I have a school bus that I am converting into an RV and I'm to the point where I need to start thinking about running wires and getting the electric going. I had a travel trailer a year or so ago and I have a pretty good idea for what I want. I'd like an inverter that comes with the cord so I can plug it into shore power. Going down the road, I'd like for my batteries to power a small electric fridge, some lights, my water pump, and my furnace. Pretty much the same things a regular TT inverter would do plus powering an electric fridge. If I need my A/C going down the road, I can plug into my Honda generators which will be mounted on the rear bumper. I would like an inverter that switches from shore power to DC power automatically. Any recommendations? How many watts will I need to do what I want? I was figuring that a 1000W inverter would be plenty.
2002 Ford F-250 Lariat Crew Cab. 7.3 PSD
1993 International Carpenter School Bus w/7.3L Diesel
2ea. Honda EU2000i Generators in parallel
Myself, 1 wife, 1 son, 1 daughter, 1 dog
I think you need to decide if you are going to run off 20 amps, 30 amps or a 50 amp utility connection.
And is it a built in generator or a portable.
Then you will need to get your distribution panel organized.
Then figure out what goes on the inverter and what does not.
And depending on use you will need to calculate how much battery you will need. A 1000 watt inverter will drain even multiple batteries fairly quick depending on use.
I just finished installing a Xantrex ProSine 2.0 in my 5er. It is a bit more power than what you mentioned, but I tend to subscribe to "More's Law".......More's Better!!! It also has one feature that you didn't really mention and you may or may not need....a built-in 100A 3-stage battery charger. It does have a built-in transfer switch (shorepower to DC). The ProSine 2.0 runs about $1250.
You might also look at the Xantrex 1000 & 1800 watt sine wave inverters. They may be more of what you are looking for. As far as I am concerned, given about a year of researching the various inverter options, I don't believe you can go wrong with Xantrex inverters.
Randy
=====================================================================
2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD D/A
2006 Wildcat 27RLWB 5er
smkettner has it right in that you need a whole system design first.
I use the popular Prosine 2.0 inverter/charger/display with 4 batteries as the basis for my conversion. Expensive. But a 2000w PSW allows you to plug in any tool or appliance that you use at home. The fancy temperature-sensing charger minimizes generator time. The smart transfer switch will allow some charging if your ac needs don't require all the shore power available. (That amperage is also programmable.) More batteries means more time and choice about generator use.
My fridge is ac/dc and there are no other built-in ac draws. That means I only run the inverter when something is plugged in. I'd try to avoid designing in permanent ac draws to avoid the inverter losses. Dc diesel furnace, lights, stereo, whatever.
My upgraded alternator does most of the work to maintain the batteries. A Surepower isolator makes that automatic. A Honda gen is only needed for longer stays without any mileage.
My setup has everything fed from the inverter panel. That means I'm mostly limited to one high wattage ac device at a time. People with larger ac draws (air conditioning for example) would typically split off the heavy loads at an earlier panel and the inverter subpanel would feed lesser loads.
Sure was a pain to make everything as automatic and dummyproof as I could. But I'd highly recommend an integrated system with a display---life sure is easy now and battery management is always under control.
Dan
02 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 long tall home brew conversion
Thanks for all the info! As far as my conversion goes, the electrical part is the only thing I'm not quite sure how to do. I know what I WANT, but how to make it work is another thing. I would also like an inverter that charges the batteries when plugged into shore power or my generators. I'm just not sure how to wire everything up. I also don't want to charge the batteries off of my alternator. I want to keep the engine separate to keep it simple. I'd like the back of my bus the be set up like a TT or 5er as far as electrics go.
Offline
Online
