Newbie RV'r

[mmihalek]

I've rented a few RV's over the years, but finally taking the plunge and buying a Grand Design 2150RB. I'll be towing it with my 2014 Ram Sport 1500 with a 5.7 Hemi and 3.92 gears.

My plan is to work out of it for three months up in Alaska, starting in early July. Just me and the cat!

I plan on getting a quiet generator, but worried about power without having to run the generator at night just to watch tv. Not sure how the battery wiring is to hook up an inverter into the front storage area. I wouldn't be using a whole lot of power. TV, Blu-ray and a laptop and keeping my phone and a Verizon mi-fi device topped off. Not sure if solar would be an option as it is often cloudy. Plus I would still need to wire in the inverter. If anyone has suggestions as to what they would do, I'd love to hear them!

[SouthTX]

I have 2 T105 6v golfcart batteries and they easily run everything we need overnight. We could probably go several nights with a little conservation, but we always run the generator during the day the few times when we don't have shore power.

The only things that don't run on 12 volt are the TV's and satellite receiver and I have small individual inverters for them. If I boondocked more often, I might install a central inverter, but there is more power loss (overhead) with larger inverters and these work well for me.

You're probably not going to need AC so you could get by with a pretty small generator. There are some nice quiet ones that don't use much fuel. Really no need for a big inverter unless you just want one so you can dry your hair.

[mmihalek]

Thanks for the info! Where do you keep the 6v batteries? The tv is the biggest question for me. I thought about getting a small inverter for that and seeing if a friend can tap power from a light or something like that.

[Cate&Rob]

Thanks for the info! Where do you keep the 6v batteries? The tv is the biggest question for me. I thought about getting a small inverter for that and seeing if a friend can tap power from a light or something like that.

mmihalek - inverters use a lot of DC (battery) power. It is best to locate the inverter close to the battery(s) to keep the 12VDC cables as short as possible and run a 120VAC extension cord if necessary to reach the TV. We seldom use our inverter, so have it wired to a single dedicated outlet inside the RV. If we have no shore power, we can use that outlet to power the TV or make coffee or whatever. For charging phones, etc . . . install some 12VDC USB ports . . . these are far more power efficient than charging things by 120VAC through an inverter.

Rob

[SouthTX]

Thanks for the info! Where do you keep the 6v batteries? The tv is the biggest question for me. I thought about getting a small inverter for that and seeing if a friend can tap power from a light or something like that.

I installed a second battery box in the front compartment. Easy installation.

The inverters were easy to install, just a 12 volt style plug tapped off a light or whatever I could find handy. Easy to put a USB plug next to it while you're at it. The 12 volt wiring is large enough that there have been no problems. No way to know the exact length or what is on the circuit, but the wireing is cool, has no voltage drop and doesn't blow fuses.

I have a 400 watt inverter for the LR TV and satellite and another 100 watt inverter for the BR TV. The inverters do need to be switched off and on manually as there is overhead even when there is no load.

[mmihalek]

Thanks for the info!