Inverter Question on where power will be supplied

Oregon_Camper

Well-known member
While I wait for our new Big Horn 3160 to arrive, I pass the time by thinking of things I can do and how the trailer will come from the factory.

So, question time....

I know the trailer comes with an inverter, but I'm not sure which outlets will have 110 power from the inverter, while we are not not on shore power. We dry camp about 95% of the time, so I'll be changing from 12v battery to 2x6v Trojan batteries.

Any ideas?

 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Only the Refer will be powered by the Inverter. If you end up changing to heavier/more batteries to be able to invert power for more AC using items, you'll want to upgrade the Heartland supplied inverter.

Since you will be dry camping most of the time, I'd strongly consider a couple of 120 watt solar panels.
 

Oregon_Camper

Well-known member
Thanks for the quick reply. Knowing that the inverter only powers the refrig, I will be changing that upon arrival. I have no need to use my batteries to cool the refrig when propane does the job.

I'd was hoping the inverter would be tied to the plugs by the bed at least, so I can charge my phone at night. Even better would be one plug hot in the kitchen in order to use a coffee maker.
 

branson4020

Icantre Member
OK, there is some confusion here. Your rig only comes with an inverter if you ordered it with the residential refrigerator option. That would be a refer that runs ONLY on 120V AC - not propane. If you did not order that option, then your coach does not come with an inverter.
 

Oregon_Camper

Well-known member
OK, there is some confusion here. Your rig only comes with an inverter if you ordered it with the residential refrigerator option. That would be a refer that runs ONLY on 120V AC - not propane. If you did not order that option, then your coach does not come with an inverter.

Insert super sad face...:(

Guess I know what my first big MOD will be.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Are you sure it comes with an inverter, did you order the residential refrigerator in place of the standard fridge? I am not even sure you can get the residential in the Bighorn line, but you can get a larger 2 door fridge that runs LP and 120v.

You might want to check with your dealer or if you have the assigned VIN you might check with Heartland direct.
 

Oregon_Camper

Well-known member
Are you sure it comes with an inverter, did you order the residential refrigerator in place of the standard fridge? I am not even sure you can get the residential in the Bighorn line, but you can get a larger 2 door fridge that runs LP and 120v.

I am not sure. My wife and I looked at more 5th wheels than I can even remember...so I think I might have overlooked that when we ordered the 3160. We don't have residential refirg...we have the 2 door (12.7 cu ft) version. Under no circumstance would I want a residential refrig as we camp without power 95% of the time.


You might want to check with your dealer or if you have the assigned VIN you might check with Heartland direct.

Funny thing...I JUST got an email response from Mike Moreland (West Coast Heartland Rep) and he confirmed I will not have an inverter.

Now I know for sure what my first MOD will be. :D
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
OK - so if Mike confirmed no inverter, this implies, no residential refer. This is good for you as a boondocker 95% of the time. Run that refer on propane and you'll be good to go for a long time.

Back to your desire to invert DC to AC to run things in your coach, now you can start a list of all the items in your coach you'd like to invert. From there, you'll have a sense of what size inverter and battery bank you'll need.

Some have wired in their inverters to the whole coach using a transfer switch. Others have pulled circuits they wish to invert, out of the AC panel and put them in a sub-panel and wired that into their inverters with built-in transfer switches or used an external transfer switch.

Lots of things for you to think about but you're starting out with a clean slate, so you can do anything your budget allows :)
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
You could buy a small portable genset to carry in your TV like we do. We use it when we want 120V and to charge the battery. Solar panels are another choice. Look around your coach when you get it...you might find a 12V cell phone plug to charge your phones. Ours is in the kitchen by the stove vent.
 

Oregon_Camper

Well-known member
You could buy a small portable genset to carry in your TV like we do. We use it when we want 120V and to charge the battery. Solar panels are another choice. Look around your coach when you get it...you might find a 12V cell phone plug to charge your phones. Ours is in the kitchen by the stove vent.

Everyone....Thanks for all the help and advise :)

I have a small Yamaha generator already...and I put it to work on trips over 5-6 day, as my 2x 6volt Trojan battery setup in my prior trailer did a great job for us.


My hope for the inverter was to have a few outlets that I could use without the generator

The goal was to be able to charge my 3x GoPro cameras (we ride dirt bikes and keeping the batteries charged is #1 goal)

Secondary would be to charge my laptop to edit the GoPro videos.

Finally, my wife wanted to add our “old” Keurig coffee maker to this trailer. She gets up WAY early and running the generator isn’t an option.
 

branson4020

Icantre Member
That is exactly the way I set up our rig, and pretty much for the same reasons :). Watch TV and charge stuff at night, run coffee maker and toaster first thing in the morning without firing up generator. An easy mod for just 1-2 circuits. Now that we have solar panels too, I never need the generator except for air conditioning or winter camping.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...

