Alternator Question

I come from airplanes and race cars so I love redundancy. There is your answer from me. :)

If you have "Enough" solar, then the 130 amp 12 volt single alternator will be plenty of power. That is over 1400 watts!

Your solar system can be mounted on the RV roof, and provide about 600 - 800 watts of power. To bad that most RV manufactures sell solar system as a $800 200 watt option. You can buy solar panels for about $1 per rated watt. A 50 amp solar controller is not to expensive anymore. For reference back in 1999, I spent $429 for a 120 watt solar panel and $300 for a 50 amp controller. Now the system can be bought for about 1/3 to 1/4 that price.

SunElec.com

As for the inverter, I like Trace and would consider a 2000 watt pure sine wave model, might have a 30 amp built in transfer switch, and then feed two RV circuits with that 30 amp transfer switch on two separate 20 amp circuit breakers.

Outback is another great inverter. and they make some great inverter chargers too.

How many batteries? I had 4 on my motorhome, 440 amp hours at 12 volts. This is about 4 KW of power, plenty to run the RV 48 hours without sunshine. There is no need to add more weight to the RV.

I had considered installing a set of 4 6 volt batteries in series, then a 4 KW inverter at 24 volts to run the A/C and other 120 volt loads in the trailer. Then get the Ford with dual alternators, and change one from 12 volts to 24 volts. However I found all this kinda impractical, and gave up on that idea. Having lived in my RV over 2 years, I found that the 4 KW gas generator runs fine, needs to run once every couple of months to keep varnish from building up on the carburetor float and other parts. The 400 watt solar system is plenty of power to run days at a time without running the generator - I only ran it a few hours in January when I was parked more than 10 days in a row. Driving was plenty of power to recharge the batteries. In the summer, I would run the generator more, even while driving if I wanted to run the rooftop A/C. But the solar system was recharging the batteries, and I could watch TV for 8-10 hours per day, via Direct TV receiver.

I would recommend a 600 watt solar system, and if you plan on boondocking in summer, then a 3,600 watt LP generator, or 4 KW gasoline one. Either will run the rooftop A/C.

You should also consider joining the Escapees club. They have reasonable rates, can stay there for about $15 a night + electric costs. You can buy a site in one of their parks, such as Congress AZ, near Quartzsite, or Coursegold CA, near Yosemite, or one in Oregon or Washington.

Fred.

I prefer simplicity of the single alternator. Good chance it will last 200,000+ miles and serve you well.

With decent solar (250w to 800w) you will not be pulling much if anything from the truck.

Hi,

I would love to have a second alternator. One for the house, one for the chassis. I'd have them both as heavy duty.