I'm in the process of purchasing an Outdoors RV Creekside 20FQ. I'm having the dealer add a few things such as a 150 watt solar system and a Go Power 600 watt inverter. I will have two Lifeline AGM 6 volt batteries with 220AH. I would like to mount the inverter in the pass-through area near the batteries and then add a 30 amp plug to the output of the inverter. When dry camping, the shore power cable will be plugged-in to the inverter to supply power to the electrical outlets in the trailer. When running the inverter, the converter will be turned off, the fridge and water heater will be on propane. I have looked at the two AC appliances that we might use and each one is 200 watts or less and would only be used for a few minutes each day. We would not have more than one appliance turned on at the same time. Other usage would be to charge cell phones or a laptop computer.The dealer is saying that I will quickly run out of battery power by plugging the shore cable into the inverter. I don't understand why because the only AC power consumption will be the appliances plugged-in to the outlets. The dealer says that the only way they will do this type of modification is if I have four 6 volt batteries with a 2500 watt inverter. Am I misunderstanding something? Can I supply power to the trailer's electrical outlets as described above?

Unless I'm mistaken this means feeding several receptacle branch circuits with one power source. Jpining the wires ino onr circuit

600 watts divided by 120v is 5 amps, so you won't have much power available.You might be better off to have one outlet installed and powered from the inverter. Anything you want to plug in can be plugged in to that one outlet.

MikeInOregon wrote:The dealer is saying that I will quickly run out of battery power by plugging the shore cable into the inverter. I don't understand why because the only AC power consumption will be the appliances plugged-in to the outlets. The dealer says that the only way they will do this type of modification is if I have four 6 volt batteries with a 2500 watt inverter.It never ceases to amaze me how otherwise supposed professionals can be so ignorant when it comes to electricity. He's either that, or dishonest, or isn't paying attention to what you're saying.You'll be just fine with your intended use.

Hi,You do need to disconnect the converter and set the fridge to propane. Of course the water heater would overload the inverter--so it needs to be on propane too.Be aware that a 200 watt load translates to 20 amps of load on the battery bank.

I have 2 6v batteries and a 150W purse sine wave inverter connected to one of the outlet circuits via a 15a transfer switch. In fact it's on right now, charging my laptop as I type this. It's all the power we need to charge phones/tablets/laptops and watch TV. Anything bigger would kill the batteries too quickly.Of course with 4 batteries and a 2500w inverter you could run the microwave for 3 or 4 minutes also....

Use inverter to power electrical outlets | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Jan 14, 2015
Ok, rounding shamlessely your pair of GC-2 AGM's hold about 1KWH of usable power (The rest should be held in reserve) so you can not figure out how much time (5 hours) your appliances can operate off fully charged batteries.

I would not bother with a 30 amp plug on a 1000 watt or less inverter, the 15 amp and a dogbone is good, but even better idea would be to route wire from the inverter to the place(s) you wish power to be delivered, in those places install a second outlet, make it red or orange (indicating Emergency Power) and plug into it when you wish to burn battery power instead of shore power.

You might wish to leave the Television plugged into the inverter full time.
LaunchnRetrieve
Explorer
Jan 14, 2015
MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
But but but you are charging me a hundred dollars to pull a tooth and your technique is string and a door knob?

Well, it's better than a punch in the mouth!
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Jan 14, 2015
But but but you are charging me a hundred dollars to pull a tooth and your technique is string and a door knob?
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jan 14, 2015
Hi Mike,

DIY on the solar is probably easier than the inverter.
BFL13
Explorer II
Jan 14, 2015
Stealer prices are as amazing as hardware store prices for solar. They prey on the unwary who have never checked with "real solar" dealers or looked at eBay for controller prices.

On a local RV dealer's shop I saw a Go-Power 160w "kit" going for $875

Meanwhile an hour down the road you can get those two 80w panels for about $150 each and you can get the same sort of controller for under $30 on eBay if you wait the three weeks snail mail. Buy some wire for $50? and you are in for no more than $380 instead of $875 AND there is no installation cost for a portable kit anyway. Don't think of getting the Stealer to install anything! Yipes! :(
Community Alumni
Jan 13, 2015
You should also get prices elsewhere for the solar system. I bet you'll find out you can get the same solar system installed elsewhere for half the price the dealer quoted you. Good luck!
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Jan 13, 2015
2oldman wrote:
MikeInOregon wrote:
The dealer is saying that I will quickly run out of battery power by plugging the shore cable into the inverter. I don't understand why because the only AC power consumption will be the appliances plugged-in to the outlets. The dealer says that the only way they will do this type of modification is if I have four 6 volt batteries with a 2500 watt inverter.
It never ceases to amaze me how otherwise supposed professionals can be so ignorant when it comes to electricity. He's either that, or dishonest, or isn't paying attention to what you're saying.

You'll be just fine with your intended use.

That's how I set my inverter up, ie, I plug the shore cord into the inverter. You need to remember to turn off the battery charger however, or you can run your battery down quickly, maybe that's what the dealer did not know. I turn off ALL breakers, except the Main and the GFI breaker. The inverter powers all my outlets. Several of us on this forum are using this method.
MikeInOregon
Explorer
Jan 13, 2015
smkettner wrote:
You have a good handle on what you want and what works.
Dealer, not so much.

Are you sure you want to pay the dealer for these options?????

I would just take the trailer with a single group 24 and do my own work.

I'm new to the RV world, so a little apprehensive about doing the work myself. I will have the dealer install the solar system, but not not the inverter. I'll do some reading, watch some YouTube videos, and probably tackle the inverter myself. When I have the trailer at my house I'll have time to look it over, get familiar with the systems and then start working on my own projects.

Thanks to everyone for your input!
MrWizard
Moderator
Jan 13, 2015
Mike
yes you can do that, quite a few people do the same thing
the devil is in the details, forgetting the converter etc.. does the fridge have an ice maker (turn it off), the TV etc.. will consume some small amount of power, even NOT turned on
some people fine running a dedicated circuit, the easiest route, that way nothing is forgotten and left on or plugged in
the dealer is probably convinced you can't/wont turn off the converter, and of course he would like to sell you the extra batteries and bigger inverter
time2roll
Nomad
Jan 13, 2015
You have a good handle on what you want and what works.
Dealer, not so much.

Are you sure you want to pay the dealer for these options?????

I would just take the trailer with a single group 24 and do my own work.

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Use inverter to power electrical outlets

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