officergator
Central Florida
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I searched high and low across this site and others to find a solution to what I was attempting to accomplish. I want to thank everyone that had a hand in giving me advice and their input, it was very valuable and helped get me heading in the right direction. I wanted to post where I started, where I went and where I ended up for those that may be looking to do the same thing.
Where I started.
1998 Coachmen TT, immaculate condition, bought from old couple that used it sparingly. It was equipped with a MagnaTek 6332 converter charger. That was pretty much it. Like most TTs, no built in generator, you just plug the shore power cord into one, and a couple batteries to run the 12 volt lights and such.
What I wanted:
I needed to upgrade the converter, as it was very outdated with todays technology. I wanted a three stage charger. I also wanted to be able to run an LCD TV, DirecTV receiver, and my wife wanted to run her single cup coffee maker from time to time. Being that we normally camp in state parks with electric this was not that big of a deal, but dry camping brought on a whole new issue, hence the project.
Where I went:
After alot of research and tips on how to accomplish installing an inverter to run 110 items off of DC power I settled on the Cobra 1575 (1500 watt) inverter. I further bought the Progressive Dynamics 9270 inverter charger. The 9200 series has the built in charge wizard, and I bought the remote pendant to monitor what the charger was doing.
The dilema:
I had alot of people give me different ideas on how to wire the inverter for the AC electrical side. The DC side was easy, 1 gauge wire, shortest run as possible to the batteries. For the AC side this was not so easy. I wanted to be able to watch the TV in the bedroom at the rear of the trailer (farthest from the batteries) but run the coffee maker in the kitchen. Alot said to wire up another AC panel for the inverter, great idea, but limited space. Others said to run a cord from the inverter to the shore cord box and plug the shore cord into it. Also great idea, but the shore cord disappears into a magical hole in the side of the trailer, not an accessible box.
The solution:
I decided I was going to buy an automatic transfer switch. Man what a nightmare the wiring for that looked. Simple idea, headache to wire since you had to make sure the breaker to the converter was off so as not to be charging the batteries with the inverted power from the batteries, thus creating a loop that will kill the batteries quick. After some research on the internet I came across a product that was EXACTLY the solution I was looking for. The Go Power GP-ATS-30R. An automatic transfer switch with a built in plug for the converter to plug into, a pigtail with AC plug to plug into the inverter, and the in and out for the shore power. The switch senses incoming power from the shore cord, and opens the circuit to the converter plug, and kills the circuit to the inverter. When shore power is not detected, it kills power to the converter plug and opens the circuit to the inverter cord.
The installation:
I removed the housing for the original converter and found all the hardware riveted to the bottom of the housing. Using a drill I drilled out all the rivets, thus leaving a clean and empty housing. I hammered flat the nipples and bumps and found that the PD9270 fit perfectly inside, sideways. I screwed the new converter down and began to run the wires. The original converter power came from the three wires wired to the panel and circuit breaker. This wiring went away, as the converter was now going to be powered from the switch. I replaced all the wiring from the converter to the DC bus with new wiring. The old wire was aluminum, and I replaced it with copper. I also upgraded to the new DC bus that I bought from bestconverter.com, which was a simple replacement. (If you do this, make sure you remove one wire at a time so you dont get them mixed up.) I removed the shore cord from the AC panel and wired it to the marked connections on the switch. I ran new wire from the marked connections on the switch to the AC panel where the shore cord was connected. Plug in the converter. I then ran my large 1 gauge wire from the batteries to the same compartment where I mounted the inverter next to the switch. wired the positive and negative to the inverter, plugged in the pigtail from the switch and buttoned it all up.
I am leaving next week for a few nights in the Smokey Mountains, where I will be dry camping. I bought two new Trojan 6v batteries and I will let everyone know how it goes. Below are pictures of the items I bought. I have some pictures of the install process, which I will add later when I get to it.
As always, I hope this helps anyone looking for the same type of solution. You can always post to the forum, or send me a private message and I will try and help anyone I can.
2007 Dodge Ram 1500 ThunderRoad
1998 Coachmen Catalina Lite 24D
1 Beautiful Wife
3 Howling Beagles
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officergator
Central Florida
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OK, the inserting photos isnt all that easy
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officergator
Central Florida
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Joined: 07/25/2009
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http://www.progressivedyn.com/images/Products/pd9270.jpg
Progressive Dynamics 9270 Converter / Charger
http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/cobra/cpi_1575_lg.jpg
Cobra 1575 Inverter
http://www.defender.com/images/257681.jpg
Go Power Automatic Transfer Switch (Pre Wired)
OK so I can wire an RV, but I cant post pictures, at least the important stuff is done! Here are some links to the pictures. I used Don Rowe for the inverter, bestconverter for the converter and I just searched for the best price on the switch, which was right at $200.
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RJsfishin
Winston Or.
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Joined: 10/16/2007
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http://www.defender.com/images/257681.jpg
The sad part is, you don't need a $200 switch to bypass the converter. A Backwoods $58 switch is all thats needed.
