Me78569

However, I don't want the 120v side with the converter to 12v connected to the battery. My campers setup separates the battery input from the 120v input. I want the ability to hook up to 120v and output a good 12v, vs the 15-16v I am getting now.

I think I might rob a Computer power supply from work and redo my 120->12v converter. I should be able to get 15-20 amp stable 12v using an ATX style power supply. it is easy to pull the 12v bus out of an atx supply and use a simple connector to wire it in place of the existing power supply. I very much doubt any 12v item is going to like being plugged into the 15-16v output now.

I have the wiring info for the power converter, I think from the little I looked at it that when you flip the toggle switch to select 120v the 12v input from the battery is "disconnected" thus preventing the 15v from going to the battery. Pretty nifty. I THINK that the toggle switch either passes 12v-15v from the 120v converter OR it passes the 12v from the battery. that would explain how it works. I will dig in more tomorrow. For good measure I bought a solar controller also. I wont be ordering a panel for a bit, but at least I can get the wiring in place. I need to make a good spot to do an easy plug & play wiring for the panel so I can remotely position it easily. Simple weather proof plug installed in the camper should work.

if you see the resistance in that circuit as high I would first look at the junction above the drivers front tire. all of the wiring for the bed of the truck goes through it and it can collect a lot of dirty / salt.

I have a VERY nice Genius Smart battery charger that I am going to bring with me. Thing when when I put the camper up to store the battery will not stay with the camper as there is no place to put it. I am sudo mounting the battery box into the bed of the truck rather that building a mounting place for the battery. And again I tested what the camper does when you are plugged into 120v. If you plug into 120v the battery ISN'T being charged, The voltage at the battery stays 12.6 ish while everything internal is 14-15v there is no backflow of power from the current old school power converter, so there is no risk of cooking the battery when plugged into 120v.

I tested that, with the switch set to 120v input my multimeter shows 12.61 at the battery. It will not try and charge the battery when in 120v mode. I will retest tomorrow, but I am pretty sure there is a disconnect between the 2 systems. Exactly, it pays off to go through everything, I hate hate hate being somewhere and "trusting" that someone else did it right.

Use a paper clip to "jump" the connection/plug on the rear pumpkin then use a multimeter under the hood on those wires to verify that the wiring is good. If it is then replace the sensor.

The camper now runs on Battery power, as it seems typical the old owner either never used it or didn't wire it correctly as the ground and tail light connection were reversed. I pulled apart the connect and rewired with, stripping the old wire any making sure all the connections where clean. nice to be able to flip a switch inside and go from AC to DC input. Battery is contained in a battery box, with a harness that plugs into the 7pin on the truck to allow you to charge on the way to where you are going, then the box will have a large cutoff switch do you can isolate the camper battery from the starting batteries. I am not sure if I want to wire in my Smart charger to the system or just charge the 31 in the box when I get back to the house. Dunno we will see. LED lights came in, but they were none regulated so they about started a fire due to the 15v the camper has when you run on 120v. Ordered some new regulated LED's today. I am still waiting on this Should be nice to be able to charge usb stuff, have a cig outlet for people and be able to see volts. in the space we removed the furnace from we are mounting this on a piece of plywood on hinges to allow easy access behind. I might put a shelf in or something behind the door. Tested the fridge and stove today. rewired the connection for the water pump with a new lighted switch. Jen is sewing away recovering all the cushions. things are coming together.

of what? All the rotting is removed and patched so not much to see there. I will take some good interior pictures in a few. Left side Right side Right rear section left rear section The furnace proved helpful..used the skin for more reinforcement

Yea the fridge is going to stay, the forced air heater is in the trash. I rebuilt the back corners of the camper as they were rotted. I am resealing the back joints also. Making progress, Group 31 is sitting my office, harness made for the plug to the truck. Waiting for the battery box.

For the typical type of camping we do a power-less heater is what we need. Maybe a few years down the road we can pick up a honda generator, but right now my camping budget has been blown to pieces haha

Well I may have jumped the gun a little early on the heater, I am glad I pulled out the factory heater, but it appears that I might have trouble finding a good spot for the replacement one I got, go big or go home doesn't work well in this case. I have cut out a cardboard box to the same size as the heater so I will try and see if I can fit it, but I might end up selling this 6000BTU unit and going with a Wave 3 unit which is 11"x10x3 vs the 18x14x5 for the 6000 btu unit. Anyone need a 6000 BTU unit haha? I got the radio replaced last night with a newer model I had in the BMW. Nice to have tunes in it. Next I am looking at the fridge, need to look into how much propane it uses and decide if I will ever use it. Water pump has been ordered to replace the broken one and I have started to tear into the wiring. I have added 2 buses for 12v and neg to make the wiring a lot nicer in the cabinet. all new wires for the existing stuff is in place and I will be able to add the other items neatly now. Items ordered: -high quality ratchet straps -water pump - usb / voltage gauge / cig outlet - LED lights for inside - Battery Box - Battery isolator - 7 pin trailer wiring plug to run to battery - 6000 btu heater that may not fit well haha Still need: - group 31 Deep cycle - maybe a WAVE 3 heater to replace the other heater.

Very interesting data after rereading it. good point about auto's rarely seeing under 1600 rpm. that does make a considerable amount of difference.

i'd use a yam

Just ordered a 6000 btu blue-flame heater, the old heater in the camper needed 12v to run which doesn't fit our needs at all. This will open up a bunch of storage space. we don't need to have the camper at 65*f, more so it is for keeping it liveable regardless of the temp outside.

I think they are talking about extended non-high idle idle.

Which issue? I am missing it I guess.

I am kinda dumb when it comes to solar, Need a control to prevent over charge, Need a panel to collect solar, and 2 wires to connect the 2? Anything else?

Solar WILL happen, that's stage 2 haha gotta get the accountants approval. Think I am gnna skip the inverter in the camper. only thing I really need to power when I am not hooked up is random cell phone charge or other 12v stuff.

Don't rain on my techie / modding parade by suggesting the easiest, cheapest, and most robust solution

Aright, Need some brain picking help. The power converter in the camper does 120v --> 12v to power the internal lights, and powers the 120v plugs in the camper. I have also ordered a 12v to usb plug with volt meter so I can see battery levels and charge phones / USB items. However if I am running on 12v power the converter does not invert power back to 120v, so the 120v plugs won't work. I have ordered a battery box, a power disconnect switch to allow for alternator charging of the battery, then disconnect so power cannot be run off the vehicle batteries when sitting. so I am going to isolate one group 31 deep cycle battery for the camper. Do I bother running a 12v --> 120v inverter? I have a large inverter in the truck already that is wired to the batteries under the hood. I don't really use it ever, but it would be really easy to move it into the camper, hardest part would be figuring out how to run the wiring and where to put the inverter. so what do you say, should I bother installing my inverter into the camper, or would that just promote energy wasting items? I suppose if I really need 120v power in the woods I can start the truck and run whatever off the inverter in the cab........ Dunno.

haha that is the dream isn't it. I did notice yet another nice feature of the VGT, sudo traction control. the larger the vane curve the less you run the risk of blowing the tires off, actually VERY helpful for pulling people out.

you know for a guy that likes to tinker I know just the setup

Yes, You will just have to return his truck to stock, load any tune onto your smarty, turn you truck back to stock and return the smarty your friend with a 6 pack of his favorite beer