Quote:
Originally Posted by baby jane
Oh and if anyone wants to explain to us about A/C D/C, we need help.
I keep telling the hubs that it is not a band, but something about which one you are hooked up to, and what you can use when you are hooked up to them. ha
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Well, on AC (plugged in to "shore power"), everything works - including the air and the house type plugs. Some things are still powered by 12 v DC (lights, toilet pump, water pump, heater, etc.), but through the converter which changes the AC to DC. If you have the 3-way fridge, it can run on AC or DC while plugged in, but probably best to use AC.
When on DC power only, everything runs off the 12v battery - except of course those things that need 120v AC (i.e.the air conditioner and AC outlets). The fridge will need to be on propane since it will drain a battey in a few hours on 12v DC. Basically, the only time you run the fridge on 12v is when you are towing - but that is the topic of another (long) post.
The converter is designed to charge the battery when you are plugged in to shore power (a marine term by the way that has found its way onto the forum). The battery will also charge when you are towing (assuming your plug is wired correctly).
We have never camped in the TM without at least electricity, but we did "boon dock" or "dry camp" a couple of times with the popup. It works well if you are not gone too long (or have a dead cell and don't know it - but that is another story). Otherwise you would need a solar panel or a generator to charge the battery. Many on the forum dry camp regularly so can chime in on things to think about when camping w/o electricity.
There is a lot more, but that is the basics.
Hope that helps.
Alan