Most Roadtrek models have four methods of bringing electricity into the coach:
Battery
"Shore Power"
Inverter
and
Generator (optional)
The batteries supply 12 volt DC power. "Shore power" or hooking up to an outside electric outlet supplies 110/120 volt AC power. The Inverter has several functions but for now, the inverter changes 12 volt DC battery power into 110/120 volt AC power. The generator, which is noted optional, because you must purchase the generator as an option, creates 110/120 volt AC power with an engine.
I have noticed that there is a lot of confusion about the electric system from new owners. I have had several readers contact me with questions and questions come up on the forums. I am going to explain very basically the electric system in the Roadtrek. I will do this in separate article - each on one of the above sources of electricity. I am seperating it all for simplicity so that if a reader needs to come back to find out about one of these it will not be necessary to wade through an entire article about all of it.
The first place I am going to start is to share a link with you. This is the LINK to the Roadtrek Electric Simulator. This is a wonderful thing put together by a Roadtrek owner with a great deal of talent. It is a visual and working Roadtrek electric system - for each model and year Roadtrek. It is complete with all of the switches and options of running power in a Roadtrek - and they all work and show you exactly what happens in combination. The one thing that is essential to do when using this is to go down the left hand column and find the drop down menu for year and model and make sure you set in your exact year and model. It starts with models in 2000 and goes up to 2010. The 2010 models are the same as the 2011 models and likely the same as 2012 and the newest 2013s. You will find at the top of the simulator page a link to NOTES. Click on that and a PDF file will open with detailed explanations about the system - and this was recently updated in November 2011. The simulator is fun to play with and will help you understand things like what happens if I don't push this button but I do push that - or - what if my engine is running and I don't have the battery switch on. There are so many combinations.
The next article will be all about the batteries.
I had originally thought that I would run each electric system article one week after the other, but I have decided that that may be just too much electric system. What I will do is spread these articles out - and after they all have been posted add links so that they can be read in sequence if anyone would like to do that.
HERE ARE LINKS TO THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM ARTICLES:
BATTERIES
GENERATOR
SHORE POWER
INVERTER
See our Living in the Roadtrek and How To page for other Electric System articles!
I am in and out of my 190 a lot while it is parked at home. I run the fan and the fridge in the summer heat while parked. Could I just leave her plugged into an electric outlet? Should I switch the inverter to off to keep from overcharging the batteries? Thank you VERY much
ReplyDeleteI need to know what year 190 you have and if recently new if you have any of the new electrical features of the newest Roadtreks. It makes a big difference in the answer to your question. Send me an email - link on the right column = Contact Us. Thanks - happy to answer when I know the year.
DeleteHi guys, I love your articles as they are so helpful. We bought a 2003 RT Popular last year. The electrical system has a new hiccup that I hope that you can shed some light on. When I turn the battery disconnect switch on the electrical outlets no longer work. The over head lights still work off of the battery but not the outlets. They will work on shore power or power from the generator. I suspected that I overloaded the circuit and blew a fuse but I've pulled the fuses from under the bench and they appear fine. Any ideas dear RT gurus? Thanks in advance. Ginny
ReplyDeleteThe outlets in your Roadtrek need to be powered by a 110 volt power source - they do not work with the batteries alone. You need to be connected to shore power or running the generator for there to be power in the wall outlets. The overhead lights are on the 12 volt system and work with the battery disconnect switch on.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI have a 2005 Versatile 210 with 91,000 miles that I recently bought....never having had any kind of RV before and am 72 years old. I've been methodically printing out your articles...which are a HUGE help. You do a great job of getting to the point and keeping me from falling asleep over all the details of the manual. I still haven't taken it on a maiden voyage but am getting close. And have an RV friend who will go with me first time (thank goodness!).
Two questions:
1. I have not seen a diagram anywhere that shows the location of the black and gray water tanks. Do you know of one?
2. My wife just turned the shelves on the side of the closet into a pantry...stocked with ramen and jars of peanut butter etc. Can critters get in there and should everything be in animal proof containers?
Thanks so much!
I'm sure I'll have more questions...
Harvey Schwartz
Bellingham, WA
harveycschwartz@gmail.com
360-733-6046
There is a diagram of the water tanks in the Roadtrek manual. The older manuals are very poor and the 2005 manual may not have this diagram. The tanks are the same for any year and you could download a newer manual from Roadtrek's website for any year and model Roadtrek. The black and grey tanks are on the passenger side under the chassis just behind the passenger door. They are side by side as they both connect into the same dump system each with its own gate valve to open when dumping.
DeleteAs to food storage - absolutely put everything into an airtight seal container - either glass or the plastic airtight snap lid containers. Be especially careful with peanut butter - wash all utensils that touch peanut butter right away and do not leave a jar open too long. Mice LOVE peanut butter and if they smell it they will come looking. This is why the mice kill products smell like peanut butter. We only store food like this in the top cabinets in airtight containers as it is hard for any critters to get up there.
You can always email me directly using the link on the right column of the page. I am always happy to help.
My 110 Receptacles in the AV cabinet and Galley GFCI are not working. I checked the breakers, any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteAs you say, these outlets are on a GFCI circuit. AND these outlets are also connected to the inverter (if you have an inverter or inverter/converter/charger (Tripplite 750) installed by Roadtrek. Roadtrek puts just a these few outlets on the converter so that they will not overload the maximum wattage of the inverter. In my 2011 190 there is the outlet over the kitchen counter, the outlet in the television connectionds cabinet (which has GFCI switches on it) an outlet on the top of the wall on the wardrobe in the front - the wall the faces the driver's seat, and one that is hidden that I believe also has GFCI switches on it. To find this outlet in my 190P it is necessary to open the door to the read of the side entrance door that, itself, is next to the passenger door. The door only leads to the back wall of the bathroom. On the back of one of the steps there from that door on the left corner is an outlet - that could be used to plug something in outside IF the door was left open. If you have an outlet there - that outlet should also have GFCI test and reset switches - and that ALSO is on the same circuit with the galley and TV outlets. If that is tripped or the TV outlet is tripped you will have no power in any of those outlets. NOW - like everything else Roadtrek did - they would change around which outlets OTHER than the galley and TV outlets were on this circuit attached to the inverter so you may have different outlets other than those two than I have. It should not have anything to do with the inverter itself - and the wall switch does not need to be on for those outlets to work on shore power or the generator. IN fact - with most Roadtrek electrical set ups - if the inverter wall switch is left on - even with the battery switch OFF - those outlets connected to the inverter ARE LIVE - and will drain the batteries even with nothing plugged into them in two days or less. THERE IS ONE OTHER POSSIBILITY - that the GFCI on the television outlet has gone bad - and that will stop all power to the other outlets on that line. It is a basic GFCI outlet and you can find the exact same "flat front" GFCI outlet in Home Depot or Lowes. Just BE SURE the inverter wall switch is OFF before removing or replacing this outlet as you will be handling live wires if it is ON.
ReplyDeleteHi.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff on the electrical systems. I'm not sure if it the same as my 2017 simplicity. I have no power at all from batteries or shore power. I checked the breakers and the battery disconnect fuses. The vehicle battery was also dead after the winter but I was able to jump start that.
Hi, I'm a total newbie with a 2015 Popular 210, still trying to answer this question: when boondocking, how soon do I need to switch to inverter in order to keep the fridge running? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe refrigerator will run on DC which will use much less battery than putting the inverter on and setting the fridge to AC. Just turn your battery switch ON and leave your inverter switch OFF!
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