Newbie, many electical questions

[Barko1]

I have a 96 (?) Granby that I recently aquired and put on my F150. I had a local RV place install a bettery that gets charged when I run the truck but can't drain the truck, said I didn't need an isolator, had something. So what do I have and what works. I know that battery gets charged when the truck is running, does that battery get charged if hooked to AC? I doubt it but?? And on AC will that run my furnace fan? How many watts can I run on AC? I have a 1000w generator I can carry in my little trailer so I could plug into that if I needed electricity. My first little trip I ran into some nice 11 degree morning temps, furnace worked well but I didn't want to run it too much for fear I'd drain the aux battery, how long could it run that and I guess what I need is a little battery monitor, any suggestions. Pardon all the questions, I want to get this under control as I retire oin a month and hope to be on the road. !st stop is Death Valley.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

you wrote:

I have a 96' Grandby


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Typically not. The older campers did not have a power converter installed, so when you plug the camper into 110/120V shore power, it will only run the refrigerator (if you have one) and put power at the house outlets in the cabinets. That is about it, unfortuntaly.


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Not unless the camper has a power converter installed (very unlikely your camper has a power converter for how old it is)


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The 1000W generator will be just fine. Most of the FWC campers have a 30amp circut breaker in the cabinets / fuse panel of the camper.


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Always good to be conservative (like you were). Most people can only get 1 or 2 nights of battery power running the furnace on really cold nights before the aux. camper battery will need to get recharged (some how) -- usually by driving your truck.


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Most battery suppliers or automotive stores carry these



Hope this helps.

I'm sure others will chime in with helpful info as well


Have a great new year !




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[Barko1]

Thanks much, very helpful. Will a simple/cheap ac/dc converter that just plugs into the AC outlet and could be wired to the furnace work or would it be smarter to just connect a battery charger to the AC and keep the 12 volt charged while using the furnace?

Little latr but hppy new year.

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Thanks much, very helpful. Will a simple/cheap ac/dc converter that just plugs into the AC outlet and could be wired to the furnace work or would it be smarter to just connect a battery charger to the AC and keep the 12 volt charged while using the furnace?

I have been considering the same alternatives. And if it is a solar charger, is that as good or better? (We just don't use much electricity. We can camp for three days before drawing the house battery down.)

At $150 smackaroos, the batteryminder might be a good way to go...

 

[Barko1]

I was looking at that exact same unit. Put it on the roof and run the line down to the house battery. With that and the little generator in the trailer and a good tank of propane I should be covered.

 

[b team]

I wouldn't bother with that solar system. Id go for around 150W or more.

If you were to get a converter/charger i'd get a quality unit that will maintain the batteries. The converter that is in my camper will cook the batteries if left on. It isn't a charger.

My solar system doesnt keep up with demands (std. party lights, subwoofer, inverter, etc) After 6-8 days the batteries are very week. There isn't enough sunlight in the winter.

To remedy this I charge the batteries with a portable "smart" battery charger. This is powered by a 1000w honda generator.

good luck and keep it simple