Rich
'98 Flair, 454, Onan Microlite 4k, Intel PD 9155 w/ wizard, Sta-power 1500 watt Inv, 2 6v batts, ammeters, KingDome/sat, Oly Catalytic Heat, hauling 2 Bent Bikes and sometimes towing a Tracker F&S boat.
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milo
4 Corners ....
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Joined: 07/19/2008
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Good Sam RV Club
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HUH! .... Could you repeat that..I got lost bout half way thru your explanation. Just kiddin.. hope it all works for ya...please let us know the final out come.
Milo
I'd like to add an inverter to my TT but I have a very hard time reading how all this is done as I'm a visual learner. I can look thru the final set up and then basicly do it but can not for the life of me read about how to do something & then figure out how to do it. I have to ask lots of questions.
Milo & Ottis (Mrs.) 33 fantastic yrs together
Both Retarded teachers (oh! I mean retired)
1 Beagle & 2 Aussie Pups (Mother & Daughter)
2004 F250 6.0 PSD CC 
2007 294RLS Cougar TT (the Summer Hogaan)
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pbohart
Portland, Oregon
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Joined: 10/24/2005
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Whether you go with the $200 pre-wired ATS (very nice, but a luxury), or you wire your own $50 simple ATS - the same basic problems prevent me from doing this install: Running the wire from the inverter to converter/panel.
Inverter in the front lower storage compartment behind the batteries. Converter/Charger in the middle of the TT below the pantry. If I had a wire pre-run I would be done with this by now. Since I dont - I am too scared to start ripping the TT apart to get the AC wiring to the ATS.
BTW - the $200 pre-wired ATS is well worth the money IMHO. reduces risk of mistakes that could ruin equipment or increase risk of fire.
1999 F-150 4x4 XLT SUPERCAB ORP
2006 Fleetwood Prowler 260BH
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BlownL36
Jackson, NJ
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Joined: 09/21/2009
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i have a 78 tt that i changed the charger/inverter to a 3 stage. I went with a WFCO 55 Amp. had to modify the base.but cam out great. good luck with everything your trying to do.
Sean & Jessica
Wonderful Little Girl
1998 Chevy 1500 Van.
1978 19FT Coyote
2004 Mystichrome Cobra 620whp/679trq
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officergator
Central Florida
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Milo, feel free to ask as many questions as you would like. I will try to answer them all. I will also post some pictures to up a website with all this info soon.
PBO, I followed some of your posts and the posts by others for you. Looks like we were doing the same project. Let me know if I can help you out in any way as well.
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officergator
Central Florida
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Joined: 07/25/2009
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*************UPDATE***************
I just returned from Smokemont in the Smokey Mountains, first true test of this set up. We drove up and spent one night in Franklin NC where I stayed at a commercial camground with hookups, this was Saturday Night. Topped off the batteries and headed to Smokemont. Man it was cold the first couple nights, and the furnace and fan ran constantly. Watched hours of football with NFL Sunday Ticket on Sunday, while enjoying the weather and scenery.
My first disappointment was with the K-Cup coffee maker. Two 6v wont cut it. Although the inverter is 1500 watts, and the K-Cup is only 700 watts, the batteries just didnt have enough juice to cut it, even at 90%. Gonna need two more for that, but space probably wont allow me to.
Overall I found that this new set up was perfect for our needs. I had to make sure the refrigerator was set to gas as it would try to switch to electric when I kicked on the inverter, which was not good, but an easy fix, and add one to the list of learning. I didn't try the microwave, it was not needed, and we rarely use it even if there is shore power.
Now I know I am not going to be comparing apples to apples here, but when you can only buy certain items, I feel it is important and practical. I have a Sears 12v AGM battery, and a Wal-Mart Marine battery. Neither of these lasted like the Trojan 6v did. I know that only the 6v is a true deep cycle battery, but when you cant find a true 12v deep cycle battery, the others are all you have. With any post I make giving my opinion I always stress that people do their own research for what will work for their application, and never take just my word for it. However, when it comes to batteries, I dont care what the damn amp hour ratings are stamped on those things. I am here to tell you that the Trojan 6v out performed both when it came to running what I needed with no way to recharge them. I went on sorta blind faith that the 6v application was going to be better, and man was I right. My father also has a 12v Seats AGM battery, and after running his furnace all night next to us, he had to crank up his built in Onan LP generator to recharge the battery, EVERY MORNING. Now I could have a more efficient fan for my furnace, but I doubt it was that more efficient. My batteries were new, and he stopped and replaced his battery on the way to the campground as it failed after only 11 months and would not hold a charge. At least he discovered that before leaving the house rather than the first night there.
In closing, for those of you looking to do the same type of application, I wiill be happy to send photos, give specific details of my install, or whatever you need. I received alot of good (and bad) advice that led me to this mod, and I feel the need to give back and help if I can. Send me a PM or post to this thread and I will do what I can.
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