Upgrade Invertor, Feed Existing AC Outlets?

I have a large battery in the back of the truck that I put a inverter on and the shore cord goes into it. It's nice having all of the outlets be live for TV, DVD, radio, phones, etc.

Hi,

If you do it manually you can simply plug in the shore power cord. Turn fridge to gas, turn off the converter and set water heater to gas.

Or you can do a transfer switch with a sub panel. I'm not a fan of complex systems.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
IT IS NOT SIMPLE. Yes a lot of folks have done it, but this is not a laid-back project.

agreed. to do it clean, troublefree and automatic, you'll want/need a transfer switch and a subpanel. First you don't want a case of the inverter AND outside source going to circuits at the same time. Next, you want it to be reliable. And most important you want it SAFE.

I did it, I put the inverter in the pass through close to the batteries and the on/off remote in the living area. Ran the inverter out to a transfer switch which also goes to the 120V line. it is set up so it instantly transfers from 120V to inverter when 120V goes down but waits 30seconds to transfer from inverter to 120V. (on most transfer switches there must be a delay on one transfer)

The transfer switch output goes to a subpanel that is fed from a 30A circuit and ONLY feeds some of the 120V stuff, that way the inverter won't try to run the AC, the fridge on AC, OR the charger, or the HW heater. It only runs the other outlets.

If I loose shore power, and the transfer switch kicks in, the AC will drop out as will the charger and fridge and HW heater on AC.

It's nice now that it is done, but it isn't a easy DIY if you don't have a good gasp of wiring and codes and SAFETY requirements.

I have a 300w Gopower sine wave inverter to power the small stuff such as lap top, netbook, phones, dvd, lcd tv etc. I mounted behind the converter panel. Connected 12v to existing main battery feed. Connected 120v to the two convenience circuits with two transfer switches. No wire to pull, just make connections. Gopower has a provision for a remote power switch so at the touch of the button I have my stuff powered up.

Gopower $172

Prowatt TS $50

Not at all difficult if you done any home wiring.

Plug shore cord into inverter.

Just turn off (unplug) your converter when the shore power cord is doing "whole house." Don't run anything more than what the inverter can handle.

http://forums.trailerlife.com/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26237237.cfm

IT IS NOT SIMPLE. Yes a lot of folks have done it, but this is not a laid-back project.

I have an inverter mounted on the floor just over my house battery compartment. I think it is best if it is close to the battery.

I don't know right off which model or wattage it is. However, I ran a line from it under the dash and up through the corner post of the windshield. Now the TV and DVD plug into it with the inverter end plugged into the inverter. (when on shore power this plug goes into the wall)

That left another plug open on the inverter. I put a strip on it and use it for the phone chargers, a small fan and the bose wave radio which I use instead of the dash.

I also ran a line from a switch at the tv/dvd down the corner post to the dash radio. I can drive and the kids can watch dvd's with the sound through the dash radio and on the rear speakers.

DW and I can talk instead of having to have the TV blaring loud.

Yes, a lot of us have done it and discussed it at length on this board.

Don Rowe site Inverter FAQ
Inverters by Phred