Hello everyone, been absent for a little. Have my hands full with a ton of work on the remodel. I ended up going with a standard 115VT mini fridge and thought Id take it to the next step and connect an inverter (if this is possible) to keep it running while we are traveling between home and the CGs etc. I found a fairly inexpensive one on Amazon and according to their specs it will handle a mini fridge. My question is can I power the inverter right from the 12VT feeding the camper from the trailer plug? Just grab the hot and the common?Second, what is the best way to switch it between the inverter and a standard 115vt line. I can install the inverter behind the fridge and just access it from the exterior Dometic service door and move the plug from one to the other once we have the standard service connected or should I install a throw switch to switch between power supply's? Does it really matter with the exception of convenience to install a switch?Thanks!Ed Thanks! Ed

You need to connect closer to the camper battery the better. Charge line may not be larger enough wire to handle the load.Keep 12 volt run short while 120 volt can be longer.

"My question is can I power the inverter right from the 12VT feeding the camper from the trailer plug? Just grab the hot and the common?"Depends upon the input power requirements of your inverter, the gauge of wire you have feeding the trailer and what amp fuse/breaker you have on the tow vehicle feeding that line to the camper.

Surge rating should be 10x the running wattage rating of the fridge.And I can only recommend sine wave.Inverter should be close to the battery or the wire size goes up exponentially.I recommend a small transfer switch to integrate with the 120v power.15a ts $50

While the fridge might only draw 80 watts after the compressor is running, it mght very well require a 1200 watt inverter to handle the start up surge of the compressor.I'd test the warm fridge on your proposed inverter before expending any more effort wiring it up.And short and fat cabling is fairly mandatory when wiring an inverter to a battery, even if 10awg can safely pass the 80 watts it might consume after the start up surge

OK, thank you. I think I'm going to hold off until next spring to tackle this one. I really dont have the time to do it correctly right now and we only have one trip to take before I put it away for the winter. Ill pick your brains in the spring and use ICE packs for this trip. Its only a 5 hour drive. I freeze it up over night before we leave.Thanks again Ed

To invert or not to invert | Good Sam Community

Ed-N-Dani
Explorer
Sep 12, 2016
OK, thank you. I think I'm going to hold off until next spring to tackle this one. I really dont have the time to do it correctly right now and we only have one trip to take before I put it away for the winter. Ill pick your brains in the spring and use ICE packs for this trip. Its only a 5 hour drive. I freeze it up over night before we leave.

Thanks again

Ed
landyacht318
Explorer
Sep 12, 2016
While the fridge might only draw 80 watts after the compressor is running, it mght very well require a 1200 watt inverter to handle the start up surge of the compressor.

I'd test the warm fridge on your proposed inverter before expending any more effort wiring it up.

And short and fat cabling is fairly mandatory when wiring an inverter to a battery, even if 10awg can safely pass the 80 watts it might consume after the start up surge
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 12, 2016
Surge rating should be 10x the running wattage rating of the fridge.
And I can only recommend sine wave.
Inverter should be close to the battery or the wire size goes up exponentially.
I recommend a small transfer switch to integrate with the 120v power.
15a ts $50
darsben1
Explorer
Sep 11, 2016
"My question is can I power the inverter right from the 12VT feeding the camper from the trailer plug? Just grab the hot and the common?"

Depends upon the input power requirements of your inverter, the gauge of wire you have feeding the trailer and what amp fuse/breaker you have on the tow vehicle feeding that line to the camper.
enblethen
Nomad
Sep 11, 2016
You need to connect closer to the camper battery the better. Charge line may not be larger enough wire to handle the load.
Keep 12 volt run short while 120 volt can be longer.

Forum Discussion

To invert or not to invert

About Technical Issues

Related Content

Inverter install

Inverter ?

Inverter Upgrade

inverter question

what size inverter.