Bob Wells talked me into it

[Wellkie]

after watching your videos for the last 2 years I went and bought a very used rv

Wife is going crazy ..........wanting to go on trip not kill me

rv is a 81 brave..winnebago..

been making it a large person friendly home.

not giving up the bank owed house....but Kim's Rolling Cabin will be ready in 3 months for the open road 

rv could be used as is now...but refrigerator needs to be swap out...going with a house small unit...is there any real problems with doing that?

putting 400 watts on the roof with 3500 psw   

not bought refrigerator yet...if someone knows a options that does not need leveling and works full time on ac or dc power Wife and I will be glad for all the help we can get.

Wife just told me to say thanks Bob
for the Bonners soap info.....got at GNC locally..helps her knee scar from surgery


Wife (Kim) and Wellkie

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard the CRVL forums Kim and Wellkie !
All the info you seek is right here.

 

[cyndi]

Kim! Wellkie! Welcome to the CRVL forums! We all blame Bob! Pile it on!!!

I love old rigs so I can't wait to see pictures. Before and after, please!!!

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[BobBski]

Welcome . It's great to have you with us.

 

[highdesertranger]

welcome. a better option imo for the refer would be a 12v compressor refer. I tried the household refer and didn't have good luck with it. highdesertranger

 

[jimindenver]

Welcome to the forum. I'd love to redo a older brave, I just like the look.

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRLV Forums    

You'll find plenty of help and support here  on every topic,  and friendly people.

Let me invite you to look through the bottom link in my signature line below.  It will help you with planning
where to go and what to see while on the road,  finding free camping spots, and much more helpful
info to have at your finger tips.

 

[WriterMs]

Welcome, Wellkie and Kim!

I say don't wait so long to take at least a short road trip if the general mechanics of the RV are safe. You may discover new ideas for some of your conversions for larger living or other mods you need or want to make. It can be a shakedown trip for finding any other small repairs needed. But most of all, even a weekend trip would give you both more immediate gratification from your new adventure!

 

[Almost There]

Welcome to the forums.

Yes, mini road trips will help you sort out what needs to be done NOW and what can wait.

As far as the fridge goes, 120V household fridges generally don't hold up well on the road. Everything from larger than necessary power draws to door latches that weren't meant for going on down the road.

Take a serious look at 12v compressor fridges. Most are chest type but I believe TruckFridge makes an upright. There is something to be said for the chest types. Aside from really low power draw, they're completely adjustable for temperature. I use one unit as a fridge and another as a freezer. Because they are chest types there's no problem with things falling out when you open the door (nor opening on a bump like a household one will do). By putting them on pull out sliders, you could easily add additional kitchen storage space above the units, which I'm sure Kim will appreciate. RV kitchens are always short on good usable storage.

Yes, they're pricey as compared to a small 120V household fridge but they pay off over time. The other alternative is to replace the existing unit with another RV fridge but again it's pricey and most still have to be parked quite level to operate properly.

 

[Wellkie]

[font=myriad-pro,]EdgeStar FP430 Portable Fridge / Freezer [/font]

[font=myriad-pro,]ok went and bought this one today 430 dollars from walmart.com[/font]
[font=myriad-pro,]not sure if it is normal price or cyber monday special[/font]

[font=myriad-pro,]was waiting for today to buy it as one time a year stores give you the biggest deals[/font]

not bought batteries yet...250 each for the ones I was looking at

oh yea inverter is 2500...not 3500 was thinking real hard on the 3500 but price was too much...so in my head it was 3500...oh well

on the take it for a fast trip...need to take out a wall behind driver seat to give me 1 inch I need
not change the rv yet....been going tru checking and learning all the systems

so far generator needed a can of seafoam to get it running 
fridge will be replaced
heater needed cleaning...works great...ran wife out of rv..hehe
water heater works
motor and drive system are sound
awning new was bought by the guy we got it from
tires new bought by the guy again...his wife said it was too small after he put 5k in it....sold it for 3500...we got all the paperwork showing repairs and warranty for it :shy: 
almost feel bad for the guy....almost  :angel:
he even filled the propane and gas tanks



Thanks for all the welcomes and advice

Wellkie and Wife (Kim)

 

[Almost There]

Good, you're starting out on the right path with a compressor fridge.

Couple of questions though - what batteries are you looking at that are $250.00?

There is so much misinformation out there about batteries and which ones to get that it should be helpful to you to run them past us before you buy.

