I am a total newbie to RVing. We recently purchased a 1984 Winnebago Chieftain 33' to tailgate with at football games. It has the Chevy 454 engine in it with 91k miles on it. The engine runs great and mechanically seems to be good to go. I do have one problem though, the spot we have for tailgating does not have any hookups, so we will have to run off of generator and battery. When I am not plugged into to shore power I cannot get anything to come on. When I turn the generator on stuff like the lights and ac act like they want to work but not very well. When I am plugged in everything works fantastic. Is there anything I am doing wrong?
Trying to figure out house batteries.
- Thread starter smfranks
- Start date
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Battery will only power 12VDC items. Lights, control power for the refer, etc. there is no way in heck you could run hi energy items like the AC from a battery pack for more than a few seconds.
Without hookups you will need propane and good battery power for the refer, and lights, hot water.
Without hookups you will need propane and good battery power for the refer, and lights, hot water.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Your lighting is all 12v and relies on the battery system. When the generator runs or shore power is available, the converter/charger supplies 12v in lieu of the battery. Your symptoms suggest your house battery(s) are totally dead and the converter cannot overcome their condition. However, you might have a failed converter/charger too.
With no shore power or generator, none of the wall outlets will work, nor will the a/c, and the fridge and water heater rely on a combination of propane and 12b (battery) power. The wall outlets, a/c, microwave, etc. are 120v only - no alternate power source.
With no shore power or generator, none of the wall outlets will work, nor will the a/c, and the fridge and water heater rely on a combination of propane and 12b (battery) power. The wall outlets, a/c, microwave, etc. are 120v only - no alternate power source.
jagnweiner
Well-known member
That is correct. There is no way to run the A/C without generator or shore power (plugged in).
OK, I guess I was under the impression that my deep cell battery would run the electrical system in the motor home but I would have to run the generator every so often to keep a good charge on the battery. So what will that battery run while there is no shore power or while the generator is not running? The battery looks like a single 12v deep cell battery. After reading some other postings I think I am interested in getting a pair of 6v batteries to replace my single 12v.
Just to repeat what I said earlier;
Battery will only power 12VDC items. Lights, control power for the refer, etc. there is no way in heck you could run hi energy items like the AC from a battery pack for more than a few seconds.
Without hookups you will need propane and good battery power for the refer, and lights, hot water.
Battery will only power 12VDC items. Lights, control power for the refer, etc. there is no way in heck you could run hi energy items like the AC from a battery pack for more than a few seconds.
Without hookups you will need propane and good battery power for the refer, and lights, hot water.
DakotaRed
Well-known member
donn, that is not completely accurate. Many coaches today come with a built-in Inverter, which converts the 12VDC to 120V AC. But point taken that you will still not be able to run the A/C because of the power drain. My suggestion would be that during quiet hours to shut down as much as possible, and open all the windows. Hopefully you will have cool nights. And with a single 12V deep cycle battery, it won't get you very far. Two 6V would do a little better, but many coaches made today have 4, 6, or even 8 6V batteries.
++Larry
++Larry
workerdrone
Well-known member
I was recently reading about some folks that had a nice battery setup in their coach which was able to run their AC for a decent amount of time. That is very unusual though. Yeah, I'd look to set up with two or maybe four fresh 6v deep cycle batteries and learn to care for them. If battery space is a problem, the AGM variety can be kept inside (they don't offgas or leak) and even mounted in any position.
You might not have AC on battery, but you can run some personal fans for a long time on a deep cycle battery.
You might not have AC on battery, but you can run some personal fans for a long time on a deep cycle battery.
Lou Schneider
Site Team
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- Mar 14, 2005
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Note that the original poster was asking about a 1984 Winnnebago. Inverters weren't commonplace back then.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
You may find this RVForum Library article helpful - RV Electrical Systems.
Since it appears you are new to RVs, you would likely find several helpful articles in the Library section titled "Newcomers Need to Know".
Since it appears you are new to RVs, you would likely find several helpful articles in the Library section titled "Newcomers Need to Know".
