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Old 02-20-2020, 04:55 PM   #1
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New to travel trailer

Hi there im new to this. Me and my family always go off grid camping and use generator when We've gone in past. Like to start using the battery and solar panels. Besides that, im curious to what i can plug in to my stock tv outlet can i use that as i would a car cig outlet. We like a fan going at night and i know the only stuff in camper that works off battery is lights, radio, furnace and water pump. So would like to be able to use a tv and fan off the 12 volt system. But im not sure how to do so or if ita possible. Its an older travle trailer 1992 suline saturn if that matters. Anyone who can give advice and shed sone light for me would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Old 02-20-2020, 05:18 PM   #2
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I also want to mention the solar panle we will be using will be to just charge rv battery. Nothing big.
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Old 02-20-2020, 05:55 PM   #3
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Since it's a nearly 30 year old non-Forest River product, not sure how much a 12v outlet that old could power.
You should look for an inverter to power the tv, if its a 110v tv. We use a 150w inverter to power our 32" Vizio tv.
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Old 02-20-2020, 05:58 PM   #4
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Oh ok i dodnt realize this forum fwas for specific campers tjays my fault i thought it was for all. Tha ks for info thou wosh i didnt register kmowinf that now.
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Old 02-20-2020, 06:14 PM   #5
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Oh ok i dodnt realize this forum fwas for specific campers tjays my fault i thought it was for all. Tha ks for info thou wosh i didnt register kmowinf that now.
You are correct. This is NOT just for Forest River owners.

The problem is that no one really knows that much about your unit.

We use a fan that uses D cell batteries and an internal battery that can be recharged.

If your tv (television?) runs off a 12v cigarette like connection, you should be able to unplug that and plug in a 12v fan. They also make a cigarette lighter splitter, but I don't know how successful that would be in running both appliances. https://smile.amazon.com/BESTEK-2-So...s%2C200&sr=8-5

You have a generator to keep that battery powered up, so that shouldn't be a problem.
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Old 02-20-2020, 06:19 PM   #6
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Okay makes sense. I don't have a TV for the RV specific yet. I was thinking of getting a 12 volt TV so I could just use that outlet that's provided I'm not sure on that yet though I was just hoping that I could buy a 12-volt fan and plug it into that same Outlet but I was worried about how many amps or whatever that outlet was rated for I don't want to cause any burnt wires or issues I don't remember for sure but I'm pretty sure the outlet says TV use only and I know TVs don't use a lot of power anyways even 110 volt one. I appreciate the info. I guess my next step will be after I take it out of storage to do some testing with my multimeter
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Old 02-20-2020, 06:26 PM   #7
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If you look where all your 12 volt fuses are, it may only be 15amps. Little solar panels won't charge much. Need to do some research on that subject.
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Old 02-20-2020, 07:36 PM   #8
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Oh ok i dodnt realize this forum fwas for specific campers tjays my fault i thought it was for all. Tha ks for info thou wosh i didnt register kmowinf that now.
Not saying you can't be a member. It's just that 99% of members here, own a Forest River product.
Just that there probably won't be a yone here familiar with your trailer.
But we can help with general RV topics.
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Old 02-21-2020, 07:29 AM   #9
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Old 02-21-2020, 06:20 PM   #10
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On an older trailer I assume you do not want to spend a lot of money.

Get a chart stating amps used by devices and see what you have.

Likely you need.
A new battery. 100 amps. Would likely power a furnace overnight.

One or two wired 12 volt outlets. Car parts places have them.

A plug in inverter. Converts 12 volt dc to ac 110. No coffee pots. No microwave.

A plug in USB port for a car outlet. Cheap. Charge you phone.

Select a tv. Ac or dc. Dc would be best.

A voltmeter to check your battery condition. Cheap.

That gets you going for $200 or so.

The generator would likely power your outlets when needed.
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Old 02-21-2020, 07:00 PM   #11
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Personally, I would almost assume that your 12V cig plug is only rated for MAX 15 amps.

1. 12 V TV's are harder to find than cheap 120 V TV's... so a cheap inverter (12V to 120 VAC ) might power the TV very well... a 150 watt inverter is only about $30

2. Most 12VDC fans will chew up a 12V battery entirely within a night because they pull a lot of amps.

3. Adding battery capacity by getting qty 2, group 27 or group 31 12VDC deep cycle batteries will help solve this by adding power capacity, but even these will require probably an 8 hour recharge from your generator for each 8 hour evening you run the fan.

4. you may also consider 2 6 volt golf cart batteries, which will also give you added Amp-hours ( capacity of the battery)

5. consider adding a Fantastic fan ( runs off 12VDC) into your roof vent, or probably just replace your standard 14 inch roof fan with a fan/vent top combo like this...
https://www.amazon.com/Fan-Tastic-Ve...52&sr=8-1&th=1

This will exhaust stale warm air out the top, even on low and pull in fresh air thru any open windows. Plus it is whisper quiet if installed properly. You may need to fish wires up to your roof vent, but often units have wires hidden under the ceiling near the vent for this purpose. ON/OFF switch is included with Fantastic fan.

6. solar panels are an expense and topic unto themselves. There are dozens of topics on this forum about solar that you should search and read. One thing to consider is the fold-up portable units that you can place in the sun while the camper is in the shade.
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Old 02-25-2020, 07:51 AM   #12
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Old 02-25-2020, 08:03 AM   #13
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You can get a small inverter and run small AC items from battery. Be aware that for every amp the AC appliance uses the inverter will be drawing 10A from your battery. If you have an 100AHr battery( for talking purposes only) you should only use about 50AHr before charging. So for example a 1AHr AC ( 10AHrs DC) tv running for 5 hrs will deplete the battery to the point where is must be charged.
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Old 02-25-2020, 08:44 AM   #14
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I have the Bestek 300w inverter from Amazon, which is inexpensive and powers my normal household 28”?TV. Plugs right in to the 12v “cigarette lighter”. I don’t watch much tv, maybe 1 show and the news, but it’s never even made a dent in my battery power.
I also second the fantastic fan. Unless you need the other fan for “white noise”, the FF is much more efficient and boy does it move air!
Again, I tend to be pretty cautious with lights etc, but my 5 year old group 27 battery powers those items just fine.
When I’m on the road, it doesn’t use more power each night than my vehicle can top back up the next day.
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