I need a inverter

[Kevinmc5]

Red Rider

If you get to hot and need to cool off. We are in Boise ID. Come on by  our ac is on. Fri day is going to be 100 at min. and only getting hotter till wed. Good luck

Kevin

[Dave5Cs]

No problem come on over to Northern , Cali we have a big pond and it is gonna be cool here only 106 on tuesday!...

So Scott add up all your loads you would be using that would be running off an Inverter and then add about 20% more Watts. Lookup Inverters on the net and a bunch of places should show up in your area. A lot of them are actually made by the same maker under different names now. Outback, Magnum, Xantrex, just to name a few. The ones that have a plug receptacle on them are generally just for an appliance to plug in, TV, Refrig, Small heater etc. You would want one that you can hard wire a circuit into and have a pass through current.

Some say that it is better to get one with a charger in it, but others say that if you get them seperate that if one goes bad it is cheaper to replace later. HTH

Dave5Cs

[sledhead]

At -30 deg     I can go for a walk if I dress for it         dave

[harleyman_1000]

 The bus has 2 roof ac's that work and the dash air also works, so hopefully I have that covered. I will most likely  do like one of you have said and buy a cheap harbor freight inverter. Here are 2 at harbor freight. They seem to be identical, but have different numbers?  Can one of these 2 units be wired directly?

http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-watt-continuous4000-watt-peak-power-inverter-69662.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-watt-continuous4000-watt-peak-power-inverter-60432.html

[technomadia]

I agree with what others have said.. your ultimate inverter choice will require some knowledge of your electrical loads and desired style of travel. What size house battery system does the bus have? What are you needing to run while not plugged in or running off a generator?  What features do you want in your inverter - charging, boosting, pure sign wave or modified, etc?

With the heatwave ramping up, I doubt you'll be enjoying much dry camping inside a metal tube anyway   We bought our bus this time 2 years ago in southern AZ, and it was ... not fun.. weather wise.  The high on the day of our first long drive from Yuma to Lake Havasu was 127. We had no house battery system at all, and no way to run an AC when not plugged in.

We picked up our bus in Yuma, went to the nearest campground with 50a hook-ups, a bathhouse and a pool, bought a Passport America membership and paid for a week at 50% off.  And then we dug into learning all the new systems and figuring everything out. And then we did as Clifford suggested...  retreated to Flagstaff to cool off after baking our brains for a month.

After getting our bus settled and getting a feel for it.. we then designed our house electrical system with a boosting inverter that could run a roof AC for a couple hours off grid, with a battery bank to match.  An off grid electrical system requires some serious thought, planning and investment to find your ideal balance... don't rush if you can avoid it.

For your initial time... I'd suggest getting to the bus and see what is there, and what you'll absolutely need to get through the initial days. If there's a 12v outlet, you may find that picking up an automotive 400w or so inverter is enough to run things like a laptop and small items. And you can pick that up in any truck stop, Walmart, Radio Shack or Harbor Freight.

Best wishes... it's a fun adventure to finally get your first bus! Excited for you!
- Cherie

[harleyman_1000]

 I use to have a old rv that I bought and never used. I remember that the inverter went out and I bought a identical one off ebay. I seem to remember that it was wired directly?  I never used the rv or even drove it out of my yard so I never learnd anything about it, other than when I replaced the plumbing that the mice chewed up, when I first bought it. The rv was used as a club house for my son.

[harleyman_1000]

 I will just wait untill I get the bus and go from there. Maybe I will spend my first month on the road meeting all you good people 

[sledhead]

this will work                     http://onan-generator.blogspot.ca/2009/12/kipor-ig3000-3000-watt-generator.html                     dave

[belfert]

That Kipor generator would work when stopped and sitting outside, but it would require some work to get it working while going down the road.

I have a Prosine 3000 inverter.  It is 3,000 watts which is not really enough to run two rooftop A/C units.  I originally had the front A/C unit wired to the inverter thinking I might use the A/C with the inverter.  I have since rewired the front A/C unit directly to the generator since it was pulling too much power through the inverter when it was really hot out.

We just run the diesel generator when we need A/C on the road.  We usually need to run both the front and rear A/C units anyhow as people are usually sleeping while going down the road.

[belfert]

One other note: I know at least one busnut that decided not to do an inverter and just runs their generator 24x7.  They use their bus for work at Walmart stores building or remodeling hair salons within the stores.  They decided it was less costly to run the generator instead of buying batteries and an inverter.  They are in the south so they run the A/C pretty often plus they have a very large fridge.

She was on the forum a year or two back asking about inverters and batteries due to cost of diesel getting so high.  I don't know if they added an inverter or not.

[Jeremy]

this will work                     http://onan-generator.blogspot.ca/2009/12/kipor-ig3000-3000-watt-generator.html                     dave

That's the exact generator I have (except mine is the 240v version). The wheels shown in the photo are mounted on little sub-frames which can be very easily exchanged for fixed mounts to install it permanently. It's probably not the best choice for heavy (liveaboard) usage but for recreational use it's perfect, and it's really quiet

Jeremy

[harleyman_1000]

 Could I use a inverter out of a rv salvage yard?

[Dave5Cs]

Why Not ? If it suits the size you need and works well. There are no rules with Buses except learning the correct way to do the stuff that could be dangerous to you or others. There are codes when it comes to electrical and plumbing for your safety but a lot here don't follow those. Some I am sure have ended up costing them selves more money but the majority end up asking questions and /or buying books about the subject. It all depends what your skills are.
Don't use things like lamp cords to extend a circuit just because its cheaper. It may not be in the end when it over heats and burns your bus up. Plumbing should have a filter or 2 on it because not all water across our great nation is clean.
stuff like that. Some fix their buses up in a few months others it takes 10 years because they enjoy working on it. So it is all up to you. 

Dave5Cs

[bansil]

If you don't mind me asking; what is the main reason you want an invertor for?