User installed invertor, suggestions for how to wire in?

[GregGarner]

I have a new Gulstream Endura Gladiator, and it came without an invertor. My kids like to play video games on the road, and in the old RV we just put the 2KW sine wave invertor under the seat and plugged the TV and Video game into the outlet on the invertor. We had to remember to turn the invertor off when we got to our destination.

I am thinking of wiring the same invertor into the new gladiator in a more permanent manner. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to do this?

These are some thoughts I had:

1) I would like the invertor to come on automatically if the main diesel engine is running, and the generaetor is not running.

2) I would like to have a bypass switch to make the invertor come on when the diesel engine is not running.

3) The invertor is not powerful enough to run the A/C units, so do I just have to remember to not run them when the invertor is providing power (This would be a problem if I wired the invertor into the main RV wiring for 110V).

4) One option might to to just run an extra set of outlets for the invertor only, not use the existing RV wiring. Then I wouldn't have to worry about being plugged into the 50A circuit, or worry about the generator running or not.

5) Does anyone know approximately how the invertor would have been wired in if the coach had come from the factory with an invertor? Would it just have powered some of the outlets, and not the A/C units?

Thanks for your time.

Greg Garner

[rdlamb]

Hi Greg:
Your project is very easy, or very complicated.

If the coach comes from the factory with an inverter, your coach is wired with a separate breaker panel for the inverter. Usually several outlets are connected to this panel, all adding up to the max watts allowed by the inverter.

If your only reason for the inverter is to provide one outlet of power for a TV and gaming boxes, then wiring a separate outlet is the only way to go.

Otherwise, Xantrex has great diagrams at their sites. They make the inverters that most GS run. http://www.xantrex.com/

If your goal is to power a bank of outlets, you will need to rewire the outlets to a separate circuit box. You can run power to this circuit from your shore power circuit box, as the Xantrex (if that is your inverter) has a sensor, as described on their site.

Lots to do, oh, and batteries for the inverter, my thoughts are posted on this site but I prefer the new heavy duty deep cycle 12 volts over the oft used 6 volts. But that is another issue.