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Using a Power Inverter to run Electrical Appliances in Your RV When not connected to Electric

by Mark V
(Paso Robles Ca)

Using a Power Inverter to run Electrical Appliances in Your RV When not connected to Electric

Using a Power Inverter to run Electrical Appliances in Your RV When not connected to Electric

when I plugged into my house current everything works in my 5th wheel including the brand new GFI installed. but as soon as I unplug the house current and run just off the battery I can only get the interior lights and the pump to work none of the electrical outlets work.

Hi Mark, the good news is that there is no problem with the electrical system on your RV. Your RV's interior lights and water pump are 12 Volt DC and are powered by your RV's house batteries. You are not going to have 110 volt AC power available at the receptacles when you are unplugged unless your RV has a generator and it is running.

The only other way that you would have power at the 110 volt receptacles was if your RV was equipped with a large power inverter that was providing power to all of the electrical receptacles in your RV.


power inverter

A power inverter (pictured above) is normally attached to the house batteries of an RV and converts 12 volt DC to 110 volt AC power. After-market inverters normally have the electrical receptacles directly on them (pictured above).

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Adding a 12 Volt Inverter to your RV could be as easy as plugging one into a cigarette lighter of the RV. It all depends on what type of electric devices you are planning on using. For larger demand electric items you will have to hard-wire the inverter to your House Batteries.

Take a look at the video below for more information on inverters and how to use them.


Again as stated in the video a Pure Sine Wave Inverter is the best choice for most RVers.

The next step you have to take is to determine what electrical demand you will have. Please read the answers that I gave to the questions below and you will get all the information you need to choose the right inverter.

I Need A Power Inverter For My RV How Many Watts Should It Be?

Can I Connect A Power Inverter Directly To My RV's House Batteries?


I hope that this information has been helpful to you.

Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic? You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Click Here To Post Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

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