Van electric systems

As promised, I'm going to write a bit about how the electrics in the van are set up.

We had no idea how everything was wired so we were forced to do a bit of research and a lot of guesswork. The hardware was pretty deep behind the counter and the wires were run behind the walls, so we didn't have access to them. We decided to run a series of tests to see how each system would respond to different power sources.

First we removed the shore power and shut of the engine. It seems the only things that still run are the 12v DC cigarette lighter plug, the cab lights, and the tiny speaker for the TV's audio. This seems like a mistake to me since that speaker could completely deplete the starter battery's power. Oh well. Also, when we turn the key partially, we get power to the radio.

Next, we ran the engine and took inventory of the working devices. In addition to the above systems, we were also able to power up the fridge. (An igloo Cool Mate 36, actually a cooler/heater), the rooftop vent fan, the internal lights, and the 12v DC plugs for the TV and VCR.

We then cut the engine and attached the van to shore power from the house. All of the above systems became operational again, but in addition, we also had power to the 120v AC outlets. This activated the microwave and let us plug in our laptops. Unfortunately this means that we have to be plugged in to shore power in order to do this.

From all this information we drew some conclusions. First of all, there is no recreational battery. All of the systems run from the starter battery and the shore power. This needs to be addressed. Second, we determined that the starter battery was NOT being charged by the shore power. Since the tv speaker is hooked up to the starter, this means that even if we are plugged in, the starter battery can run down completely leaving us stranded.

The wiring was so obscure and hard to reach that the idea of performing the upgrade ourselves seemed out of reach. I got the suggestion to call Winnebago and see if they had any documentation or an owners manual available for the van conversion. So I gave them a call this morning. They said that they typically don't do van conversions and haven't for a while. Also, he mentioned that they don't have the blueprints or wiring diagrams or even an owners manual since it was probably done off the cuff. He suggested that we call and RV dealer and repair facility and hopefully they can perform the kind of upgrade I want. I asked about a secondary battery and he suggested that based on the info I gave him, the van is running on shore power and the starter battery only.

So I took it to an RV shop that specializes in repair and upgrades and had the guy take a look at it. After checking the thing out, he wasn't too impressed with the way it was set up. He examined it and confirmed my theory that there is only the starter battery and it isn't charged by shore power.

He gave me a few suggestions. He wants to switch out the converter with a beefier one. It should do a better job of handling the load from multiple 12V DC devices. Then we would install a 12vDC breaker box to route all those connections through. In addition, he would install an inverter with a voltage controller so that we can get 120V AC power from the recreational battery. He also wants to put in a recreational battery and hook it up to get a charge from the alternator and shore.

He quoted 85 bucks an hour for roughly 6 hours of work. Combined with the cost of parts and a generator it would come out to about 2 grand. Now it's up to us whether or not to persue this route.