Hi all! Bought my first TT. A 1987 Fleetwood 25N Prowler. I would Like to run the TT without connecting to shore power. My plan was to get inverter, converter, nice Honda gen (maybe 1Kw-2Kw) and just charge my battery bank with the generator.Power I use is lights, cell phone, laptop and that's it. Everything else is run off propane.The question I have is I have no idea where to start. Wires and electricity confuse me. I hooked up a fully charged deep cycle to the TT and no lights came on. Im not sure what info you all need to help this along, but let me know. I can take pics also

I would start by looking at the circuit box for fuses that may be burnt, you could have a disconnect switch that is used to keep the battery from running down when not in use. If all else fails check the bulbs.

For no lights, check your converter.For power, you may find you don't need more than what you have depending on how long you're out. Like you, I only use battery power for lights and the water pump. Fridge is older and doesn't have 12v-only required parts. Lights are fluorescent (overhead) and LED (reading). I use battery operated LED puck lights for seeing inside cupboards, etc. My water pump is left on all the time, but only kicks in when a faucet is running.For charging my cell phone, I use a 4-D battery pack (02 fan & battery). I have charged it for over a week without changing batteries. Laptop, I limit my use and use the house battery or an external power pack to charge. (portable power pack). I usually only charge once every 4 days due to limited use.I have one 12v group 31 AGM battery for the house. A four-day trip without worrying about power will not even put a dent into the house battery. Although I haven't tried, I suspect with how my battery handles my needs, I could go 2 weeks without recharging. If I need more than that, I would go with a solar power setup rather than the generator - it would be more than sufficient to handle recharging needs without any added cost for fuel.

Here is a little tutorial to get you in the zone:The 12 Volt Side of Life

Everyone was a beginner at sometime and learning about electricity pays dividends when you can look after it yourself. There is plenty of good information that can be had on this site as well as the rest of the inter web. One page that you will find referred to often is the "12 volt side of life", lots of really good information there.Start by checking the fuses, your distribution panel should have one or more fuses that look about 2-3 times bigger than the regular branch circuit fuses. Also look for a battery disconnect switch, on the older rigs, many of them came with them from the factory and are usually close the the distribution panel.Use either a test light or multimeter to check for power on both sides of the fuse, don't rely on a visual inspection, fuses can loo OK, but the filament could be broken.If you don't have a multimeter I would suggest that you get one, you will need it somewhere down the road. The key to successfully diagnosing a problem in your 12V system is to start at the beginning of the circuit and follow it all the way to the end.

Thanks for the info. I have connected to shore power before and everything did work. I also looked for a switch to turn on for the battery power to work. Could not find such a switch, also called the PO and he said there was not such a switch.

Off Grid TT, newbie needs help. Electrical issues!!

47 Replies

westend
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
OnTheProwl wrote:
my pd 9260 is on the way. I have 4 agm batteries 12v at 35 ah. I've been looking at the Honda eu1000 and 2000. Would the 1000 be able to charge my batteries?
You're going to need more batteries than those four 35AH batteries. Unless you are willing to sit inside,be cold, and not use much power, you will either be torturing 130 AH or running the generator a lot. It's better to have a lot of storage (batteries) and charge less. For winter full-timing, I'd recommend 300 AH at a minimum.
Majja13
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
If you havent already convert all your light s to led that you can. I bought mine of ebay and did my entire trailer for around 40.00. Since you are going to be living in it through the winter also remember that the fan on the heater draws a lot of juice as well.
time2roll
Nomad
Oct 23, 2014
OnTheProwl wrote:
my pd 9260 is on the way. I have 4 agm batteries 12v at 35 ah. I've been looking at the Honda eu1000 and 2000. Would the 1000 be able to charge my batteries?
No, get the 2000.
OnTheProwl
Explorer
Oct 23, 2014
tenbear wrote:
The eu1000 is rated at 1000 watts peak, 900 watts continuous.

The 9260 at full output puts out 14.4v at 60A, 864 watts. Since it is not 100% efficient the power it draws along with any other drains in the RV will put the power used at well over 900W. I think you will need the eu2000.

Thanks. I think I will get the 2k.
tenbear
Explorer
Oct 23, 2014
The eu1000 is rated at 1000 watts peak, 900 watts continuous.

The 9260 at full output puts out 14.4v at 60A, 864 watts. Since it is not 100% efficient the power it draws along with any other drains in the RV will put the power used at well over 900W. I think you will need the eu2000.
OnTheProwl
Explorer
Oct 23, 2014
my pd 9260 is on the way. I have 4 agm batteries 12v at 35 ah. I've been looking at the Honda eu1000 and 2000. Would the 1000 be able to charge my batteries?
oughtsix
Explorer
Oct 15, 2014
The single stage controller/charger you currently have will probably take 2 to 3 times longer to charge a battery than a good multistage charger. That is 2 to 3 times the generator run time and fuel costs. Buy a good multistage controller/charger it will pay for itself before the winter is over with.

I also think a solar is a good idea. When you buy a replacement controller/charger I would check to see if it has capabilities to be used with solar panels.

Put skirting around the outside bottom of the trailer. It will pay for itself in warmth and propane saved. Some people just use straw bales others will tell you that straw bales will attract mice and be a fire hazard. Some others prefer foil backed Styrofoam or fiberglass panels.
OnTheProwl
Explorer
Oct 14, 2014
oughtsix wrote:
Is your plan to live in the trailer over the winter?

Yes, I will be living in it during the winter. Any advice?
oughtsix
Explorer
Oct 14, 2014
Is your plan to live in the trailer over the winter?
tenbear
Explorer
Oct 13, 2014
Yes. With a modern converter, the PD9200 or 4600 series, just plug your RV power cord, shore cord, into the generator.