lexxxel Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Currently, my sunrader (truck camper) from 1981 has the original power center -- which has one 120v outlet when plugged in to shore power, and no 12v outlets at all. When the power center is switched to 12v, it runs the interior lights, and the water pump (I always just use the hand pump when camping, only use the 12v pump when flushing out the system or priming). There's also a stove light and fan, but I don't ever use those. The fan is super loud. Great for cooking I'm sure, but I don't do that either. Still has the original dometic 3 way fridge, but I can't see how to use it on 12v. The plug the fridge plugs into doesn't have any power when the converter is switched to 12v, and I don't see a separate 12v cord going anywhere. So 12v either doesn't work, or isn't hooked up properly. Fridge works otherwise, but I only use it as an insulated cupboard and am thinking of removing it. Nothing I need to keep cold bad enough to use the fridge... it gets the camper too hot in the summer anyway. No inverter capability, so the single 120v outlet does not work while the system is running on 12v. I currently have the 12v coming in from the truck batteries (the truck is an older diesel with 2 starting batteries). I don't really use the inside lights much, they are led (just led replacement auto bulbs), but they are way too bright to enjoy at a campsite. Like being at work they're so bright. I use a good quality camping lantern on yellow low light and it lights everything up nicely (not much space inside this unit anyway!). I am thinking of replacing one of the 4 interior lights with a 12v fan, so I would run that on hot nights, all night. I am thinking of 2 options moving forward: Replace the original power center and get some decent RV batteries (likely 2 x 6V) to run with my 3 x 40w solar panels (not installed yet, and may only install 2); or buy a lithium power unit (they call these generators, but really they're just power units). I see small sized lithium units can be had for about $400. Since all I seem to do is run some led's and one fan, maybe a small lithium unit would suffice. Most say you can hook up solar panels to charge it. I also like to charge my phone, laptop, and drill battery, and right now am using a small 75w inverter in the truck. Lead acid batteries I could get cheaper, but I'm thinking if I have to also upgrade my old power center, that's going to add to the cost. I want to upgrade the power center because the old one gets really hot when plugged in to shore power. Great on cool nights but not good for hot summer nights. So, I could buy a lithium power unit and keep my old system hooked up to truck batteries for the water pump and the odd time I use the led's. Then run an external fan off the lithium power unit. Or, I could replace the old power center, add 2 6v batteries, maybe 225AH, and install 80 or 120 watts solar panels on the roof. I have read some stuff about replacing the power center, but it's kinda sounding like a foreign language. I know basic electrical stuff, but at this point the power center is not something I feel confident about, because I can't even figure out what to buy! I'd prefer to update/replace the power center and add RV batteries. Advice appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmg Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 I think the simplest and tidiest way would be to ditch the power center. Get the lead acid batteries you want. Wire a fuse box directly to your battery (+) and a ground block hooked up (-) as well. You can run all of your 12v power using the fuse box and ground block. This gives you the ability to easily and safely add whatever you want in the future, including 12v cigarette sockets, usb or fans. Added benefit you only have two wires running to your battery for all your 12v loads. Then for shore power/ac power look for a inverter/charger unit. These do most everything for you. When on battery power, you have an inverter for ac power. Shore power runs into the inverter/charger unit and has a built in transfer switch. When you are plugged in, shore power will run your ac power and charge your batteries. You can then run a line to hook up your house battery bank to the car battery. On this line I am a big fan of smart relays, which sense the voltage on both the car battery and house battery. If either of them go above a certain voltage (I think mine is 13.6v) the relay will close allowing the batteries to be connected. This is nice as it allows charging in both directions. So your car battery will get trickle charged from solar and shore power and house bank will get charged from alternator. If you want I can give you links to these different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Start reading..http://www.bestconverter.com/. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexxxel Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 12 hours ago, gmg said: I think the simplest and tidiest way would be to ditch the power center. Get the lead acid batteries you want. Wire a fuse box directly to your battery (+) and a ground block hooked up (-) as well. You can run all of your 12v power using the fuse box and ground block. This gives you the ability to easily and safely add whatever you want in the future, including 12v cigarette sockets, usb or fans. Added benefit you only have two wires running to your battery for all your 12v loads. Then for shore power/ac power look for a inverter/charger unit. These do most everything for you. When on battery power, you have an inverter for ac power. Shore power runs into the inverter/charger unit and has a built in transfer switch. When you are plugged in, shore power will run your ac power and charge your batteries. You can then run a line to hook up your house battery bank to the car battery. On this line I am a big fan of smart relays, which sense the voltage on both the car battery and house battery. If either of them go above a certain voltage (I think mine is 13.6v) the relay will close allowing the batteries to be connected. This is nice as it allows charging in both directions. So your car battery will get trickle charged from solar and shore power and house bank will get charged from alternator. If you want I can give you links to these different things. Hey thanks... good info. If you can provide any links, I'd appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexxxel Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 11 hours ago, WME said: Start reading..http://www.bestconverter.com/. took a look, but i find the descriptions and all the options a bit confusing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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