110 verse 12volt

[kansasman13]

I'm looking at putting electricity in my camper but I've been reading through the forum and I'm trying to get the big picture on camper electricity. Tell me if i m right here, you can have a 110 volt system that runs right off the powerbox at the campground and you just have regular household outlets or you can have a 12v system that has a battery charged that allows you to run things while unplugged but they would all be the car type plug in correct? Can you run things with a 110 volt system of a battery while unplugged from the powerbox? What the main advantages of 12volt verse 110? Whats good about having both?

[madjack]

K13, I feel going with a 12vdc system is the best...you can camp anywhere your allowed(and then some) whether power is available or not and if I could only have one type of power(DCV or ACV) I would go with DCV....I use a battery with a 3stage charger over it for most needs, with 120VAC only supplying the battery charger and an outlet in the cabin and one in the galley...a system of this type will supply most of your needs regardless of where you are camping.......
madjack

[Sam I am]

K-Man13, My setup is similar to Madjack's. The tear is wired for 12 volt DC lights and receptacles, and I have two 110 volt AC outlets for use if the campground has power. The 110v outlet in the galley is nice for using your kitchen appliances from home, and the one in the cabin can power a small heater on a cold night (keeps the wife happy!). I use a jumpstarter battery which has a charger built in. It works for me.
Madjack is right; this system will work anywhere you camp!
Sam

[Q]

You can indeed run 110 volt ac devices while unplugged from shore power by using an inverter. Any inverter larger than 150 watts should be hard wired to the battery rather than plugged into a car type cig lighter socket.

Q

[Steve_Cox]

Kansasman,

I think you need both 12V and 120V. It would be real inconvenient to plug in the Tear Drop every time I wanted to turn on a light inside. So my lights, RV exhaust fan, and galley water pump are 12Volts. The Air Conditioner, battery charger, and outlets inside and in the galley are 120Volts. I used boat electrical panels because of there compact size.

[madjack]

Q, is absolutely right...I wasn't going to get into pros and cons of inverters in my first response...let my just say that in the case of using an inverter for running 120VAC appliances that there is a 10X increase in amp draw from the battery in the conversion process...any large 120VAC appliance(power useage wise) will soon kill a single(average sized) battery
madjack

[starleen2]

I use 110 v for our trailer and connect it to 30 amp shore power whenever necessary. This will allow for the running of 110 v AC systems, microwave, satellite, TV and refrigerator, details of the wiring box can be found at http://www.txstewartfamily.com/trailer2c.htm. (cover removed for detail and clarity) You could hard wire in an inverter to convert 12v to 110v, however to run the above systems the wattage of the inverter would be immense and drain the battery in a hurry. In a pinch I have a 400 watt inverter that will run a small fan, TV, and satellite.

[Denny Unfried]

I think each application is unique. As for myself, I'm a dry type camper and never stay in improved campgrounds which means I have to contain any power that's needed. I listen to a wind-up shortwave radio but have a TV/VCR and usually watch an old movie every night. My group 24 deep cycle battery can handle that and then some without recharging for a week or two.

I've seen some people try to make teardrops into miniature motor homes with all the appliances and yes you would need to plug into a source to power one but why not just move up into a larger trailer?

[Dale M.]

I personally prefer an all 12 volt system as I usually camp in unimproved camp grounds or real primitive areas.... Also I wont be relying of a 12 volt system to run a scad of lights and entertainment systems and what ever at night... Night is for camp fires and listen to the wild night sounds....

Essentially we would be "tent camping"... But having a nice bed and galley doesn't hurt...

Dale

[Dee Bee]

Everyone will have an optinion of this one. That is what is great about building your own trailer. You get to decide what is best and you can include only what you want.

My 2 C... I have 12 v DC lights, fans, outlets etc. But I can run the 12v system off batteries or a 110 AC converter. In this set up I also have a few 110 AC outlight so that when I am connected to shore power I can use regular appliances conveniently. It wasn't too hard to figure out.

There are lots of experts here to help you, too.

My plan:http://www.nfdc.net/home/cbdb/Teardrop%20Electric.htm





Dee Bee

[Russ in California]

I personally prefer an all 12 volt system as I usually camp in unimproved camp grounds or real primitive areas.... Also I wont be relying of a 12 volt system to run a scad of lights and entertainment systems and what ever at night... Night is for camp fires and listen to the wild night sounds....
Essentially we would be "tent camping"... But having a nice bed and galley doesn't hurt...
Dale

That's what I'm talking about.
When I go tent camping I almost never bring a radio or anything like that. In the tow vehicle is all the entertainment I bring from home.
That's one of the reasons to go camping, to get away from the 'home life' and stuff.
Also, this will be my first build, and I'd like to keep it as simple as possible.
Besides, with the battery(s), a charger and inverter I can have most anything if desired. Some like more 'creature comforts', except for the hardside bed, I'm trying to get away from them.
Give me the wilds.
JM2C

[brian_bp]

Dee Bee's Zephyr is a typical RV setup, except that there is no built-in battery charger. It's functionally identical to the original factory system in my small travel trailer. The description is exceptional, though... thanks, Dee Bee!

The most common variations from this would be...

Leave out the AC stuff entirely... this is practical only if you have no high-power appliances (A/C, microwave, etc) or you plan to have enormous battery capacity. If you never (or rarely) camp with AC power, then this is a sensible option to simplify the system.

Leave out the battery, depending on the one in the tow vehicle. This was common in basic travel trailers decades ago, and some people do it now, but car batteries are not well suited to this use, so I don't think it's a good idea.

Add a battery charger so that when AC power is available, the battery gets charged for later parts of the trip. This can be built into the AC-to-DC converter, or a separate device, including a regular portable battery charger.

Add an inverter to make AC power from the energy in the battery when away from another source of AC power. This usually only makes sense for low-power stuff that you can't readily get in a 12VDC version.

Even in a teardrop I'd go for the full AC and DC system, and I agree that the AC side is not necessary for many people, but I would not consider an AC-only setup, because I can't see being tied to the availability of an outlet.

[Gerdo]

I went with all 12 volt dc except for one outlet by my A/C. I rarely use my airconditioner so 99% of the time i'm all 12 volt. I have a small inverter for running my laptop computers for movies. If I was using 120 volt ac more often I would still have most everything 12 volt and add a 120v - 12 volt converter or just use an automatic charger. Going 12 volt allows you to get away and still have some conviences.

[asianflava]

Add a battery charger so that when AC power is available, the battery gets charged for later parts of the trip. This can be built into the AC-to-DC converter, or a separate device, including a regular portable battery charger.

Add an inverter to make AC power from the energy in the battery when away from another source of AC power. This usually only makes sense for low-power stuff that you can't readily get in a 12VDC version.

This is pretty much the same setup that I have except that I'm using a charger for my converter. Probably not the ideal setup but space is at a premium. I figure that the charger will float the battery when hooked to shore power. Our power requirements are pretty limited, just a DVD player and LED lighting mabye the Fantastic Fan on occasion.

I also added an inverter, the same AC outlets can be switched between shore power or inverter power. In retrospect, I probably could do without the inverter as I've never used it. It is nice to know that I have it if I need it though.