Also, that inverter is rather large - what is it that you plan on powering with it? Again, run the make and model by us as well as planned use and we'll help!

Can you tell we love to help the newbies shop for stuff!...   And not just because it's not our money we're spending....

 

[Wellkie]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Renogy 400 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Solar Starter Kit with Wanderer[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Sunforce 11260 2500 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Wife does not do to well in heat and I need a fan to sleep[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]I still up in the air on batteries[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]walmart has 2000watt 110 hours [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]I already have 3 batteries 1 for motor 2 100 hours cheap 88 dollars house on the 12v system all new came with rv[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]so on the inverter would be ac/fan/tv[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]was thinking too much was better than not [/font][font=Arial, sans-serif]enough[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]had 6k put to buying rv[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]so far[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]3500 for rv[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]600 for solar kit[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]5 for seaform[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]360 for inverter[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]100 ins[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]230 tags[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]200 road safety kit and tools[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]430 frig [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]that leaves me with 575 for all the rest[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]but still need to get bathroom done and batteries for 110 power[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]plan on leaving the 12v system as is just use the solar to keep charged. may have to use it short term however[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]took me close to 3 years to save up for it[/font]

 

[highdesertranger]

on your invertor loads, a fan and a TV can be run off of 12v, much more efficient. if you want to run AC off of an invertor you are going to need a ton of batteries and a half ton of solar, very expensive. you might want to consider running AC off a generator. highdesertranger

 

[Wellkie]

already fix the generator...runs off the gas tank
if the inverter just recharge her phone and laptop
run coffee pot...showed her a french press...she wants her coffee maker
guess it be ok as well
I want her happy so I can be happy

 

[rvpopeye]

Almost wasn't kidding about getting guidance here , I'll toss a few ideas and there will be more to come..........
Agree ^ HDR
A/C on an inverter is not typically a good use.
You would need a huge battery bank to power it for even a few hours.
And the nice battery bank would probably not be able to recharge that many batteries in a full sun day. Twice as much would still be straining. If you have to use A/C even a 2000w genny would have trouble with starting currents , a 3000w would be a better choice.

That inverter will now be overkill for your remaining loads , maybe you could exchange it for a 1000w and put the $ returned towards batteries. That would be enough for the fridge , TV , fans , lights , computer and phone charging with capacity left over and a lighter load on the bank too...

Batteries.... are those true deep cycle units? You could get a pair of 6v Golf Cart batts and run them in series for the cost of one of the ones you're looking at . You would probably get twice the discharge/charge cycles from that (@50%). Would need more specs on the ones you saw to know for sure. (brand , model# and we can find that)

 

[B and C]

already fix the generator...runs off the gas tank

The gas pickup for the generator in the tank only goes down to a 1/4 tank.  They don't want to leave you stranded.  I fill the gas tank (water too) before camping.

if the inverter just recharge her phone and laptop

Inverters are inefficient for this purpose.  There are native 12v adapters to recharge phones and laptops.  You don't get a double whammy loss from the step up voltage to step down voltage. 

run coffee pot...showed her a french press...she wants her coffee maker

My drip coffeepot uses 700 watts.  I run the generator for the few minutes it takes to make a pot unless camped near others and they object.  It has been the morning "time for coffee call" on more than one occasion.  I now own a coleman drip coffee maker that uses the propane cooktop burner to work.  Slower than electric but virtually silent.

guess it be ok as well
I want her happy so I can be happy

Happy wife. happy life

 

[Wellkie]

some pics I did on phone

 

[Wellkie]

more pics

 

[Wellkie]

[font=myriad-pro,]12V 110Ah Replacement Marine Battery [font=myriad-pro,]Chrome Battery[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]not set in stone about this one yet[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]there is a local Trojan Battery dealer[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]but he been closed for the holiday[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]going to see him next week when I am off[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]yes it is a golf cars shop[/font][/font]

[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]when rv is finished I want it wife friendly[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]if she wants to take it out with her sister or mom[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]then I want it close to turnkey as possible[/font][/font]

[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]was going to have my dad wire all the ac outlets to inverter to make her use of it easier[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]like to be able to dry camp as well[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]oh yea is the 12v icemaker worth getting[/font][/font]
[font=myriad-pro,][font=myriad-pro,]fridge will not have a freezer for now...may add second unit later for freezer[/font][/font]

 

[highdesertranger]

those wires coming off the house batteries are waaaay to small. highdesertranger