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Old 10-05-2015, 03:55 AM   #101
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Originally Posted by depmgt View Post
Thanks to all for your assistance in adding shelves in the FR3. With your guidance and photos I was able to convert the coat closet into a pantry and add a shelf in the bathroom. I live in a small town so my local Lowes did not have the premade shelves in the color that matched, so I had to get raw wood and stain, but, I think it still came out great. See photos.

Looking good!
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Old 10-15-2015, 12:00 PM   #102
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I cannot let my wife see this. I did shelves in the front pantry, but holy smokes, that's some good work throughout there.
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Old 10-20-2015, 08:48 AM   #103
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An inverter converts 12v current into 110v current. For example, you can use a small inverter that plugs into a cigarette lighter to run a TV without having to run your generator when dry camping. I recently installed a Go Power! GPSW-1500 1500 watt inverter in my 30DS. I ran the 110v line back to where the shore cord cabinet is. Then installed a 2nd 30 amp outlet back there. When dry camping, I plug the shore cord into the new outlet which gives me power at all the 110v outlets.
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Old 10-20-2015, 12:05 PM   #104
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Question

Hi Pete&Ed,

Where/how did you connect the inverter to the 12VDC? I've always heard that it's important to keep the DC wires as short as possible (like a few feet) to minimize resistance losses, but the location you described seems to be a long way from the house batteries.

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Old 10-20-2015, 12:38 PM   #105
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Sounds great! Can you post some pics? I'd like to do this as some state parks we want to go to have no hookups and/or limited generator hours.
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Old 10-20-2015, 01:16 PM   #106
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Sorry, I should have provided a few more details... The first thing I did was install two additional 6v deep cycle batteries to supplement the 2 original 12v house batteries. I then installed the inverter in the storage cabinet right next to the batteries. The manufacturer says the inverter can’t be in the same space as the batteries and should be limited to 10' away from the batteries. You also will need a fuse to protect the inverter – in my case, a 200 amp fuse installed on the positive cable within 24” of the battery. Once installed, I basically ran a long "extension cord" made out of 12 gauge outdoor wiring. Since the inverter can handle up to 2000 peak watts, you need a “cord” that will handle that load. I ran the 110v cable (20 amps) from the storage cabinet next to the batteries back to the cabinet where the shore cord is located. That’s where I installed a new 30 amp outlet for the shore cord to plug into. I also installed a switch/outlet for the converter as it needs to be shut off when running on the inverter. If not switched off or unplugged, the inverter would try to feed power to the converter and the converter would be sending power to the batteries… the two devices would just run each other down as I understand it. ;-)
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Old 10-21-2015, 08:39 AM   #107
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Why did you choose 2 6 volt batteries instead of 12 volt? It looks like your extra batteries are in the same area as the house batteries. Do you have a cover for them while driving? When and how are the extra batteries charged? Have you considered going solar with this setup? Thanks for posting as this is something I would also like to do.
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Old 10-21-2015, 09:13 AM   #108
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I ordered a dual battery tray off of Amazon and had it bolted to and welded onto the frame next to the existing 12 volt house batteries. The tray seemed a little flimsy and because of the weight of the 6 volt batteries, I added a support piece to the front of the tray (seen on the left side in the battery pic) to reduce bouncing. I added 2 extra 6 volt deep cycle golf cart batteries (about a $100 each) as they supposedly can provide longer power and more amps than 12 volt batteries. You should Google and read various opinions on which are the best 6 volt batteries to use in an RV - Trojan's seem to be very popular, but cost more. I wired the 2 6 volts in series making them a single 12 volt battery and connected them to the existing 2 12 volt batteries. In essence, I just have a large 12 volt battery now. The existing converter/charger seems to be charging all of batteries just fine. If I had extra $$$, I would replace the 2 12 volt batteries with 2 6 volt deep cycle batteries as well. It's probably not great to mix 6 and 12 volt batteries though in my current setup. They all get charged while driving down the road and when plugged into shore power. If we end up doing extended dry camping (more than just weekends), I definitely would install solar. I didn't bother with an extra battery cover - mainly because I haven't found one yet that would work. If you won't need a lot of amps to run your inverter (e.g., for an electric coffee pot, microwave, hair dryer, etc.), you might be able to stick with your existing 12 volt batteries and just add solar, saving the cost of extra batteries. You might also start with just replacing your 12 volt batteries with 2 deep cycle 6 volt batteries). If you're only going to just run a TV at night, you won't need a 1500 watt inverter like I installed. So, you need to figure out what you are going to run (watts/amps) and for how many hours. I went with a pure sine wave inverter (more $'s) as they are recommended for sensitive electronics - TVs, laptops, etc.
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Old 10-21-2015, 10:01 AM   #109
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I really like that idea... I think in the spring I will have someone install a system like yours... I'm not good with electrical stuff so unfortunately it'll cost a bit more for me, but I do like the idea of dry camping without having to run the generator all the time!
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Old 10-22-2015, 07:09 PM   #110
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Here is my inverter installation, which works for inverters up to 750 watts (IMHO). But I'm guessing if you want to do more than that, you'll either have to upgrade the wiring between the battery and charger. But this works for just running the TVs/charging misc items/CPAP/etc. If we need more, starting the gen will work.

