I just ordered a 12v to 110v power inverter. Plan was to wire directly into my trailer wiring that powers my interior trailer lights . However with the trailer light circuitry in the 06's not having fuse or relay protected trailer circuitry am thinking perhaps running seperate wiring for it.
it is a 2500 watt inverter--anyone know how much drain these things are on the batteries ? would it be better to use an independent battery for it and charge the extra baterry with a trikle charger ?

 

2500 watts is a pretty good draw...depending on what you plan to run off the inverter. IMHO, a dedicated battery with some sort of dedicated charging system would be the way to go.

 

can i run a trickle charger from the inverter to the battery while using the other two outlets for lights--computer ect ?

 

http://www.theinverterstore.com/2500gp01.html

this is the invertor i bought

 

I run a 3500 watt invert on a trailer powering the equipment in it. I have it wired to the batt under the hood. I have a quick disconnect for the cables at the bumper similar to a winch system. I have ran this on several diffirent trucks for hundreds of hours. I do leave the truck running, but if I was only gonna need it for a few minutes at a time I would not worry about it.

 

A few Years ago when i was in the military i had a radio repair truck equipped with an inverter. i used it all nite long when we were on field manuvers and never left the truck running ?

 

Herb,

The factory Dodge trailer wiring will not handle the amperage draw from the inverter. You will need #2 AWG welding cable to support the inverter at the rated load of 2500 watts. This is for both the positive and negative connections. A quick connect set-up at the bumper would be the best way to accomplish the installation.

Probably a better option is a deep cycle marine battery (Optima series) mounted in the trailer with the inverter wired directly to this battery. If you are only running a computer and a few small lights, it could last up to 12 hours before needing to be charged.

 

Can i charge the battery in the trailer with the invertor by plugging the trickle charger into one of the inverter plugs while using the other inverter outlet for something else??
would have one set of wires from the battery to the run inverter and one set of wires from the trikle charger to the battery at the same time

 

herb,

The amperage draw for a 2500 watt inverter is about 180- 200 amps! About the same as the starter on the CTD. You must feed it with the right cables and as short as possible. WAY bigger than any trailer wiring. These cables will look like the ones going to your starter, very large.

Your charging question sounds like perpetual motion. Just charge the trailer battery with the 12 volts from the truck. Not the twelve volts from the truck running an inverter that runs a plug in charger that charges the battery.

If you want the inverter for the trailer only then back it up with some serious deep cycle batterys. And be ready to charge them heavily. If it's only for intermittant use you could use solar panels to charge them and they'd be ready for an occasional heavy draw, an overnight stay with lights and the heater on (not an electric heater) or some power tools. Figure out your probable usage pattern. How many amps max, how long, how often. Total it all up to get your amp hours and them figure a charging system and a battery bank to carry it. There is a lot more to it than house current and every bit of use must be matched with an equal amount of charging amps plus about 10%.

Wetspirit

 

read your spec. sheet. dc amp. draw at 2500 watts is (208 amp dc )
no you can't charge off of inverter. as you are defeating the inverter purpose.
i believe you would be better off with a 2000watt honda gen. but each to his own.

 

Man, that's a lot of draw from the batteries.

If you plan to run that very long, a pair of Trojan L16HC's might be in order (420 amp hrs each), along with a big converter/multi stage charger (a trickle charger would take weeks to bring 800 amp/hrs worth of batteries back up).

You could consider getting an inverter that also has a converter/charger built in, like this, for around $750.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...-inverters.htm

I guess I'd agree with Gcssr, in that unless absolute quiet is a big issue, I'd think about a Honda EU2000. They are less than $1000, and are super-reliable and quiet.

What are the 110v AC items that you are wanting to run?

 

I have a 2000w inverter in the fiver with 4/0 cables as short as possible running on Trojans. I will get a 1.4v drop in voltage on that size cable, 26" long when I run the microwave. Heavy current - - no way your truck can handle those kinds of current from the charging system. Why do you need 2500w???

 

Maybe he really does need that kind of power but if so it's probably only for a very short time. Skillsaw and microwave at the same time, or something. Often it's hard for some to see what is practical and necessary. Or sensible.

I worked on a house recently where they had an "emergency" generator. You know, something to keep the lights on and the frige working during a short term outage. I went over to have a look and it was a Ford 460 V8 driven genny running on a 4" natural gas line! Yep, that outta do it.

Wetspirit

 

I don't think he needs 2500W. He just has a 2500W inverter. It will not constantly produce 2500W. 2500W is it's maximun output. The acutal current draw depends on what you plug into it. He could easily just use the inverter with only the truck batteries depending on how many lights he wants to power and their power ratings. Maybe you could just add a 3rd battery to your truck and have it in either the truck or the trailor. Is there 12-14 volts comming out of the trailor connection? If so, you could put a battery or two in the trailor and have them connected to the trailor connection to charge whenever the truck is running and hook the inverter up to those.

 

If you have a 2500 watt inverter you must be prepared to feed it the necessary amps when you do draw that much current. And sooner or later it will happen. Microwave and a power tool will get you there real quick. Or just plan a smaller inverter.

The truck's trailer wiring will not take the full output from the alternator. You must feed the inverter in a way that does not demand heavy current through those wires.

Wetspirit