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Old 03-02-2014, 03:57 PM   #1
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More Newbie Power Questions...

We are still trying to figure out everything we need for our 2014 White Hawk 24RBS. The grand plan is to dry camp (state parks) during the summer in Maine and wander further south during the colder months. That being said, we'd like to have adequate 12V DC plus the capability to use a few outlets when we dry camp.

1. Considering a 2nd Group 27 battery with a 1000W inverter. (Don't need the AC, microwave, etc.) Would like to use the inverter to charge the batteries from our Honda EU1000 generator. Ideally, we would have the dealer wire the inverter to 1-2 circuits for the TV area.

2. We have read the Jayco's converter is not the best for charging batteries because it doesn't stop and ends up overcharging the battery. We have also read that inverters typically have a "smart" charge capability which prevents this from happening.

3. Thinking the batteries and inverter could co-locate on the fork and, when installed, also have an off-switch to prevent draining the batteries when the camper is sitting in the yard. (A pet peeve with our popup.)

Is all of this reasonable/possible without spending a substantial amount of money?
Thanks for your insight!
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Old 03-02-2014, 05:58 PM   #2
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Try doing a night or 2 in the driveway or yard. Take paper and pencil with you and write down what you wish you had. Stay out of the house till the end of your stay. You will have a good idea at the end what you need.
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Old 03-02-2014, 07:26 PM   #3
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Inverter changes 12v to 110v. Converter (or charger) changes from 110v to 12v.

Your inverter will let you watch your 110v TV off the 12v battery. Just becareful how much power you use, as you could quickly drain the battery depending on load. Also never let your battery go down too far, as you could damage it.

To charge your battery, you either need to use the Jayco converter or a battery charger (just never both at the same time). Older converters were single stage and could overcharge a battery (and take forever to do it). More recent converters are multi-stage smart charge. Best thing to do is an internet search the model of the converter in your TT to see if it is a multi-stage/smart converter (most likely it is being that your TT is a 2014).
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Old 03-03-2014, 05:53 AM   #4
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Thanks for your thoughts! We have so much to learn (before all the snow melts)... Power of positive thinking.... We take delivery on Easter weekend!
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Old 03-03-2014, 02:25 PM   #5
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More recent converters are multi-stage smart charge. Best thing to do is an internet search the model of the converter in your TT to see if it is a multi-stage/smart converter (most likely it is being that your TT is a 2014).
Those would also be my thoughts. Information should be in your owner's packet. If not, call Jayco customer service to find out. Also, you can change out your light bulbs to LEDs (Ebay or Amazon).
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Old 03-03-2014, 02:43 PM   #6
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I may have read you indicated the new INVERTER would be installed on the FORK with the additional battery. I am assuming you mean OUTSIDE.. The Inverter should be installed inside your trailer as close as you can get it to your battery bank. Rain and Outside Elements will destroy your electronics inside your INVERTER.

If all your Inverter is going to used for is your TV and a couple of smaller items I would consider maybe one around 300WATTs. I also suggest it be a PURE SINE WAVE model if you are going to connect electronic items to it.

I must warn you however that once you see how neat this is going to turn out for you, you will probably be like the rest of us and wish you had a bigger PSW Inverter in use. I too started out small and eventually ended up with a 600WATT PSW Inverter. My battery bank has a 255AH Capacity and this works out great for us running lights, home entertainment items, cell phone and computer chargers, WX Radio, maybe a lap heating pad, and some other low wattage 120VAC items.

Our game plan is to run all of the 120VAC items we want to run from an Inverter and 12VDC items direct connected to the battery and plan it out to have enough battery capacity to allow us to read around 12.0VDC (Approximately 50% charge state) on the battery bank by 8AM the next morning. Then we will connect our trailer shore power cable to our 2KW Honda Generator and allow the smart mode on-board converter/charger to re-charge our battery bank back up to its 90% charge state which will take around 3 hours of generator run time. Now we can do all of this all over again for the next day/night run off the battery bank.

Has worked out great for us when camping off the power grid.

We can do this 50% to 90% charge cycle on our deep cycle batteries maybe 12-14 times before we must charge back up to a full 100% charge state to keep our battery bank fresh and operating at full capacity.

The three hour a day generator run time normally fits all of the camp grounds we go to here on the East side of the US that has generator run time restrictions.

Works for us...
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Old 03-03-2014, 06:50 PM   #7
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Lots to think about! Good news is... the converter is a multi-stage/smart unit. Whew! Thanks everyone!
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Old 03-03-2014, 07:22 PM   #8
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Those would also be my thoughts. Information should be in your owner's packet. If not, call Jayco customer service to find out. Also, you can change out your light bulbs to LEDs (Ebay or Amazon).
Whenever contacting Jayco, whether by email or phone, always give them the serial number and VIN number of your camper.
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Old 03-03-2014, 08:04 PM   #9
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You should be able to determine the wattage of the TV. Most modern flat screen TVs today draw around 150 - 200 watts. ( 32 inch LCD )

You should be able to find these spec in your TV paperwork or on the internet

There will be some peak demand, or surge, when you first turn it on, closer to 400 watts, but only for a split second.

So if all you intend to run on your inverter is the TV, then a 400-600 watt inverter will probably do the job

If you intend to run any sensitive electronics, like a TV, you definitely want a pure sign wave device. More expensive, but a must!

The inverter will rapidly consume DC power from your battery. There is some inefficiencies in the process of inversion, estimate about 15%

If you have a 100 amp hour battery:

12.5x100x.85/200= 5.3

(12.5 volts, times 100 amp hours, times .85 efficiency, divided by 200 watts of consumption = 5.3 hours of run time)

Also consider that the Converter, used to recharge your batteries, will take hours to recharge your battery depending on its voltage/amp rate.
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