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Old 12-02-2012, 07:59 PM   #1
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Question We are considering purchasing an Inverter for electronics when dry camping.

There are a host of inverters available. We will use it for the 24" Visio flat screen television and a lap top computer.
What are the preferances of TT owners? Will 200 or 300 watt be sufficient or make extra allowance for a contingency? Are pure sine wave inverters recommended?
Thanks in advance.

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Old 12-02-2012, 08:42 PM   #2
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You will probably run down your batteries quite quickly if you use the inverter very much. The inverter, I think, take the DC from the battery and "inverts' it to AC so you can run the TV set and the computer. It's not that it cannot be done, it's just that it takes a lot out of the battery(s). You might be better served to purchase a smaller type generator, like a Honda or a Yahama to power your AC stuff, if you are in an area where you can use them. The Honda and Yahama 2000s can run your television and laptop quite easily while also charging your battery(s). Only thing is, they won't drive a normal 13,500 AC. You might be able to step up the the Yahama 2400 and it might get the AC to start and run. There will be other people on here pretty soon to help you more with your question.
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Old 12-03-2012, 05:03 AM   #3
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I am not sure what your SKYLARK floor plan looks like but I assume it has the V front. Probably similar to this 2012 SKYLARK floorplan.


What a lot of folks will do is to get 300WATT to 600WATT PURE SINE WAVE INVERTER that has remote ON/OFF and mount in the storage bay close to your battery install. It should not be installed in same compartment as the battery but needs to be probably 5-feet or less away from it. The 12VDC cables from the INVERTER should be directly connected to the battery switch along with its dedicated covered FUSE BLOCK.

You might want to consider this typical floorplan of a trailer your size with the idea the INVERTER will be installed somewhat like shown here and then run two typical extension cords from the INVERTER to maybe the Home Entertainment center area and the bedside area. The length of the 120VAC extension cord is not an issue like the 12VDC cable is. Use an extension cord that has multiple 120VAC sockets and a separate ON/OFF switch similar to this one shown here. We plug in the home entertainment items, cell phone chargers, computer charger, NOAH WX alert radio, fan, desk lamp, motion detector items, etc. The emergency use items....




As stated by the other post the use of INVERTERs require more batteries capacity as they will load down ONE battery rather quick. What ever you pull out of the battery you have to put back in but since you have 2012 year trailer with a "three stage smart mode converter/charger" on board along with the 2KW Honda Generator you already have it will be real easy for you to keep your batteries charged up once a day with a three hour generator run time. Most places you go to camping will allow you to use your generator for this short time period during the daytime only.

I am not familar with the 2012 SKYLARK with the V nose but suspect you are limited on battery space. You would want to install two of the 6V GC2 gulf cart batteries from COSTCO or SAMs CLUB to give you a 12VDC Battery Bank system of around 200AHs with the plan in mind to connect your trailer shore power cable to your 2KW Honda generator at 8AM each morning when camping off the power grid to allow the on-board smart mode converter/charger system re-charge you batteries backup to their 90% charge state so you can do this all over again the next day/night camping run.

This is how we do it here with a 255AH battery bank and are very successful camping off the power grid up to a week or so and can run everything we normally use at regular electric camp sites from the 120VAC and 12VDC appliances except the air conditioner and the high wattage microwave. I will draw around 20AMPS of 12VDC from my battery bank between the 8PM to 11PM time slot and then around 1 AMP thru the rest of the night until 8AM the next morning when I am allowed to run the 2KW Honda generator to re-charge the battey bank. We watch HDTV, plays DVDs, I play with my ham radio some, momabear uses an electric blanket on her lap if it is cool, run all the interior LED lights we need, run all CFL exterior lights we need.

Note in my floorplan (tent beds not shown) I have two locations where a multi-purpose 120VAC extension cord is secured to the back of a cabinet top location which provides me with two 120VAC "Emergency Power" drops from my INVERTER. This is the only part visible as the cords are hid by the use of the wiremode products (LOWES) . I use a 600W PSW INVERTER now for the two 120VAC drop cords shown here. Your 300W-400W should do just fine. My PSW INVERTERS are AIMS from THE INVERTER STORE.


