Why would you put a power inverter in a camper?

[StiltzM109R]

What is the point of putting a power inverter in my toy hauler? I see other people putting power inverters in their campers.

[mowermech]

wa8yxm wrote:
I saw a comment about Em-Comm (Emergency Communications)

I have that too, but it all runs on battery direct, no inverter needed.. Save for SOME of the hand held chargers. And even there it is optional I could re-wire.

Yeah, I wondered about that, too. All of my ham radios run on 12VDC, except for the Yaesu FT-101ZD. But then, it stays in the house. I take the FT-897D out to the motorhome for Field Day.
As for "Why an inverter?" I don't know.
73
kj7poe

[wa8yxm]

I saw a comment about Em-Comm (Emergency Communications)

I have that too, but it all runs on battery direct, no inverter needed.. Save for SOME of the hand held chargers. And even there it is optional I could re-wire.

[wanderingbob]

I never go anywhere with out my table saw and air compressor , my 3,500 watt inverter makes it possible !

[2112]

We use ours to watch sat tv and run a fan during overnight parking lot stays or when we reach our destination after hours.

I installed a 400W PSW but your size will very depending on use and battery capacity. Pure Sine Wave inverters have come down in price to the point that a Modified Sine Wave (MSW) unit should not even be considered.

[wa8yxm]

On my RV (A Class A Motor home) I have my choice of SHORE power, Generator or a 2,000 watt inverter.

now for some things, the inverter simply will not cut the current (Air Contitioning for example) but it will run:
A Refrigerator if I choose to convert (Not likely) to a residential type
The Microwave
This computer and all the support electronics for it
The Television I'm watching and all the support electronics for it
The "home theater" radio and you guessed it, all the support....

And an electric razor (Which I almost never use.. Oh I have one, Somewhere, but compared to a mug, brush and Harry's 5 Blade, NO CONTEST)

IT will make coffee in the AM without firing up the generator or tea in the Evening (Thanks for the idea time for tea) I basically have 2KWH of battery power it can convert to 120vac.

And when the park looses power for whatever reason (has happed several times) well I notice, in many cases, ONLY because the internet goes down. (park Wi-Fi) and even then not always.

Some losses were short term "Blinks" (my surge protector holds me off line for 3 mintues, inverter powers everything) TV's and computers do not even blink.

Some .. well we had one case of BANG NO POWER (Title of a thread elsewhere) the thread has to do with a blown power plug but in my case it was a car v/s Utility pole with no winner.

Hurricane Matthew

Fuse failed (took out half the park,, my half, did not loose internet, office is on the other half).

In all cases the Inverter kept me alive and operating at least till I got around to pushing the START button on the ONAN. Then it took over.

[Sandia_Man]

Our TH, like most, has an onboard genny, the last thing I want to do is run it just to watch TV or use our laptop. Although our Onan really could care less what it's powering, it can deliver up to 33 amps and is way overkill when I need maybe 150 watts of AC power to use my hdtv/hd satellite and soundbar. That's where an inverter is priceless, I can power my low current draw AC voltage items without wasting gas and making excessive noise. For microwave, hairdryers and other heavy current draw items I'll simply press the switch that brings the Onan to life. Add a 100 watts of solar per battery and on most days you may not have to fire up the genny at all. Good luck, hope you have many great memories with your TH.

[Boon_Docker]

Good idea, never need 4wd, just a waste.

I use an inverter to charge cell phone, laptop and flashlight.

[time2roll]

StiltzM109R wrote:
What is the point of putting a power inverter in my toy hauler? I see other people putting power inverters in their campers.

You best skip the 4WD too.

[tvman44]

I installed one so the small chest freezer in my unit can run while traveling all day.

[dodge_guy]

I'm finally getting around to putting one in my trailer. It will power my dorm fridge while on the road. You need a good battery bank for it to work for a good days use. And a large solar panel will help with daytime charging.

For me a large group 29 battery with 700 CCA and 210 Reserve capacity will do well. I think it rated around 115ah @20hr (I'm still learning here, some some of the electrical guys may have to correct me.) my inverter is a 1200W unit with auto shutdown. I always have hookups and it will be charged from the truck while on the road.

[RoyB]

Here is a typical 30A Power Distribution scheme... Might show you what all is included in a camper trailer and the different ways things are powered up...


Google image

As you can see almost of the basic items provided in the camper are run from 12VDC. The reason for this is so you can camp off grid without shore power connections... Of course you long term stay is totally dependent on your battery bank capacity.

If you want to have a few 120VAC items while camping off the power grid you will need a Power Inverter setup to give you the 120VAC to power up these items... The downside to this it takes alot of Battery Power to even run the smallest of the Power Inverter. You will need to beef up your DC Power Battery banks to use the Power Inverters for any length of time...

Roy Ken

[Oasisbob]

We use ours for off grid camping to run TV, Cpap machine etc,.

[Georgew48]

Many new campers have residential refrigerators that only run off a/c power. It allows you to run the refer off battery power while you are traveling down the road without having to run your generator.

[bikendan]

Many of us dry camp or boondock, so an INverter, comes in handy when you don't have electric hookups.

We use ours to run the tv and dvd. Also to recharge electronic devices.
That way you don't have to run the generator at night.
You simply run it the next day to recharge the batteries.

If you only camp with hookups, there's no need for one. But that really limits your camping choices.