Inverter for use while in storage

[leoslaton]

I suspect this might have come up before but I didn't find a specific reference.
The storage yard where I keep my 28 foot Jayco does not have any way to access 110 volts. When we return from a trip the trailer usually wants some cleaning, including vacuuming. I have only two options - buy a generator that will handle 10 to 12 amps or go the inverter route. The inverter is lots cheaper and I have no use for either piece of equipment other than the cleanup chore.
Now - all you good people who have solved this problem please give me the benefit of your experience. I will have no need to attach the 110 volt source to the trailer, I don't boondock. I would like to use an inverter powered by the pickup battery and keep the pickup (a 150 with trailer pkg) idling while using the 110 volt but can see some inconveniences.
If you have a satisfactory hookup I would appreciate hearing from you, especially what cable you used between the inverter and the battery? What sort of battery clamp did you settle on? A separate battery kept on a trickle charger at home might be the solution, what do you think?
Thanks, Slacker

[Terry]

Hey Slacker - first of all, welcome to the forum! Glad you found us. If you get a chance, come on over to the new member forum and introduce yourself.

I am not sure you are going to find a good inverter setup that will easily run a vacuum cleaner (and I dont think it will be cheaper than a generator overall) -- that is going to be a really big inverter (prob 2000 watts starting), large battery cables, and lots of batteries. If you hooked it to your vehicle's battery - that is a really hard pull on a starting battery and your alternator will probably not be able to keep up with the draw.

As an example, I have a 2000 watt inverter hooked up to an F-450 diesel with an aux battery. I can pull a full load for about 10 minutes before the inverter shuts down due to low voltage. This is prob a little extreme of an example, but it does not take much on a large inverter to pull those batteries down.

Hope that helps!

[leoslaton]

Thanks Terry: I hadn't got around to considering the starting spike of the vac. I put an amp probe on a couple of household vacs and got 10 to 12 amps. A $150 inverter from Harbor Freight would handle that but probably flunk the spike. Maybe a big capacitor. Surely someone has already solved the problem.

[FPM III]

This would require some "engineering" and I'm not sure how cost effective it would be, but what about buying one of those gas powered leaf blower/vacuums and adapting a long hose to it that could be taken inside your rig?

Here's a link to a website where someone has done this. They even list all the items you need to obtain for building one.

Building a Gas Powered Vacuum

[jeeperx2]

are you ever hooked to shore power? we bought a rechargable shark vacuum and it works rather well.

[Murphie]

I bought an Electrolux rechargeable vacuum from Costco for about a 100 dollars. It is a powerful little sucker. Has two speeds and has more charge than I need to clean my 28 foot trailer. I checked out the others that were available in my area and it was by far the best. Other friends have also bought them and are very happy with them.

[AMC_Jeep]

X2 on the rechargeable vacuum.

On the other hand, a generator is always nice to have on hand. You never know when you'll need it.

[mcfarmall]

Maybe swing by the house, vacuum, clean up, etc. then pull to the storage yard. You could wash the bugs off the front and rinse the ashes and caterpillar p oop off the awning before parking it.

[Seann45]

Originally Posted by mcfarmall

Maybe swing by the house, vacuum, clean up, etc. then pull to the storage yard. You could wash the bugs off the front and rinse the ashes and caterpillar p oop off the awning before parking it.

X2
I always go by home first to unload.. take the food out dirty laundry... and put most of the clothes back in my closet.. but I also always leave some in the RV incase of emergincy