I would definitely use the pure sign wave INVERTER as this will give you peace of mind that nothing is going to go up in blue smoke. Using the MSW type Inverter will probably run most of your items but the PSW Inverter will run them all without burning them up. The price of the PSW type are now cheap enough to purchase as compared to just a few years back.

All of this submitted for "FOOD FOR THOUGHT" Works good for us camping off the power grid.

Roy Ken
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Old 12-03-2012, 09:38 AM   #4
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I would go with a pure sine wave inverter.. but you will quickly find other uses for it so get a 1000 watt inverter... just always remember to shut it off when not in use as they all draw power just being turned on.
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Old 12-03-2012, 09:52 AM   #5
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I bought one of these and use it to power a 32 inch LCD TV and DirecTV box. I have three group 27 batteries; I could watch TV for 2 or 3 hours a night (and run the heater and water pump and some LED lighting) and not run my batteries below about 50%.
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Old 12-03-2012, 07:09 PM   #6
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But, RVhiker, I would assume you then charge the batteries back up the next day. Also, don't know if Skyron has room for three group 27s with his trailer. If he does this, I still think he will have to get a generator to charge the batteries every now and then or it just won't work for a very long period of time.
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Old 12-03-2012, 07:34 PM   #7
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Right, we'd have to re-charge every day, or almost every day. Unfortunately unless you have a very large solar array, that's the price for using battery power.
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Old 12-03-2012, 08:23 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jal0710 View Post
If he does this, I still think he will have to get a generator to charge the batteries every now and then or it just won't work for a very long period of time.
His signature says he has 2 Honda 2kw generators already. I don't think charging is the issue...he wants AC power with out always running those Gensets.
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Old 12-04-2012, 10:13 AM   #9
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I didn't even look at his signature. Sorry about that.
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Old 12-04-2012, 03:26 PM   #10
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Many Thanks for the contibutions of all your expertise (helpful words and excellent diagrams) on this subject and your time to reply.
I will add to my Christmas list a larger capacity pure sine wave inverter as recommended and install at the battery disconnect.
The posting regarding an exterior shore recepticle will also be helpful for a similar situation we have others described.
Also a posting regarding a television bracket is the solution we needed. I will anchor a stained vertical 3/4"x3" oak board against the front exterior wall attached to top and bottom between the cupboards. The wall will not support this fixture. Amazon just delivered.
Our Skylark TT is a front 'V' kitchen model.
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Old 12-05-2012, 05:09 AM   #11
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Where do you get to keep your batteries on these V models. What is your exact Skylark Model number. I suspect you don't have much battery space... Hopefully you have enough room to install a couple of GC2 6V golf cart batteries. This is almost a must have situation if you want to use the Inverters. Need a minimum of 200AHs just to sustain a 300WATT - 400WATT size Inverter and it will have to be re-charged every day to their 90% charge state.


NOTE: I am scanning aorund the photos looking for your battery box hehe...
This 21FKV model sure has alot of curved cabinet doors in it. never seen that before in the trailers,

Roy Ken
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Old 12-05-2012, 03:51 PM   #12
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Thanks for your reply and info Roy. The TT is a FKV model. Jayco advised me today the battery compartment although large will house only one. I can either place a second battery in the rear under bed storage that creates weight, balance and venting issues. Best would be to place a second battery box between the TT tongue jack and the 'V' nose of the TT. The +&- cables could follow the main frame to the battery compartment rear of the entry door and below the L'dinette seat. That could make the inverter work. What are thoughts on this?
The television cable connection is in the lower cupboard right of the kitchen sink.
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Old 12-06-2012, 07:40 AM   #13
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SKYRON - I finally got a photo of your battery compartment thanks to 2008JEEP on this forum... There just might be enough room in the battery compartment hole for two of those GC2 6V golf cart batteries connected in series that would give you 12VDC around 200AHs. If you would use the EGC2 you could increase to 225AHs of battery capacity. These batteries will give you a good 447 minutes of RESERVE TIME USE (7.42 Hrs) drawing 12VDC @ 25AMPS. Thats a good long time. This is about how long you can run your 120VAc Home entertainment items using a 300WATT Inverter fully loaded. It will definitely run your items from 8PM to 11PM every night and then still run your trailer parasitic draws until 8AM the next morning when you can run your generator to re-charge the batteries. You have to keep a watchful eye on the battery voltage and not ever let it drop below approximately 12.0VDC which somewhat represents a 50% battery bank charge state. If you keep running down the batteries lower than 50% SOC then you will do damage to the batteries and eventually have to replace the.

