Am interested in a Momentum or Ducthman Voltage toyhauler. Have a couple questions as this will be our first Toy Hauler.Do they come with inverters like on a class A. We'd like to be able to watch television without running a generator to do it.With these larger 5th wheels are you able to still camp in National Parks? We like to ride dirtbikes and would prefer to stay places where we can unload and go riding directly. We have a fear that this things are so big they don't fit anywhere, what has been you experience.

Typically, no, there is not an inverter as standard equipment. Some are including them as part of the residential fridge upgrade, but doubt they are big enough to use for other purposes. One could always be added with a little work.As far as too big, you are correct that it is a concern, however most National Parks dont allow OHV use. National Forests do, and spost will tend to be on the small side. I would expect that you will have to uload the toys before backing into your spot. Places in the SW will tend to be much more open as will ATV/SxS catering areas like Hatfield/McCoy.

I agree that you can not ride anything that is not street legal in a National Park. National Forests are another matter, and there I would expect to be able to ride, providing it is not under a fire restriction, or other local reasons to prevent you from riding.Some of the national parks I have been in, you can not back in, then use the rear ramp. Some you can. Most BLM Land, there would not be 'assigned' parking, or limits to length. I am going to make the same difficult decision, and might end up with a toyhauler motorhome to avoid the backing in after unloading problem. It is so easy to just raise the jacks, pull out 10 feet, then unload or load the toys, then pull back into the sight out of the roadway. Or drive into the site, and fold down the ramp into the roadway long enough to load or unload something. I fell in love with the 45' long Heartland with two bathrooms! It would allow easy wheelchair access to the lower level tub/shower. However that length! And I want room for the wheelchair in the truck, so it would mean converting a Econoline van to a dual wheel hauler, or some other sort of truck, such as a regular cab truck with 200" wheelbase (yes they make a cab and chassis with 108" cab to rear axle length) and then install a 72" long sleeper cab (like used on big rigs) and still have about 5 - 6 feet left over for a small utility type bed on the very back. Yet that would be one REALLY long truck, pulling a equally long trailer, with limited ability to make u-turns or pull into a tight National Park campground. It would be great at a BLM location, or other open areas!You might find a need to have a smaller trailer in the 25' length for camping in the National Parks, then take the big trailer to the BLM or other off road areas. Just a thought?Good luck!Fred.

It just depends, some Toy Haulers, usually the nicer ones sometimes have an inverter for the TV system, but you need to verify this. These are sometimes part of a factory installed package. A dealer, or you, can install one as long as you know how to and use heavy gauge wiring and ideally keep it close to the batteries. That's the next thing you need to address is a good bank of batteries. Depending on the National Park you may have some troubles with the near 40' Toy Haulers. It's not always the length of the site itself, but the turn around and space to actually back into a site. Pick some of your favorite site and see if they will accommodate the larger Toy Hauler. Older ones are the ones least likely. You are going to be limited to where you camp and ride if you are trying to stay in any National Park or most State/USFS/COE sites unless they specifically state they allow off road ATV/MX bikes. That said places like the Paiute trail have great places to camp, you're probably likely to find some places in NM to camp and ride.

Inverters are pretty easy to install. I installed a 1,500 watt inverter/charger in my motorhome in 97. It replaced my charger. Mostly I do not use it anymore, because you can not run a microwave on MSW power and keep it working right (I had to replace the microwave due to very slow cooking speed after using it on the inverter about 4 times for about 2-3 minutes each time). Mostly I use a portable inverter that plugs into a cigarette lighter. I installed a cig lighter receptacle on both sides of my TV (VCR On one side, TV plugs in on the other) and can run the TV with a 150 watt inverter. It also has plenty of power to run a laptop and the satellite receiver at the same time. I saw a 500 watt Coleman brand inverter at Costco a few years back for $40. It makes a lot more sense than having someone install one at the factory for a couple thousand dollars. I many times would run the TV and satellite on the small inverter, even if I was running the generator, then I would not need to stop the program when I shut off the generator and get it all going again when the inverter was on, and plugged back in. The satellite takes about 3 minutes to tune in and receive the 'OK' to start working after a power failure. Your stock battery power is not enough to run a large inverter anyway. Probably comes with a pair of group 27 batteries, or perhaps smaller group 24? A pair of 220 amp hour golf cart batteries is what you need. It will store 220 amp hours at 12 volts and comes in two 'easy to carry' 6 volt batteries only 67 pounds each. Also solar panels. Not the $800 50 watt panel that the Factory offers. How about a pair of 120 watt panels for $125 each? Controller for $35, and make your own mounts from 2" angle aluminum at Home Depot for $8. Finish this off with $50 worth of #10 direct burial UV rated wire (home depot) and you can wire it all up yourself. IT is as easy as a dot to dot drawing you might have done as a kid. . . SunElec.comSolarOnSale.com I bought my pair of 120 watt panels from them on sale for 'only' $429 in 1999. The prices have fallen dramatically since 2007. Your RV will use 35 amp hours daily just to run the refrigerator, CO and propane detectors. Anything else will take even more power. I have gone though 120 amp hours in one night, so my 400 watt solar system is matched to my power hungry needs! 35 AH is about what one of my 120 watt panels can make in one day.Fred.

