New to RV

[Rickptb]

Can some of you do a Laymens term type of power INFO. like, with Trailer alone you have, Trailer Battery power to 12v lites, water pump etc. Plus propane to run heater, fridge, etc. Then when pluged into truck--batt. charging.draining tow veh. batt.?? what works with gen. & what shore plug runs. I know all trailers are sold diff. (SK2112) just a general Idea,, factory invertors??, converters?? water press. Thanks Rick & all Newby's (if this is even possible)

[bikendan]

your post is hard to make sense of.
maybe you can explain in more detail since most of the sentences are run on.

and it seems like you're asking for something not just related to Toyhaulers or are you asking about Toyhaulers specifically?

[Rickptb]

Just in general, all new trailers, how Electric and gas work without asking individual questions ??? sorry

[arlee453]

Most TT work like this:

You have both 12V and 110 AC power. There is an inverter/control panel that controls the various elements in the camper.

Things like lights, automatic lighting of propane appliances, water pump, etc (basically your essentials) run off 12 V power. That power is supplied by an onboard RV/Marine type battery. That battery is charged in two ways - either by the power cord when plugged into 'shore' power 110 outlet, OR (slowly...) by the tow vehicle. Some folks do mods to their TT to add a 2nd battery, or solar panel for recharging 12V which gives you more time 'off grid' or 'boondocking', also called 'dry' camping where you are parked somewhere you don't have a shore power outlet availalbe to plug into.

You don't want to park the Tow Vehicle (TV) with the engine OFF and your TT connected, as if you have anything running in the TT (like the fridge) that uses 12V it will drain down your vehicle battery. If you are parking for any length of time, unplug the power cable from the TV.

When you are at a campsite, there is a power cord to connect your RV to the shore power outlet at the campsite. This supplies 110 AC to the camper. That allows you to run the other features of the camper - things like Air conditioning, microwave and 110 outlets. It also charges the battery and the converter in the unit will run the 12V stuff off the 110 shore power.

Most TTs have 30amp connector. You can purchase an adapter that allows you to plug into a standard wall outlet BUT you won't be able to run your Air Conditioner and maybe microwave unless you have a full 30 amps (it will usually trip a breaker either in the house where you are plugged in, or in the camper). However you can leave it plugged in like that when at home to keep your battery topped up.

Some larger units and motor homes use 50Amp/double pole service. Again, there are adapters to step that down to 30Amp and 20amp if you are camping somewhere there is no 50 amp service.

Most ALL commercial campgrounds and most public park type places will at least have 30 amp service available.

Propane tanks are used to supply fuel for cooking (stove/oven) and heating, and also can be used to run fridges when not on shore power.

Refrigerators - most RV fridges run either dual or triple power, meaning that they will run EITHER on propane OR 110 (and most auto-switch between, defaulting to 110 when available) OR some are triple power and can run off 110, propane OR the 12V battery (but bad idea to run off battery unless you are hooked up to tow vehicle, as it's a big hog and will drain your battery pretty quickly)

Water heater: Either it's propane only (with or without electric auto-light, depending on model, OR some have 110/propane where it will default to 110 when available to save your propane.

Furnace/Heat: depends on the model, but most larger TT's have furnace that autolights and runs off propane

AirConditioner: a real power hog - ONLY works when plugged into shore power

Microwave: same as A/C unit - only works when on 110

Lights & water pump: run off 12V so you can use these when dry camping/no hookups

Other stuff like power lifts on popups and power stablizer/tongue jacks, slide out motors etc usually run off 12 V so they work when not on shore power. There is a manual crank provided in case of dead battery so you can always manually extend/retract slides and jacks if you have to.

As far as the other main system - plumbing... depends on the model, but the standard setup is a fresh water tank for holding fresh water, with a water pump used to pressurize the faucets. Most RVs also have a 'city water' port where you can plug in a water hose from a faucet at the campsite, which bypasses the water tank completely. *ALWAYS use ONLY the special white RV water hoses to fill the tank or hook up to city water *

Sewage is usually two tanks. Waste water from sinks/shower is stored in the 'grey' tank and the toilet empties into the 'black' tank. Those tanks are dumped into a sewage system either at a specific dump site OR at the campsite if sewage hookups are provided. There are tons of other threads about proper maintenance and care of sewage system.

Some smaller popups do not have a toilet/shower. Some others have a toilet, but it's a 'cassette' toilet, meaning that there is no black tank underneath the trailer and the waste is stored inside the toilet in a cassette that must be removed and emptied as needed.

