked better.
The Tacoma's inverter was good for running a good quality charger, as the charger would ramp up the voltage to over 15 volts to rapidly finish up the last 15% of the charge. Nowhere near as good a system for more than a couple batteries, the advantage was in the ability to "steal" power from the Tacomas battery to charge the trailer when sitting. Also, totally silent, and as soon as we go somewhere, the truck battery would recharge itself.
It seems that folks like to poopoo using the alternator, but the fact is the Tacoma would run on about .4 gallons an hour, while puting out anywhere from 15-80 or so amps. I now have a small genset, and it's a cheap pain in the ass. We haul an ATV, an extra water tank, and all the usual camping stuff. The generator is an extra 70#, plus jerry can, plus the space. There is no way I would ever be able to amortize the cost of a Honda 2000,(which is a slick machine) over just idling our current truck, a 3.7L F150. And I'm not sure why anyone posted that vehicles "don't like to idle for extended periods". Not an issue with a modern engine. The F150 uses around .3 GPH, and I plan to go back to using setup.
And guess what, you can run a truck, anytime, anywhere, no extra fuel can, maintenance, or noise. Our setup was a godsend in the "no generators" loop at the grand canyon. Oh yeah, the new F150 comes with a beast of an alternator, over 150 amps.
