Dirk Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Here are a few links for those interested in upgrading their charging system to handle high amp stereos, added electronics, or just to beef it up. Just remember to upgrade your battey isolator if you use one. http://www.northwestoffroad.com/parts/alternators.html http://search.ebay.com/alternator-toyota_P...aMEFSRCHQ3aSRCH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 any chance that a 160 amp alternator coupled with a beefier inverter will allow runing of the roof AC while driving? 160 amps at 14 volts is 2240 watts. Obviously there wouldn't be much left over. It would probably mean no simultaneous headlight and AC use, but, I could live with that. Besides, once it's dark, hopefully the truck AC would keep things cool enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knowltondata Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 But at what RPM do you reach the 160 amps? It probably wouldn't reach that until 3000 rpm. You're probably looking at 350 for the alternator, and another 200-300 for the inverter (for a chinese cheapy) What about a small generator on the back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 the alternator listed on ebay has a buy it now of 175 inc. shipping. I have seen inverters for various prices ftom under 100 dollars to around 400. The stock inverter in the sunrader is supposedly a POS, so upgrading of it is neeeded anyway. The alternator claims to produce 160 amps at 1200 rpm. Sounds a little low. Even if it's 2000 rpm. Most driving is done above that speed anyway. Assuming 13.5 volts, it ought to make a little better than 2kw. I am sure there is some loss in the efficiency of the inverter, but, I would think that it ought to make enough juice to keep an AC going. My window AC gets by on a 15 amp circuit, so, I would think that it might work. A better solution would be to have an air conditioner with a DC motor. It would simplify things a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futar Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Nice try but the wire to handle 160 amps draw would be monsterous. Think about the size a house needs for 100 amps. You can only run 5 feet from a battery to an inverter in a DC setup. Look at what size wire a starter uses for 60 amp draw. It has to do with something called I square R loss which is how heat loss is created. One of the problems is that motors draw from 2 -3 times running current to start up. There are DC motor vehicle compressor air conditioners from Europe http://www.dcairco.com/ and http://www.dcbreeze.com/. They're made for semis or boats so that they don't waste gas idling to run cab air. They cost big big bucks. I always wanted to take apart a used roof air and try to convert it to DC. Auto blower motors are pretty powerful and cheap to buy at a junkies. It should be doable. The warm season here is dry so I use an evaporative roof air for boon docking in the upper desert. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keitholivier Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Last time I owned a Land Rover, it had what was called a "tropical roof". It was nothing more than a second aluminum roof mounted to the existing roof with standoff insulators. There was an air gap in between of about 2". This roof allowed the interior of the vehicle to be much cooler in direct midday sun than without it. The only real issue with the motorhome is to accomodate all the vents. Since I am planning to rebuild my coach next year, I might think of adding a double roof and running my vents to the sides instead of on top of the roof where they are so prone to leakage. By having longer supports in the middle compared to the sides, the top surface could be a shallow inverted "V", which could avoid water pooling on the roof. Water pooling on the flat roof, together with the roof mounted vents are the potent combination that means that its only a matter of time before one has a leak with the current design. Regards Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knowltondata Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 the alternator listed on ebay has a buy it now of 175 inc. shipping. I've never seen a high amp toyota alternator for under $350. I would worry about quality on that one. Especially since it's on ebay. But thats just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 are you suggesting that an ebayer might not be entirely truthful as to the quality of his merchandise? no way!!!! here's another idea. Would it be possible to plumb the truck A/C compressor into the house unit? I suppose that line lengths might be an issue, but, maybe that wouldn't be such an issue if the lines were big enough and very well insulated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 **disclaimer** I don't know much about auto electric, just what I've tinkered with. That said...... I think the best thing to do is to calculate your MAX amp load and consult a reputable alternator company. I purchased a 190 amp CS-144 large case alt for my car from Wranglernw.com. I believe the tag indicates it puts out 110 amps at idle. The alt was $395 (I got a price break) normally it would have cost $450-550.00. HOWEVER, these days with all the electronics in vehicles, you can get stock alternators that put put up to 210 amps with a bit of research. Brackets to mount a GM large case alt into an '83 Toyota are cost $80.00 or you can fab them yourself. You can mount anything anywhere with a bit of determination! I run 1/0 gauge ground and pos welding cables to the battery (overkill, but no worries). You have to upgrade your battery isolator to handle the amps also. You can change pulleys to over or underdrive the alt, but remember to consult a pro! Hope that helps! -Dirk edir: just found a good link: http://www.crutchfield.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/l...ifiers_faq.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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