Whole RV Inverter/Charger
Not a lot of information out there so I figured I'd post here. If like to add an inverter for my 5er, mainly to limit inconvenient trips out to get the generators running for small things. One of ...
Forum Discussion
Apologies for not being part of the discussion, I forgot to subscribe to the topic.
You guys have brought up a LOT of good information and several things I wasn't considering. The fridge running off the inverter by default is one of them. I can definitely see myself forgetting to switch the fridge over to gas when cutting off the generators and just absolutely running my batteries down. With a whole RV inverter, they would default to the 120 inverter any time the generator wasn't running.
There were two drivers for wanting to go whole RV. One, it seems like it would be very difficult for me to re-wire dedicated outlets. Mainly, it is access related. It seems like everything is enclosed in my 5er and I don't know how to access the wiring on pretty much any of it. Are these insulated panels removable? How do all of you guys get to this wiring? This led me to believe that wiring the whole trailer would be easier, as I could "intercept" the shore power input (which is moderately accessible) and only have to deal with the wiring once. Obviously, there are some flaws there.
The other driver was to take advantage of the "assist" function of the Multiplus. I just installed a Micro-Air on the air conditioning and that helped out tremendously, but I still can't do things like get the microwave to start with the AC running. I am going to play around a little more tonight (just installed the MA last night) and see what I can and can't run with the AC. Could be a simple power management problem, like putting the fridge on gas when I want to run the AC and microwave at the same time. I am running a pair of Yamaha EF2000isV2 generators, by the way. Anyways, having the inverter serve the whole RV would allow everything in the RV to be "boosted" by the inverter, namely things that don't plug into an outlet (like the microwave).
The cost of the system the way I described it is definitely excessive. To actually have a usable system, I would certainly have to add a bunch of batteries. I guess I didn't tally up the system as I was designing it. Running two inverters would easily push the system (including batteries) north of $3k. As another poster alluded to, that's an expensive cup of joe.
As far as two inverters, that's another issue altogether. One poster suggested just connect the L1 and L2 lines on my 240V input, essentially creating a 120V system in the entire RV. While that sounds doable, what would happen if I ever did actually connect to 240V shore power? I'm envisioning fireworks, but I may just not be thinking about this right. I ask because this will be a reality. I move into a new house next month and it has a 240V 50A hookup on the side for the garage. I know that I could come off of that and create a 120V 30A hookup, but it seems like I am converting something that my camper can readily accept because I modified the wiring in the camper. Before anyone else says, yes, I know, it's my fault because I am making this an overly complicated Rube Goldberg machine.
I still want to hear what ideas you guys have and any input is still very welcome. It sounds like my inverter idea is biting off more than I was prepared to chew and comes with it's own set of problems. With the price tag ballooning, I'm approaching the territory where an onboard Onan is becoming feasible.
It all boils down to my laziness. I guess maybe broadening my goal may present other options. We have the percolator idea with it's unbeatable KISS allure. What other options to I have to:
1) Be able to run 110V loads in the camper without having to go outside and pull start my two Yamaha's?
2) Allow me to run other power-hungry 110V appliances (microwave, coffee maker) while the AC is on?
You guys don't need to be gentle with me. I understand the lunacy in my requests.
You guys have brought up a LOT of good information and several things I wasn't considering. The fridge running off the inverter by default is one of them. I can definitely see myself forgetting to switch the fridge over to gas when cutting off the generators and just absolutely running my batteries down. With a whole RV inverter, they would default to the 120 inverter any time the generator wasn't running.
There were two drivers for wanting to go whole RV. One, it seems like it would be very difficult for me to re-wire dedicated outlets. Mainly, it is access related. It seems like everything is enclosed in my 5er and I don't know how to access the wiring on pretty much any of it. Are these insulated panels removable? How do all of you guys get to this wiring? This led me to believe that wiring the whole trailer would be easier, as I could "intercept" the shore power input (which is moderately accessible) and only have to deal with the wiring once. Obviously, there are some flaws there.
The other driver was to take advantage of the "assist" function of the Multiplus. I just installed a Micro-Air on the air conditioning and that helped out tremendously, but I still can't do things like get the microwave to start with the AC running. I am going to play around a little more tonight (just installed the MA last night) and see what I can and can't run with the AC. Could be a simple power management problem, like putting the fridge on gas when I want to run the AC and microwave at the same time. I am running a pair of Yamaha EF2000isV2 generators, by the way. Anyways, having the inverter serve the whole RV would allow everything in the RV to be "boosted" by the inverter, namely things that don't plug into an outlet (like the microwave).
The cost of the system the way I described it is definitely excessive. To actually have a usable system, I would certainly have to add a bunch of batteries. I guess I didn't tally up the system as I was designing it. Running two inverters would easily push the system (including batteries) north of $3k. As another poster alluded to, that's an expensive cup of joe.
As far as two inverters, that's another issue altogether. One poster suggested just connect the L1 and L2 lines on my 240V input, essentially creating a 120V system in the entire RV. While that sounds doable, what would happen if I ever did actually connect to 240V shore power? I'm envisioning fireworks, but I may just not be thinking about this right. I ask because this will be a reality. I move into a new house next month and it has a 240V 50A hookup on the side for the garage. I know that I could come off of that and create a 120V 30A hookup, but it seems like I am converting something that my camper can readily accept because I modified the wiring in the camper. Before anyone else says, yes, I know, it's my fault because I am making this an overly complicated Rube Goldberg machine.
I still want to hear what ideas you guys have and any input is still very welcome. It sounds like my inverter idea is biting off more than I was prepared to chew and comes with it's own set of problems. With the price tag ballooning, I'm approaching the territory where an onboard Onan is becoming feasible.
It all boils down to my laziness. I guess maybe broadening my goal may present other options. We have the percolator idea with it's unbeatable KISS allure. What other options to I have to:
1) Be able to run 110V loads in the camper without having to go outside and pull start my two Yamaha's?
2) Allow me to run other power-hungry 110V appliances (microwave, coffee maker) while the AC is on?
You guys don't need to be gentle with me. I understand the lunacy in my requests.
