Hello folks, and thanks again to everyone being so kind as to help me out...I am trying desperately to set the electric in my bus, and I think I have found the route I wish to pursue. Here is my plan:
The bus runs at 24v.
I want to use a 4000w Inverter, with 4 batteries racked, tied together with an equalizer and panel, and a whole bunch of cable.
I am trying to run a television, sound system, interior lights, and some 110v outlets with this set up, as well as potentially diverting the power towards a rooftop A/C occasionally. (I plan to run the bus air during operation, and two rooftops through the inverter via land power when stopped at night)
At any rate, I got a quote that made my jaw drop at the customization shop (7 grand) and thought I might ask this board for advice. Does this sound like a good plan to run electric, given a tiny budget? And, is there a cheaper way of doing this??? Thanks everyone
On the cheap; find an old RV generator and use it to supply your electrical needs on the road and parked without power pole. You can upgrade to the inverter of your choice and add batteries as your budget allows.
What are you planning on doing with the bus? This is critically important to answer to get good information. Do you plan on being off the pole for extended periods of time when you will not want to run the genset? I am all electric coach, with only a 500W inverter for a few lights. However, I run the genset on the road to run the AC's, and plan to go power pole to power pole, or run the genset. I just could not justify spending 5k on a genset, 4k on an inverter, and then a big enough battery bank to make it all work.
I am running a tour bus for musicians, so we will be on the road a lot, and at poles rather sparingly. I am just banking on it not being toooo uncomfortable on teh road with the bus AC. (1985 96a3, it works but we;'ll see in the heat of summer)
While on the road - With your 4000w Inverter - you can confortably run 1 A/C unit (approx 1800w) and your entertainment stuff and a few outlets with the remaining 2200 watts - but try to keep the total watts to something less than 3600 watts so the inverter will not be running at max load all the time
your 50DN alternator can out apprx 4000w on engine idle and over 6000w at 1500-2000 engine rpms
you could run 2 rooftops 2 X 1800w - but NOTHING ELSE
does this info help ??
Pete RTS/Daytona
the wiring is pretty simple stuff
helps a ton, thanks. Keep it coming!