make some measurements from this T105 trojan Spec Sheet and see if you cant put two of the 6V GC2s side by side on the pull out plastic tray. Of course you could gain another inch possibly by placing the plastic tray on the bottom with the batteries sitting in the tray.


image from 2008JEEP

http://www.trojanbatteryre.com/PDF/d...ata_Sheets.pdf

Putting batteries in other areas of the trailer is OK but you have to deal with venting as well as possible boil-over from battery fluids. Battery fumes are very corrosive and dangerous to breath. Also explosive from sparks. The GC2 batteries is actually GP24 size foot print but are taller.

Don't short change yourself using the inverter. It works great being only a few feet away from the battery connections and using heavy size cables. You also need to install a FUSE between the Inverter and battery terminals to protect the wiring in case you over load things. Inverters can draw some serious current . My 600W PSW inverter has a 80AMP fuse inline. My 1500W PSW inverter uses a 175AMP fuse.

Alot of folks get away by plugging their Inverter in inside mounted cigarette lighter connectors. I never had any luck doing that with my 300Watt Inverter. The connector would get hot and one time melted the solder from the wire connection... I use direct wire connections using ring terminals to the battery or battery switch terminals. I had several items that needed direct wired 12VDC connections so I installed a Blue Sea 12VDC panel that allowed several 12VDC fused connections. Just made things alot easier to work with.




Let me know how the battery compartment measuremens come out trying to fit the GC2 COSTCO -SAMs CLUB 6V batteries in your battery compartment.

Roy Ken
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2008 STARCRAFT 14RT OFF-ROAD POPUP with PD9260C and three 85AH 12VDC batteries
2010 F150 FX4 5.4 GAS with 3.73 gears - Super Cab - Towing Package - 2KW Honda EU2000i Gen
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Old 12-06-2012, 11:08 AM   #14
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Roy; The information you have provided is most helpful. I phoned the dealer we purchased the TT from and was most helpful also. There was a Skylark in their showroom and he provided measurement while we spoke. The width of the compartment is 12 1/2" x 13 1/2" deep and 10' high. Without the tray an additional 1 1/2" in height is gained.Therefore a total 11 1/2" high/no tray. To proove the 2 type 24, 12 volt deep cycle batteries can fit tight side by side and can fit the tight confined area. The service tech tried a 2 battery trial fit and had 1 1/2" remaining at the rear of the compartment.
With the two 6V GC2s fitting back to back leaves me short by possibly 5/8" against the access door. Possibly the door can be shimmed to fit. That I can maybe deal with later. Or Go with two Interstate SRM 24, reserve capacity 140. Skyron
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Old 12-06-2012, 01:08 PM   #15
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With just being short 5/8" is it possible to move the back wall. I know this is the area of the seats for the dinnette on the inside... Maybe that wall can be moved. Look under the seat cushions and see if you can access to the battery area by remove the wood under the cushions. My area like that has a lid that can be removed with four screws in the corners....

For all we know there may be inside wall that can be taken out...

Since you are asking JAYCO for all this info i take it your trailer is not at home where you can look for yourself...

JAYCO will send you the inside drawings of your trailer for the asking... Think all they need is your VIN NUMBER and they can send a set of drawings where all your wood walls etc are located...

