Inverter install help

smkettner wrote:
That is beautiful :B

Are you going to connect a remote power switch?

Thank you! I will install a remote switch after I get a custom laser engraved Carling switch from otrattw.com

Nice looking install by the OP.

Wiring an inverter to run the whole trailer is alot more simple than some seem to make it out to be.... Pick up a transfer switch (Go Power makes an easy to wire unit).
Disconnect the main 30A power and converter charger from the control center.
Run a new wire (14/2 household wire from the converter to the transfer switch.
Connect the new converter wire and shore power wire to the shore power input side of the transfer switch.
(leaving the converter wired as it came with the trailer will cause the inverter to attempt to charge your batteries from your batteries.....)
Now run a new section of 30A power cord from the transfer switch house side back to the converter.
Install the Inverter of choice as close as physically possible to the batteries and use the proper guage wire direct from the batteries to the inverter... BTW wire is not cheap but this is the most critical part of the install.. Doing this wrong or using under sized wire will very likely cause a melt down and worse yet a fire.
Also install an appropriately sized breaker at the battery.
Once the inverter is mounted run your 110v wiring (again appropriately sized), from the inverter to the Generator side of the transfer switch.

Now that the wiring is complete remember to turn the fridge to propane only when running the inverter or you will kill your batteries very quickly with the fridge defaulting to shore power.

If you plan to use the microwave (which kills batteries quickly) you should use a pure sine inverter, minimum that may run it is around 1000w if nothing else is running, I use a 1500w.
Modified sine will run the microwave but only at about half it's efficiency.

Good luck with the install and have fun learning just how quickly you can drain batteries.

While pure sine wave is the better way to go it is more costly. A good quality modified sine wave inverter will run most things with no issues.

I should probably mention this... If you have no knowledge of electricity pay a professional to do it properly...

That is beautiful :B

Are you going to connect a remote power switch?

N2GN2 wrote:
Would I want to add the fridge or water heater to the inverter?

No, because they draw too much power.

Install finished!

Same install would have been a complex disaster for me.
I think the OP has found what works best for his needs.

smkettner wrote:
Single circuit for tv and small items, not whole house.

SoundGuy wrote:
Having previously wired in my 1000 watt inverter "whole house" I discovered it was more trouble than it was worth ...

smkettner wrote:
Must have had easy access to where you needed outlets.

Anyone who bothers to follow the link I provided to my inverter pics would see that installation was quite easy since I located the inverter itself inside the front pass through storage compartment where it would be protected from the elements yet within feet of the battery. The inverter output is wired to a junction box where it is then distributed out to dedicated recetacles, two of which are on each side of the queen walk around bed ... too easy. Obviously, since the vast majority of travel trailers also have a front pass through storage compartment inverter installation in any of these would likewise be just as easy. :B

SoundGuy wrote:

smkettner wrote:
Single circuit for tv and small items, not whole house. The 300w avoids pulling wire, just make connections.

As long as you would add the complexity of 1000 watts I would suggest going 2000 watts to run any 120v item. But that is not what the OP is doing.

Having previously wired in my 1000 watt inverter "whole house" I discovered it was more trouble than it was worth as I had to remember to first turn off the converter, make sure the fridge was forced to gas mode, ensure the fridge climate control was off, ensure the water heater electric element was turned off, and check that any other unnecessary power sucking 120 vac device was off or disconnected. Having to go outside at 4 am and trek through the snow to retrieve the main service cable so I could plug it into the inverter output also proved incredibly annoying, to say the least. :M Wiring the inverter in with a transfer switch may have simplified the process somewhat but I instead chose to ditch the "whole house" concept and rewired my inverter with dedicated duplex receptacles - one weather tight Leviton outside, a duplex receptacle on each side of the queen bed, and a fourth at the galley. Now if I lose campground power I simply turn the inverter on with the remote located inside the camper and plug my coffee machine or toaster or whatever into one of those dedicated receptacles. K.I.S.S. :B

Inverter Installation (7 pics)

Must have had easy access to where you needed outlets. Single pull to the main panel and a transfer switch seems easier to me. Then all is used same as plugged in.

Lots of ways to make it work and every RV has different challenges.