Basically installed a 3 position switch, ON-OFF-ON. And wired the converter to one side, and the inverter to the other. So switching to the inverter will provide 12v to turn the inverter on while disconnecting the charger. So when I'm ready to switch from Gen to Inverter, I just relocate the shore plug over to the inverter 30 amp outlet that I've installed (which is wired to one of the AC outlets on the inverter). Anyways, if you don't need much, this setup works pretty good IMHO. And I used a cheap inverter that I had laying around from 10 years ago and it works just fine for the TVs/charging phones/CPAP/MaxxFans/etc.

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Old 10-22-2015, 07:47 PM   #111
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Thanks... nice setup! When on the inverter, are you also unplugging the converter? If not, aren't you going around and around in a circle? If not, isn't the inverter providing power to all of your 110v outlets, including the converter outlet? Or, does the converter not draw any power because there is no demand?
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Old 10-22-2015, 08:57 PM   #112
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Using that switch, it disconnects the 12v output of the converter, so it effectively doesn't know what your current voltage is in order to determine what output to put out, because its now an open circuit. Now there might be some parasitic loss while its waiting to see a battery come online, but its probably not much at all. Or at least it hasn't been noticeable.

So all we do is shut down the gen, reconnect the shore power to the inverter outlet and switch it over. It powers (attempts to power) everything in the RV that the generator would (Fridge, all outlets, water heater, microwave, etc.). I usually have the water heater on gas only, all the time, and also I switch over the fridge to gas while on inverter.

I've ran this setup so for about 8-10 hours so far on the stock 12v batteries using the LED lighting/TV/CPAP all night and the battery charge only dropped 1/3. Which was all I was trying to accomplish with this setup. I can always run the gen an hour or two to charge the batteries in the morning. I've felt guilty running the generator lately while driving down the road for our 4 year old to just watch TV/DVD. Rather not burn the fuel/put hours on the gen just for 200 watts of power...I do hope to get dual 6 volt batteries in the future, but for now, the stock batteries are doing just fine.
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Old 11-01-2015, 05:10 PM   #113
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Central Vac

Bought a Dirt Devil CV1500 and, I swear, it was made for an FR3 Dana installed it today, and it was easy. I absolutely love it. Now I can take the swifter, the broom, and the hand-held vac out of the closet and make room for something else. I hope I'm not posting too many pictures.
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Old 11-01-2015, 06:15 PM   #114
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Neat set-up! Never to many pictures LOL! Does it exhaust under the seat and is that where you empty it from?
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Old 11-02-2015, 05:09 AM   #115
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Thank you. Yes, we tried it with the door open and closed and noticed no difference in the suction, but it's nice to know that if it does need some air, we can simply open that door. The end cap, where it says Dirt Devil, pops off and you take the bag out to change it.
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Old 11-22-2015, 03:30 PM   #116
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Driver (faux) Diamond Plate Floor Mat

If you drive an FR3 you know the problem that this solved. $12.29 at Home Depot and half an hour of relatively unskilled labor. (Cinch 1.5 in. x 36 in. Spice Fluted T-Molding Transition Strip for Similar Height Floors with Snap Track). Don't depend on the self-adhesive. The snap strip is pre-drilled. I used 5 3/8" self tapping screws. The kind that have a point that looks like a drill bit. It added 45 seconds to the installation time. But now I'm certain that the strip won't walk away from the DIAMOND PLATE.
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Old 11-22-2015, 06:39 PM   #117
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I love seeing all of the creativity you folks have. Thank you very much for the ideas and for sharing your pics and info.

Our front shade motor went out and since we had to replace it.. (Hats off to Travis, at FR3, for helping with that issue!!), we ordered a "day shade" and we installed it and the replacement night shade this weekend.
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Old 11-22-2015, 06:43 PM   #118
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The side day shades were supposed to be chestnut colored too, but they arrived in black and we sent them back. The replacements will arrive tomorrow. More fun to come but no wiring
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Old 11-22-2015, 08:30 PM   #119
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Okay, what's a day shade? Our coach came with an electric shade for the windshield and manual slow-rise shades for the side windows. We use them all day or night as needed. So.... what's a day shade?
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Old 11-22-2015, 08:33 PM   #120
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Does the inverter installation have any effect on manufacturer's warranty? 8
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