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Anyone convert to all electric?


sonia316

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We just brought home 1987 toyota winnebago. The fridge doesn't work either way and we have decided to just take it out and put in an ekectic one. Will capping off the gas line to the fridge do anything else that uses gas. We have an owners manual the came with it but it says itasca on it and the two types are not ours. Our has anyone converted everything to electric?

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The previous owner of my 91 Warrior replaced the gas refrigerator with a Sears mini fridge of about the same size. I keep some of those "blue bricks" in the freezer section to extend the cooling effect.

The furnace was taken out and a wall heater is in its space. It has a separate extension cord in the generator box. There is also a heating coil in the AC vent was installed.

A microwave is in the place of where the oven would be.

I have a gas cooktop and gas water heater but I've never used them. I did add the electric conversion to the water heater but have never used it.

The woman of the RV is very particular about having electricity and internet.

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Itasca and Winnebago are one and the same manufacture. (i.e. kind of like Dolphin are Seabreeze manufacture)

Before you condemn the frig, make sure your operating it correctly. The frig must be level or it won't work. On shore power, you can feel the boiler getting hot

Several users have replaced the RV frig with a cheap dorm frig. There is also a 12 volt compressor frig available.

If you remove the frig, cap off the propane line should be OK and shouldn't effect other appliances.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

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I have a friend that recently bought a 36' 5th wheel it has a battery that is all most lawn mower size there is no attempt to run any thing on 12 volts! Basically it's for the emergency brakes and to light a couple of lights while you setup so it's all in what you need if you are the type that just does camp grounds then there is no need for much of a battery for 12 volts as long as your power cord is long enough.

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We just brought home 1987 toyota winnebago. The fridge doesn't work either way and we have decided to just take it out and put in an ekectic one. Will capping off the gas line to the fridge do anything else that uses gas. We have an owners manual the came with it but it says itasca on it and the two types are not ours. Our has anyone converted everything to electric?

If you only camp at campgrounds with plug-ins, converting to all electric works fine. If you travel, camp and drive and often camp where there is no outside source of electric - you're going to need a substantial battery bank and/or a fuel-driven generator. If doing so in cold areas - heat is the biggest issue. If there's no outside electric source - you'd need a huge battery bank and if using an electric heater . . . a generator running all night.

Roadtrek has a new all-electric RV. But even though they call it "all electric", the heat runs off the vehicle's main fuel tank.

If you camp for no more then one day at a time, and do not need any heat -then 225 amp-hours of battery works fine for running a TV/DVD, computer, water pump, electric refrigerator, etc. NOT a hot-water heater though and an electric cook top would need even more battery power.

Many European RVs use cabin heat that runs off the vehicles main fuel tank - gas or diesel. They work very well but are not all that common in the USA. That being said, Volkswagen had them in the 70s as well as Chevy Corvairs in the 60s. They are becoming more common recently since big rigs are not allowed to idle their engines all night for heat in many places. So, those Webasto or Espar heaters are being installed instead.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks. We still need to cover the vent areas on the where the fridge was. I'm thinking of doing away with the gas stove as well...and just making it all countertop and getting one of those plug in induction cooktops. I was more concerned with the hot water. I will still want to utilize that and the heat. We do have a generator we may take in times we don't get to a place where we can plug in.

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You will be running your generator a lot. In a camp where you can plug in, you're fine.

Just be prepared to be "that guy" running the generator constantly and annoying the people who are out in the woods to get away from noises like that, if you're in an undeveloped camp area.

Sorry but though I see generators as a not completely necessary evil, people who crank them up at 8 or 9am and run them most of the day are not on my happy list...developed campground or not, I'm not out there to listen to engines rumble.

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Yeah agreed I don't want to listen to them either why get rid of the propane? Any kind of resistance heating uses a lot of power cook tops, water heater elements and heaters. Even a small electric heater is good for a kilowatt 2-4 KW for a stove top and probably close to 2KW for a water heater element. You'll be pushing 5KW with every thing running possibly drawing as much as 40 amps on a 30 circuit that's all your load center is good for. Propane is a good way to store a great deal of energy.

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I have been in way to many primitive campgrounds where someone had to have their electricity at the expense of everyone else. At most Wisconsin State Forest primitive campgrounds, generators are allowed from 8 am until 5 pm to charge batteries and it gets enforced.

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I think it should be noon to 5pm. Or 10-5.

It's crazy when you've been up for just an hour or so, are just talking with a friend over coffee/tea, still waking up, and the guy next to you fires up the generator and now you're almost yelling to have a nice, peaceful, early morning conversation...

But enough of that!

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I expect people to be considerate, and actually CAMP.

But I'm used to having unrealistic expectations.

Last weekend I backpacked and a group with kids had one little boy who was practicing his elk calls for a half hour. Not with an actual call, but with his high-pitched little boy voice. LOUD. Screeching squealing loud noise. So there's really no escape...luckily they were just at the lake we ate lunch at, and not anywhere near where we actually camped.

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