RV FEATURE
TOW VEHICLE-MOUNTED INVERTER
For many travellers , the option of carrying any additional charging equipment is just not feasible . They may not have the space available or they might be teetering on their weight limits . Fortunately , there is a solution .
You can mount a pure sine wave inverter in your tow vehicle for minimal cost and without adding a lot of weight to your rig . Inverters come in many output levels , from as low as 150W to as high as 3000W .
Now , before you rush out and buy the biggest inverter you can afford , there are a lot of things to consider before deciding if this is a solution for you . If I want to power my van ’ s 40A charger , which is rated at 700W , from an inverter , it will draw around 70A from the car ’ s battery system . That ’ s a lot of amps . If the engine is not running , you will flatten a 100Ah battery in less than two hours ! You will also need to have adequate cabling to support those sorts of loads .
We strongly recommend talking to an auto electrician about this to see if your vehicle can support it and to get the installation right .
Advantages : Inexpensive and lightweight . A wide range of power outputs available to suit any application .
This very cool setup features all Redarc gear including a 2000W inverter all mounted on the back of a fridge slide and behind the rear seats . It ’ s a professional , high quality installation .
Disadvantages : Very high power draw on the car ’ s battery system . Unless you know exactly what you ’ re doing , the installation is best left to a professional .
SUMMING UP
You can see from this list there are a lot of options available . Deciding on which one suits your needs will depend on how often you go freecamping , how long you expect your van ’ s batteries to last and how long you intend to stay away from mains power .
What I can say with some certainty is that you will want to have at least two of the systems detailed here so that you have a level of redundancy . I encourage you to talk to other caravanners and to see what systems they use to keep their batteries charged up off the grid .
One thing is for sure : petrolpowered generators are not the only option . There are many more environmentally-friendly solutions available that won ’ t make you unpopular at the campground .
+ SIZING UP BATTERY NEEDS
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