The SRM 24 batteries aare the ones i am using in my POPUP. They are 85AH batteries with a RESERVE TIME of 140minutes producing 25 MAPS. Two of those in parallel will give you 170AHs and they should produce 12VDC for 280 minutes or 4.6 hours before going dead on you. Those would just get through running around 300WATTS for your home entertainment center for three hours I would imagine. You will probably start seeing the batteries drop to 12.0VDC around 11PM. Still got the whole night yet to go before 8AM the next morning... Its better than nothing but you might still be alittle on the short side... Of course I'm talking of running alot of toys with the 300WATTS. If you ran 100-150WATTS of power you could probably pull it off.

You have to change out your incandescant laights for LEDs and watch all the other high power drain items...

I didn't run any of the number comparing the GC2 batteries to your hole size... I was hoping you could turn them end to end and slide into the hole but the 14 1/4 inch of two batteries together is the killer. Check out the inside wall and see if it can moved an inch into your seating area under the cushions...

Just checking height and it looks like the tray can be pulled from the slide and sit on the floor. The GC2s heights will be 10-7/8 inches at the top of the battery terminals... So that would give enough clearance from the top of compartment wall...

You gotta extend the wall out under you feet at the dinnette table hehe... bet your cushions are wider than 13-inches deep meaning you must have an inside compartment wall under the cushions. May be a small storage area accessed from the inside of the trailer with another curved door hehe..

there has to be more room than 13-inches under the cushion shown here in this photo.


Do you see any storage doors under this seat


Roy Ken
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We live in King George VA
RETIRED DOD DOAF DON CONTRACTOR Electronics Tech 42YRS

"We're burning daylight" - John Wayne
2008 STARCRAFT 14RT OFF-ROAD POPUP with PD9260C and three 85AH 12VDC batteries
2010 F150 FX4 5.4 GAS with 3.73 gears - Super Cab - Towing Package - 2KW Honda EU2000i Gen
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Old 12-06-2012, 03:25 PM   #16
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Roy; You guessed correctly. We are snow birding in southern Fla. The battery box according to the service tech is an all one piece plastic unit. When I return home northward. I agree I will be reconstructing the structure and as you say if possible moving the box an inch plus away from the door & add a filler. Your input has been helpful. Many thanks. Plans ;Next summer..Yukon/Alaska bound (10k)!
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Old 12-06-2012, 03:31 PM   #17
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Roy; You guessed correctly. We are snow birding in southern Fla. The battery box according to the service tech is an all one piece plastic unit. When I return home northward. I agree I will be reconstructing the structure and as you say if possible moving the box an inch plus away from the door & add a filler. Your input has been helpful. Many thanks. Plans ;Next summer..Yukon/Alaska bound (10k)!
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Old 12-06-2012, 04:26 PM   #18
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SKYRON - I like projects hehe... Wish I had some money to get mine battery upgrade back on track... Didn't realize your box was a sealed box like it is... Probably a good idea to contain the bad boy fumes and all...

Glad to help what I could... Of course nothing is good until you get your own hands on it...

enjoy your trip back

Roy Ken
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We live in King George VA
RETIRED DOD DOAF DON CONTRACTOR Electronics Tech 42YRS

"We're burning daylight" - John Wayne
2008 STARCRAFT 14RT OFF-ROAD POPUP with PD9260C and three 85AH 12VDC batteries
2010 F150 FX4 5.4 GAS with 3.73 gears - Super Cab - Towing Package - 2KW Honda EU2000i Gen
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Old 12-08-2012, 08:38 PM   #19
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This Jayco forum provides helpful helpful expertise and direction. This a.m. I went to Camping World and came home with a Xantrex Prowatt SSW 600 inverter. Plan is to install the inverter with in 2"x0" of battery cable on the otherside of the seat partition wall where I can easily read the digital display from inside the TT and plug ac cords in. Next the battery access door will be boxed out with 2" x 1 1/2" aluminum square tubing, painted to match TT exterior, caulked and the access door reinstalled so I can place two golf cat batteries in the compartment to gain the needed 3/4". With that completed I qualify to boondock. Thanks everyone.
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