It's not just an inverter that you would be using but a fairly large battery bank as well. At least 4 deep cycle batteries. A solar panel option in the area of 300+ watts would be another good option. I don't ride dirt so cant be much help their. If your not hardcore dirt have you thought about dual sport bikes like a KLR? Street legal they can ride in the parks to the off road areas...

Inverters on Toyhaulers | Good Sam Community

trail-explorer
Explorer
Feb 05, 2015
jk123 wrote:

With these larger 5th wheels are you able to still camp in National Parks? We like to ride dirtbikes and would prefer to stay places where we can unload and go riding directly. We have a fear that this things are so big they don't fit anywhere, what has been you experience.

Depends on the size of the campground in the park as well as the size of the toy hauler you get.

Dirt bike riding in national parks, mostly no, because they aren't street legal, and I haven't run across a nat'l park yet that has areas for OHV usage.
WhitehouseLV
Explorer III
Feb 02, 2015
Can't speak for Roosevelt National Forest, but 90% of our camping is in National Forest. We mostly boondock, so its never a concern finding a spot, but have camped in several National Forest Campgrounds. My experience is that if its listed as 35' we can usually get our 40' TH in the site. You'll need to do your due diligence. Whenever we are in close proximity to a Forest Service or National Park Campground we try and scope it out so that if we ever stay we have a good idea on which sites will accommodate our toyhauler.

Sometimes the site requires us to either unload before starting backing into it or when we are partially backed in.

Forest Service Campgrounds can be an enjoyable experience especially after they close for the season. :)
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jan 31, 2015
Hi 1l243,

Then look for poly panels with bypass diodes between each cell. You may wish to consider MPPT as that type of controller, apparently, does better in shade than pwm. I know it boosts the cost. My system does 17 amps at noon in perfect solar conditions in June, and about 7 amps in leafy shade. In rain I get 3 amps.

1L243 wrote:
Solar panels are in my future my only problem when dry camping I like to park in the shade as temps can get in the upper 90's. don't know how much help the solar will be in my case...Large portable panels would be a pain to move arouund.
1L243
Explorer II
Jan 31, 2015
I dry camp about 30+ days a year. Watching tv with satellite a few hours a day will make even a large battery bank draw down after a few days requiring daily generator run time to keep the batteries up. I have also converted most of my lights to LED. Solar panels are the way to keep the batteries up so les gen run time is needed.. Solar panels are in my future my only problem when dry camping I like to park in the shade as temps can get in the upper 90's. don't know how much help the solar will be in my case...Large portable panels would be a pain to move arouund. Now that solar systems in the 300w + have come down it maybe worth the effort...
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jan 31, 2015
Hi Joe,

Most RV's are not set up well to charge from the alternator. I'm glad yours is.

Solar tends to extend the lifetime of the battery bank, especially if it is large enough to equalize the house battery bank. It means that coming out of storage the battery bank is at 100% state of charge. It may obviate the need for a generator when coupled with an inverter. It tends to be a one time "set it and forget it" cost unlike a generator which wants to be fed fuel.

My solar system has paid for itself in campground fees saved.

joebedford wrote:
Not sure why you concluded solar is required. I suppose if one were to boondock for a long time, solar would be good. I don't, so I don't need solar.
2btowed
Explorer
Jan 31, 2015
Most NP do not allow OHVs,ATVs,however if you are road legal and have plates,you can ride in Park.Do not have a piped bike and expect not to be stopped!Be cool and all is well.Many of the NPs have BLM land or National Forest next to them,so you camp outside NP and hike in or some have access in and parking for OHVs,just a short walk to shuttle busses,and with an America Beautiful pass ,all is FREE.Utah is extremely TH and OHV friendly,around their parks.Az is also great,just be street leagal and all is well.For just a TV go small inverter,but need more batts no matter what.
joebedford
Nomad II
Jan 31, 2015
Not sure why you concluded solar is required. I suppose if one were to boondock for a long time, solar would be good. I don't, so I don't need solar.
christopherglen
Explorer
Jan 31, 2015
Depends on what you want to run off batteries. I removed the factory converter, and installed an inverter/charger in its place. Remove the factory power cable from the breaker panel, install it in the inverter/charger, and run a new power cable from there to the factory panel. Inverter now power everything on the trailer. In my case I ran the power cable to a new sub panel, then from the panel to the inverter/charger. I moved the electric water heater, and both ac's to the sub panel. Now everything but the ac's and electric water heater run off the batteries when AC power is not available. I also ran 4/0 cables from the batteries to the inverter/charger, mine is a 3kw unit, large enough to run coffee pot, toaster, tv, and microwave at the same time. It also charges up to 150 amps in bulk.
offtohavasu
Explorer
Jan 30, 2015
You also have to watch the pass through amps on the inverter. A lot of the newer toy haulers, especially Momentum, are running 50 amp service. For two leg service (50 am each), the highest rating I've seen is 30 amps. So when you run on shore power, you risk burning out the inverter running the full 50 amps through it.

You would have to run a sub panel off the main panel and choose which circuits you want to run off of that.
2oldman
Explorer II
Jan 30, 2015
jk123 wrote:
* Solar panels are a must and it sound slike 300-600 watts is the right size coupled with 3-4 golf cart batteries. Do the designers anticpiate this and leave space for additional house batteries ?
Usually. Better check it out first.

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