Will Tow Vehicle Run A 1000watt Inverter

[traindrv]

I run the same setup with two 12V batteries in the RV and have not had any issues what so ever with battery powering the LG fridge. Longest single run was 13 hours and still had plenty of battery power at the end of the day.

[MacDR]

X2 using Propane while not on shore power and towing, I also installed a 2nd battery.

[wanderingbob]

Your tow truck does not run your inverter , your trailer battery does . Your inverter will certainly run your refrigerator . Your truck should have no problem keeping your batteries charged while under way . Your alternator should charge when ever there is a need , your refrigerator will on require juice 20 to 30 percent of the time . Many of us run inverters full time on the road . It ain't rocket science !

[davel1971]

Originally Posted by wanderingbob

Your tow truck does not run your inverter , your trailer battery does . Your inverter will certainly run your refrigerator . Your truck should have no problem keeping your batteries charged while under way . Your alternator should charge when ever there is a need , your refrigerator will on require juice 20 to 30 percent of the time . Many of us run inverters full time on the road . It ain't rocket science !

I'm glad someone else understands the workings of it. The wiring is not directly from the trucks alternator to inverter. Alternator output will vary to maintain battery, which will be minimal as the fridge can run all day with no additional charge to battery at all.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by wanderingbob

Your tow truck does not run your inverter , your trailer battery does . Your inverter will certainly run your refrigerator . Your truck should have no problem keeping your batteries charged while under way . Your alternator should charge when ever there is a need , your refrigerator will on require juice 20 to 30 percent of the time . Many of us run inverters full time on the road . It ain't rocket science !

The charge wire from the TV ain't always that great though. That is what you should look at upgrading. I believe the max voltage through and single pin on a 7 round is 15 amps. That is if everything else is sized that big. So it could, and many of the old 3 way fridges set on 12v did, pull the battery down over a long time even if connected to the TV and the TV is running.
With that big of an alternator, running a 4 guage wire could put 40 amps back into the battery. I think the average trailer plug is only putting about 10 amps.
Amps and Wire Gauge - 12V Circuit

that's the problem with 12v BTW, too many amps!

[jeffnick]

I tried using the 12vdc wire from my TV to my breakaway battery to keep my 120 fridge up in the trailer via my inverter. It didn't work for me. I believe that circuit is limited to a 20 amp output.

As mentioned, you could run a heavy cable from your TV battery to the TT inverter but like was also mentioned I believe it would be cheaper and more efficient to buy/install a properly sized inverter in the TV next to the battery and run the 120 to the TT shore power plug.

[CHICKDOE]

there seem to be two issues here. those that report that they can power a residential refrigerator via an inverter while traveling have the inverter connected to the trailer batteries. they will supply power higher amperage power to the inverter for those intermittent times that the refrigerator cycles on (estimated at around 25% of the time). the power connection from the tow vehicle will provide a lower amperage power to the batteries at all times. thus the batteries provide a burst of high power to the inverter intermittently while being topped off with a lower amperage power from the tow vehicle at all times.


if you try to run the trailer inverter only from the tow vehicle alternator (ie not connected to house batteries) the stock cables between the two cannot support the power load needed to run the refrigerator. all the mentions of installing thicker cables are designed to increase the amount of power that the tow vehicle alternator can supply to the inverter, as is the mention of relocating the inverter into the tow vehicle and then running 110 vac cables between it and the refrigerator.


also, a towed vehicle needs a onboard battery for the break away switch function. if a 'standard' rv house battery provides this function (not a smaller dedicated breakaway battery) this battery could also be used to power the inverter while being towed. my suspicion is that any towed vehicle that has a residential refrigerator installed in it moist likely already has multiple house batteries installed and running the refrigerator while towing is not a problem.

[Hersbird]

Except there are 100's of people who learn the hard way that their battery is dead and the fridge is not cold. It's just a question of how much power you are using in the camper. The 12v to 110v inverter is more of a new thing. The fridges used to be 3 way, Gas, 110v or 12v. Now they seem to be 2 way, 110v and gas. Some have added the inverter to convert 12v to 110v so you can run the fridge that no longer has a 12v setting. This is even less efficient then just having a 12v heat source on the fridge itself. But back in the day, on a long trip, on a hot day, with a big fridge running 12v, it used more than the 15 amps the TV supplied via the 7 way plug and sooner or later it killed the camper battery. Probably why they just did away with the 12v setting. you need to run the gas. If your fridge is just a 110v fridge it is even worse. Their design uses even more power with a high current compressor, plus the inverter wastes power in the conversion.
Some of the best webpages on this kind of thing are the off grid cabin pages. They have to learn how to live 24/7 without constant, easy 110v AC.