12 volt dc to 120 ac

[surfbeetle]

I am thinking of getting an inverter to power the 120 volt ac for my fifth wheel. I want to power the Air Conditioner and the Fridge. (stupid fridge came only as a two way, not a three way). Any suggestions? Should the inverter be mounted in the trailer, (it has two deep cycle batteries) or should I mount it in the truck and then run the AC power cord up to it? Or is there some way to generate 120 v ac from the truck's engine to power the trailer?

 

[jkern]

that is going to take a huge inverter to do that, and your batteries will only last a short time. figure out the total watt draw of the two, add that together then divide that answer by 12 and that will be the total amp draw from the batteries. i bet it will be alot, might not be able to find an inverter that is big enough. sounds to me like you just need a stand alone generator that can run while moving.

 

[GFritsch]

Run the fridge on the propane mode. Use generator or plug in for air. Looked into inverters for my camper for same reasons, and wasn't practical. Would need a whole bank of batteries with industrial converter, and some way to keep them charged anyway. (too much load for the alternator, or solar panel). Smaller inverters are handy for loads up to coffee pots, and TV type appliances. Run this inverter off your trailer batteries. Hopefully your trailer batteries are charged from your truck when running. Make sure you have an isolater between the two so you don't kill the truck batts.



If you get a generator consider propane -- it can be piped into your existing propane system.



Good luck--Greg

 

[OTRPU]

I remember when I had that idea, got suggestions like would need a third trailer to haul the battery bank to run it, then need a generator anyway to recharge the thing daily. Sad as it is it just isn't practical. Might consider the small evaporative coolers I've seen popping up. Trouble with them is they don't work well where there's any humidity.



Cheers,

Steve J.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

TOO bad Honda or one of the other major outfits doesn't make a engine powered AC for folks who do lots of warm climate RVing - sorta inefficient to run an engine to power a generator to power an AC, when one engine could do it all at once...

 

[y-knot]

You can add an Inverter to the trailer, it would not be practical to add it to the truck, the trailer is where the power is needed. I have a very similar case, I use it to power the refrigerator while we are traveling, and for extra light and convenience. I installed a 2200 Watt inverter and used tow optima red top batteries to power it. The refrigerator is a small draw item, and no problem but the AC unit is around 13 amps 120V, and will quickly drain the batteries. What I did was to install another automatic transfer switch, so the first TS has shore as it's default power and generator as the secondary. That then feeds the second TS as the main power, with UPS (battery) as the secondary. With this set-up, the transfer will always be automatic, and there will also never be a need to worry about any two systems operating at the same time, so it is safe with know chance of a back feed.

To recharge the batteries while traveling, the small 20A circuit provided by the 7-pin plug is not big enough. It would do fine if you only wanted to keep them fresh, but not if you plan on running appliances while on the go. I ran a 100A (#2) line, out of welding cable, to the rear of my truck and plug in the trailer with a 175 A quick battery connector. That then runs through a isolator and then to the batteries. The system works, but when all added up it will run about 1500. 00 to install. I use my system for small drain items, refrigerator, clocks, lights, so forth, not to run the AC. It is large enough to run the AC, and will even run my large air compressor, but it was not intended for that. Good luck in your quest.