Most all RVs at least have a sink for food prep/hand washing.

I think that's the basics.

[Triguy]

^^^

Excellent overview

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Triguy

^^^

Excellent overview

X2

[punkaccountant]

Kudos to arlee453 for taking the time to summarize this! That's what make this site great! Excellent overview

[AquaMan]

And just to be clear, 30 amp plugs from a camper are 120v, NOT 240v.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by ttrost65

And just to be clear, 30 amp plugs from a camper are 120v, NOT 240v.

Lol others seem to find that out the hard way !
Kudos for bringing it up !
Turbs

[rjshiflet]

Originally Posted by punkaccountant

Kudos to arlee453 for taking the time to summarize this! That's what make this site great! Excellent overview

X2 - Excellent overview arlee453. You and others like you are the backbone of success in Forest River Forums. I've been RVing over 10 years, and I read through this with interest just to make sure all my basic understanding was correct.

[dustman_stx]

If your vehicle is setup with a relay on the 12V feed wire going to the trailer, you won't run your battery down on the TV by leaving the TT hooked up. The relay disconnects the 12V feed line when the vehicle is off. This should be the case on any vehicle that came with a factory tow setup.

[Road-King]

Originally Posted by arlee453

Most TT work like this:

Water heater: Either it's propane only (with or without electric auto-light, depending on model, OR some have 110/propane where it will default to 110 when available to save your propane.

Great wright up arlee, that took some time...

My hot water heater has two switches, one inside the TT for propane and one outside under the hot water access panel for 110. I think most RV's are like this. It will not default to 110, in fact I can run both propane and 110 for faster recovery. Hardly ever need to though.

[Rickptb]

Thanks if that was done any other way I'd owe you for ink, Thats great INFO. We have'nt even bought the the Toy Hauler yet. Going to the RV show on Oct 12-20 at pamona ca. before we purchase, just to make sure nothing has changed much.-----So then with a Generator things would work the same as plugged into shore power & then your GEN. is your inverter ?. I have solar panels, A wind genny, solar controllers & a 5K inverter on the house. I'll make something Mobile to take on the road, buy two more batteries and add a switch so T.V. does'nt connect to all 3 battery's . Before I broke my neck I was a good Mechanic, still have a brain but work very slowly, just did'nt know how trailers were set up.. Thanks Again RICK

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Rickptb

So then with a Generator things would work the same as plugged into shore power & then your GEN. is your inverter ?.

no, a inverter is a separate thing. what you're getting confused with is that there are inverter generators and non-inverter generators.
when you plug into a generator, inverter or not, it basically is the same as having shore power, it's just coming from the generator.
an inverter generator uses an inverter to control the speed of the generator's motor. if the load is light, the inverter tells the motor to idle, if the demand is high, it tells it to rev up.
a non-inverter generator runs at full revs all the time, low or high demand, it doesn't make a difference.
that's one reason inverter generators can be quieter.

for most RV's, you have to add an inverter to plug in things to run them off the battery. things like a tv, dvd, charging phones and so on. it will invert the 12v DC power from the battery, to 110v AC for things that run off of that. but it's limited to the number and power the battery/batteries have.

[Stingingfork]

Arlee453 I'm a newbie to the RV scene as well as this forum but that was such an excellent overview I will save this page as one of my favorites just to come back to as a refresher. Thanks for taking the time.

[Earth Station]

Originally Posted by arlee453

Most TT work like this:

You have both 12V and 110 AC power. There is an inverter/control panel that controls the various elements in the camper........
I think that's the basics.

That was great!! Could have been titled Prerequisite to RV 101. I read it completely to DH!!! So glad I am part of this forum!!And better yet..... so glad YOU decided to purchase a FR and be part of this forum Arlee!!!

[cbconway]

Originally Posted by arlee453

Most TT work like this:
You have both 12V and 110 AC power...<snip>...I think that's the basics.

I think this deserves a "sticky".

[Broadway Joe]

That was the best write-up I have seen of how RV systems operate. I hope you won't mind if I use this some day(giving you credit of course).

[Rickptb]

We went to A few RV sale places to look around, but when I asked questions they just say stuff they think they know, I worked on RV's only for four yrs. but only on engines, wheels & brakes and alignments. I've never been on the Rv-er Camping side of the picture. I told my wife lets just go home & join a RV FORUM. Ha Ha they have the most knowledge their living it. Thanks Again Rick

[B47]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

X2

Turbo - I believe you have met your match here.