slide on camper

Submitted: Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:31

ThreadID: 84027 Views:4140 Replies:5 FollowUps:7

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martin c

I am making a slide on camper.
Set-up so that batteries are fitted to flat tray vehicle, not camper.
2 deep cycle aux. batteries mounted under rear tray connected to vehicle main battery via a battery isolator.
Camper will connect to the aux. Batteries via anderson plug.
Running inverter, lights, water pump and fridge from fuse board.
What other precautions need to be taken, as in inline breakers etc etc
thankyou

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Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:43

Reply By: Member - John and Val - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:59

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 18:59

Martin,

As Peter has said - fuse those batteries. If the batteries are close together they can be connected in parallel and considered a single battery. If they a seperated each should have a fuse, if together you could link them with heavy cables and use a single fuse for the pair. The question of an inverter often arises on this forum so I won't start another argument, but for most sensible camping needs you can avoid using an inverter. You might find our Electricity for Camping blog of interest.

Cheers

John

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

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AnswerID: 443701

Follow Up By: martin c - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 19:06

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 19:06

thankyou for your reply
although its named a camper it is in truth a liver
so because i will be living in it need inverter primarily to provide power to charge laptop

FollowupID: 715760

Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 20:18

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 20:18

Hi Martin,

Sounds a big project. Good luck with it. A good inverter certainly offers a lot of flexibility. 12V power supplies for most things, laptops, cameras, phones, torches etc are readily available and can be a cheaper and more efficient way of charging this gear. May be worth considering, though for full time use, having 240V could have other advantages.

Cheers

John

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

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FollowupID: 715769

Follow Up By: Ozhumvee - Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 20:23

Monday, Jan 31, 2011 at 20:23

Martin
If charging a laptop is the main need for an inverter then you would be better off buying a 12v adapter to enable the laptop to run directly from the 12v batteries, much more efficient and safer than 240v. If the laptop manufacturer cannot supply a suitable 12v adapter there are plenty of generic adapters available from the likes of Kingston (they actually make some that accept either 12v or 240 so the original brick can be left behind as the one unit can perform both jobs) and Jaycar and dicksmith to name a few.

FollowupID: 715770

Follow Up By: martin c - Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:18

Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:18

to all who have assisted i thankyou
how do i determine the size of the inline fises between the batteries
also can anyone reccommend where to buy mega fuses holders and fuses
regards
martin c

FollowupID: 717419

Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:36

Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:36

Hi Martin,

I use standard automotive blade style fuses. I use 30A ones mounted right at the batteries. Suitable fuseholders are available from Jaycar and similar places, and autoelectricians. Have a look at Jaycar cat no SZ-2045 . Something like this close to the battery should look after faults in the wiring, and by pulling the fuse out, gives you an easy way of disconnecting the battery.

Cheers

John

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein