Alternate AC 110 Power
Anyone who has an RV should have a generator. I have a Yamaha EF-3000iSEB (images 1630, 1631). It’s an electric start gasoline powered generator but also can run on propane or natural gas due to a special carburetor with a diaphragm regulator (image 1633) and hook up hose to LP tanks (image 1634). It’s 3000 watts with an extra 500 watts from the on board battery. I put it in the bed of my truck inside a camper shell to keep it out of the elements and also it won’t grow legs and walk …or should I say roll off. It’s about 300lbs. so you would need help if you wanted to take it. That is if you get past all the locks on the truck and the cable “Bolt” locks (image 1451). Bolt locks (if you’re not hip to them…that’s the brand name) are really cool. When you buy one (and they make them for a whole bunch of applications ie…cable locks, pad locks, tongue locks, receiver hitch pin locks just to name a few that I own) you insert your automobile ignition key and turn it to the right (I believe) and then back to the left and then that locked is programed or keyed to YOUR IGNITION KEY! How cool is that? That way you don’t have a zillion different keys on you chain….your ignition key will open them all!
So I have generator…now I just need to get the juice to the back of my trailer. I ran some gray weather-proof flexible conduit from a receptacle box inside of my truck bed (image 1613 ….which connects to my generator) to the back of my truck bumper where I also have another weatherproof receptacle box (images 1611, 1612). From the box on my back bumper I have a set of jumper wires that I can connect to the front receptacle box on my trailer which has gray flexible weatherproof conduit (image 1447) that runs down the left inside part of the frame to all the way back to another weatherproof plug receptacle box at the back of the trailer (image 1445) underneath where the 110 volt ac service cable is located. One box (the front image 1447 &1446) having a “twist on” 30Amp plug receptacle and the other (the rear image 1445 with power chord plugged in) a regular 3 prong 30 amp receptacle on it.
Originally I had planned to just plug in my trailer service cable to this rear box and then be able to get the power from the generator in my truck, but things changed and when I got my Surge Guard surge protector (images 1503-1505) I decided to go ahead and hard wire the Surge Guard in its box into the main 110 ac power panel inside the trailer (you can see the conduit I ran for this in image 1506). I put the Surge Guard inside a locking weatherproof box underneath the trailer right behind the right tire so the hum from it wouldn’t be heard and it would be much harder for it to walk away. I am not a very trusting soul and believe in locking down everything I have to protect my investments! Also I hate having to do things twice or over again. So having a surge protector is a MUST because you never know what the electrical service is going to be like at any given campground and I for one do not wish to fry all my electronics or even worse, burn down my Trailmanor!
Having put a second electrical service receptacle box on my trailer did two things for me.
One: I was now able to have my fridge loaded up and switched to 12volts and close up my trailer and plug it into the power at my house to keep the batteries from running down (with the help of the on board 12 volt charger),
And,
TWO: I could close up the trailer after it was all loaded and that way it could be all hooked up to my truck and ready to go for when we would leave the next day without having to pack/load or close it up because that would already have been done the day before and we would not have to do anything other than just drive away. This saves me time again!
Another benefit was that with the jumper wires in place from my trailer to my truck, and the trailer plugged in to a 110 ac power outlet, I now had 110 ac power into my truck bed (images 1616, 1617) so I could plug in anything in there if I wished it….like another small fridge (which I do have on an inverter, image 1624, with a switch to change it from 110ac outside or 110ac inverter power, image 1617, for when we are traveling) or my air compressor ( image 1618)!
Having that second electrical box that you can get to when the trailer is closed up (image 1445) is VERY HANDY! Before when it was closed up, I had no access to 110 service in my trailer because the power cable was stored away behind the rear shell (and the cable has to be stored away to close down the trailer).
Shocking!