Everyone....Thanks for all the help and advise :)

I have a small Yamaha generator already...and I put towork on trips over 5-6 day, as my 2x 6volt Trojan battery setup in my priortrailer did a great job for us.


My hope for the inverter was to have a few outlets that Icould use without the generator

The goal was to be able to charge my 3x GoPro cameras (weride dirt bikes and keeping the batteries charged is #1 goal)
Secondary would be to charge my laptop to edit the GoProvideos.

Finally, my wife wanted to add our “old” Keurig coffeemaker to this trailer. She gets up WAYearly and running the generator isn’t an option.

My old truck didn't have usb ports in it, so I bought a cigarette lighter inverter/adapter that has both 110 and usb ports for charging stuff while on the road.

You can get them at Camping World, Walmart, Lowe's and Home Depot, and probably most truck stops.
 

Oregon_Camper

Well-known member
That is exactly the way I set up our rig, and pretty much for the same reasons :). Watch TV and charge stuff at night, run coffee maker and toaster first thing in the morning without firing up generator. An easy mod for just 1-2 circuits. Now that we have solar panels too, I never need the generator except for air conditioning or winter camping.

Sounds like I'm going to have to bribe you for more information on how to do this. I can do the work, I just need help understanding the process. Youtube has become a resource of mine to search out "how to" stuff.

If you have any pictures and parts needed, that might be all the help I need
 

marvmarcy

Well-known member
I highly recommend you look at this site: www.jackdanmayer.com. Jack explains what you need for just about any inverter installation and solar installation. I installed a 30A subpanel and Magna 2812 w/ four big 6V batteries. I keep the bats up with solar panels and genny. I did it right and it performs stunningly, but it isn't cheap.
 

pegmikef

Well-known member


Finally, my wife wanted to add our “old” Keurig coffee maker to this trailer. She gets up WAY early and running the generator isn’t an option.

FWIW we struggled with the coffee thing too and then solved it by digging out our old camping coffee pot from our Coleman stove/tent trailer days and can use it where ever we go because it doesn't require electricity since it cooks on the stove. Works great and when ready we pour it into a pumper thermos and have fresh coffee all morning.
 

travelin2

Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
FWIW we struggled with the coffee thing too and then solved it by digging out our old camping coffee pot from our Coleman stove/tent trailer days and can use it where ever we go because it doesn't require electricity since it cooks on the stove. Works great and when ready we pour it into a pumper thermos and have fresh coffee all morning.

Our son bought us the Aeropress coffee maker.. If you can boil water, you can make coffee. Not sure how to add a link with Tapatalk but you can Google it or look on Amazon for details.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
...Finally, my wife wanted to add our “old” Keurig coffee maker to this trailer. She gets up WAY early and running the generator isn’t an option.

The demand on the batteries to run the Keurig via inverter is likely to be much larger than what you'll use to charge your GoPros and laptop. She may have no interest in it, but you might want to buy her a nice French press. Some people love coffee made with them. Boil water on the stove and add it to the press :)

Another thought to help your coach batteries last a "little" longer is to recharge your GoPro and laptop batteries in a DC to DC fashion. Inverting DC power to AC power to convert back to DC power to charge the other batteries carries an efficiency penalty of some percentage of your coach batteries.
 

Invizatu

Senior Road Warriors
Another option that's easy and not too costly is to.... What I did was mount a 1000 watt Zantrex inverter in the storage bay on the inside of the wall from the batteries and when boondocking I plug the trailer's 50 amp cord into it using 2 dogbones 50 to 30 and 30 to 20 & flip off the breaker for the converter.
When time to charge the batteries, hook trailer power cord to generator or pedestal and flip converter breaker back on. $350 for inverter / battery cables / dog bones. With 3 12 volt batteries, we can run the trailer for about 10 hours ( Television / sat dish / sound system / lights / furnace ), Run Water heater and fridge on propane. Good luck, and let us know what you end up doing.
 

Benje640

Member
The refrigerator runs on propane or 110, but you still have to have 12 volt power to run the electronic controls in the refrigerator while on propane.

On the inverter topic, make sure to get a "full sine wave inverter". They are more expensive but are required to run most chargers, laptops etc...

I dry camp a lot as well and use solar to recharge my batteries. I also ran some 12 volt wiring and use cigarette lighter sockets and USB chargers for cell phones, tablets and the like. Converting 12 volt to 110 is very inefficient, especially if you then use an adapter to convert it back to 12 volt.
 
Top