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Basically RVs use 2 types of
electrical systems. 110v's AC like in your house. And 12v
DC like in your car. The 110v outlets in your RV will
supply power to your household appliances and TVs etc.
This system only works when you plug the trailers or
motorhome shore cord into an outlet at the campground or
at your house. These cords can be 30 amp or 50 amps
depending on the amperage draw of your RV. 30 amp is the
average RV. This allows the use of the roof air
conditioning, microwave oven, electrical outlets,
refrigerator, etc. You must be aware of how many amps each
appliance is drawing. An air conditioner draws about 16
amps. A microwave draws about 13 amps. Converter draws 4
to 6. Add up each item that you have running at the same
time including TV’s, coffee makers. To see what your
amperage draw would be. Larger trailers and motorhomes use
50 amp systems so they can use more/ larger appliances.
Like washers and dryers, ice makers, second air
conditioners, electric water heaters. Something else to
consider is just because you have a 30 or 50 amp plug at
your campsite. Does not mean that you are receiving that
much amperage. Campgrounds may only have so much power to
use. If the campground and all the other campers are using
a lot of power. You will not have the amperage you expect.
The best way to monitor this is with a 110v volt meter.
When volts get low this means you don't have enough
amperage coming in. What should you do. Start shutting
down things that are plugged in like air conditioners,
coffee makers. All of them effect the 110v ac operation.
Another item effecting your 110v service is extension
cords. If you need an extension cord. Make sure that it is
the correct cord. 30-amp system should use 30-amp
extension cord. 50-amp system uses a 50-amp cord. They can
be expensive but it is better than burning up any
appliance or your RV. Plug in voltmeters are available at
your parts and accessories store. Also available to
protect your RV electrical system is called a system surge
protector and ground fault interrupters. These can be
installed two ways. One way is plug your power cord into
it and plug the surge protector into your sites power
source. These can be 30 or 50 amps. The other type can be
hard wired into your system. So you don't have an extra
piece to plug in. What these do is if there is a lightning
strike or a power surge in the campground. The surge
protector will pop. So your RV will not be damaged. The
other protection that these give is if you get a short in
your RV or at your site the occupants won't be
electrocuted. The device will pop until the problem is
fixed. When they pop they can be reset.
The 12v electrical system in your RV operates from power
supplied by a battery or batteries. The power goes from
battery to fuses to lights, furnace, refrigerator, water
heater,... The biggest thing to remember about the 12v
system is that the battery only has so much power in it,
and it can run out of power. The best way to keep your
batteries from going dead is to use your converter to keep
the batteries charged. To operate the converter you must
have 110v ac from your shore cord at the site. What a
converter does is converts 110v ac to 12v dc. Most
converters also charge the batteries at the same time.
Converter size is very important. If you have a large RV
with a lot of lights and 12v appliances. You should have a
larger converter. Generally converters run between 30 amp
and 75 amp output.
If you do a lot of dry camping - which is camping without
hookups, no power, no water. Than you need to understand
your system even more. If you use your battery power all
up the first night. You will need to recharge your
batteries. Other energy saving habits include. Shutting
off lights when not in use. Installing additional
batteries. And recharging the ones you have. The
recharging can be done by either starting the engine of
your motor home, starting your generator, or plug your tow
vehicle into your trailer (if your tow vehicle is equipped
with a charge line). Keep the engines running for a few
hours. Other ways to recharge your batteries are solar
panels. Solar panels on the roof of RV they recharge at a
slow rate. but as long as the sun is out and you are not
using anything. The solar panels also work well at keeping
the batteries up while the RV is not in use.
The other question people have is how can I use my
microwave or other 110v appliance when I am dry camping?
There are two accessories that can do this for you. First
being a generator. This is usually for fifth wheels and
motorhomes. All you have to do is start the generator from
inside your RV. Wait for the automatic change over switch
to switch to generator power. In about 1 minute you will
have 110v power. To power all your ac outlets, generators,
converter, and microwave. Draw backs to using the
generator are: some vibration, some noise, and some
exhaust. It is still better to have the extra electricity.
What size generator do you need? What appliances do you
want to operate? A permanent mount generator can put out
4,000 to 10,000 watts. The average needs are between 4,000
and 5,000 watts. You do have extra maintenance to do
because you have an extra engine. The second appliance
that is available to provide 110v power is an inverter. An
inverter takes 12 dc power and inverts it into 110v dc.
This will only work as long as you have enough battery
power. When using an inverter you don't have any noise or
exhaust. What size inverter do you need? Once again add up
the amps that are drawn from the items you wish to use and
how long you want to use them for. The next thing to find
out is if your batteries are holding that much power.
There are formulas to figure this out. However the easiest
rule of thumb is 1 battery per person plus 1 extra. What
type and size battery do you need? For household usage. A
deep cycle battery should be used. For chassis use a
chassis battery should be used. Match the battery to the
usage. Deep cycle batteries look very similar to
automotive batteries. The biggest difference is that the
plates in the cells go deeper to last longer at providing
daily usage power, and can recharged back to 100%. When
drained to empty automotive batteries don't come back
completely. Care for either is about the same. Check water
in the cells, clean terminals and the top of the battery.
Look for amp hour ratings on the battery. This is how
power capacity is measured. |
