no power in outlets

[jfeiro]

Hello, we recently purchased a 1995 designer series 3030 and when the on board generator is running and power cord plugged into the electrical box everything works fine but when I shut the generator off I have no power in the outlets and microwave doesn't work. Does the generator need to be rubbing for the outlets/ microwave to work? Thanks in advance for any help

[John LLRV]

When the generator is off, are you plugged into shore power?

[Brownie]

The electrical outlets (including the one for the microwave) only run on 120V A.C. You'll have to be plugged into shore power (or generator) for them to work.

[jfeiro]

Originally Posted by John LLRV

When the generator is off, are you plugged into shore power?

No, we are still plugged into the onboard generator. Thanks for the quick replies

[Threebutchers]

GENERALLY...The generator is supplying 120V to your Travel Trailer. When the generator is not running, you need to move the plug from the generator 120V output to a 120V from your home or trusted source to continue providing 120V inside the TT.

Beyond that it would be good to see some pictures and get more information about your generator, power (shore) cord and Travel Trailer.

Welcome to JOF

[Heady]

Agree with everyone else, for your 110v outlets to work you either need to be running your generator or plugged into a 110v power source such as your house, campground power, etc.

[jfeiro]

Thanks again for the replies. Sorry I don't have pictures but My wife and I recently purchased a 1995 jayco designer series model 3030 with an onboard 4000 watt onan generator and we are planning to live in it forabout a year and as of yet we don't have power on our property yet. So the only source of ppower for the first month or two will be our generator.

Rather then running the generator most times when we want to watch TV or charge cell phones etc. would an inverter be a good way to go for short periods of time? If yes what kind and what to look for in one?

Again thank you very much for all your help/ answers as I've never owned a camper before and don't know anything about them as far as setup. I love to camp but prefer tent as I don't like to stay in the same place while I'm out exploring. Enough of my rambling and again thanks for all your help! Jim

[norty1]

You may have to spend more $$$ than you want to get battery and inverter capacity to power the high draw appliances.
Especially if only temporary.

[imjustdave]

Its not rocket science... but you need to figure out what your load will be, determine what size of inverter you will need and then a bank of batteries for the period of time you want to run with the generator off.... once it is depleted you will then need to recharge.

Did a quick look online and it seems a lot of LED TV are fairly low in terms of watts, < 200. I would say you could pickup a 1000 watt inverter for less then 300-500... but Im not sure how long that would last on a battery... or how many banks you would need to run well. I would say a small setup would be in the 500-1000 range it would do the TV decently but microwave would be better off being run off of the generator.