How I Took My Travel Trailer All-Electric (So Far)

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In one other latest publish, I shared what I learned from going all-electric and taking my travel trailer off-grid for a week. Now, I wish to clarify to readers what it took to show my older camper new methods. It took a shocking quantity of onerous, intricate work to do that, and I’m not even accomplished but.

Paradigm Modifications Aren’t Straightforward

Earlier than I get into specifics of what I did, I wish to share some fast background for folks not aware of RV know-how.

The primary downside is certainly one of design assumptions. Except for some very new and really costly trailers and motorhomes, they’re mainly all constructed with fossil fuels in thoughts, even in 2025. This makes a variety of sense as a result of the power density of propane is loads greater than that of batteries, so it has all the time taken up loads much less weight and area. And, extra importantly, the price of a propane tank is loads decrease.

My journey trailer had not solely a gasoline furnace, but additionally had a gasoline range, a gasoline oven, a gasoline water heater, and even a gasoline fridge. The microwave and air conditioner run on electrical energy, however these wouldn’t work until you would plug the trailer in or run a generator. The 30-amp energy cable was sufficient to mainly run the microwave, air conditioner, and fridge when in electrical mode (which alone pulled nearly 500 watts!).

However, instances are altering. Lately, the associated fee and measurement of batteries has come down. Many individuals haven’t solely changed their previous lead-acid batteries with lithium batteries of the identical measurement, but additionally add extra batteries to energy every little thing off-grid. Photo voltaic panels are additionally now fairly low cost, so it’s widespread to place them throughout an RV’s roof to cost the batteries.

Extra lately, firms have been assembling every little thing wanted for off-grid energy into neat packages that we name “power stations” or “solar generators.” By combining battery cells, inverters, chargers, and every little thing else into one unit and promoting it to folks with various wants, prices have come even additional down. This has led many individuals to easily plug their RV into certainly one of these items when off-grid.

Step One: Re-Wire The Trailer To Maintain The Energy Station Inside

Sure, I do know this image sucks, however it exhibits what I needed to do first: get in behind the breaker and fuse field to re-route the flows of electrical energy. After ripping out the gasoline range and oven, I might simply entry the wire coming in from exterior to {the electrical} hub of the trailer.

After pulling the wiring out of the breaker field, I prolonged it (with some very costly, thick wire from Dwelling Depot) to the opposite finish of the trailer and below the mattress the place I had mounted my EcoFlow Delta Professional 3 and further battery down with D-rings and ratcheting straps. Then, I ran one other extension again to the breaker field.

Subsequent to the ability station, the wire coming in from the skin ends in a single NEMA TT-30 (customary journey trailer 30 amp) receptacle and two NEMA 5-20 receptacles. The wire going to the breaker field ends in a NEMA TT-30 plug, which may both be plugged into the receptacle to bypass the ability station or be plugged into the ability station to energy the trailer.

I put in two extra circuits utilizing 15-amp Romex wire to energy the brand new kitchen home equipment instantly from the ability station, however these may also be powered at an RV park by plugging them into the 20-amp receptacles. Care have to be taken to not run too many home equipment without delay in bypass mode, or the RV park’s breaker will journey.

Usually, although, I merely cost the ability station utilizing an RV park’s energy after which energy every little thing from the ability station. Or, if I’m operating too many masses (the Delta Professional 3 acts bizarre about charging AC and powering AC), I’ll bypass the 30-amp plug, hold the range and toaster oven on the ability station, after which set the ability station to solely cost with a number of hundred watts to stop breaker journeys. This permits it to cost in a single day whereas nonetheless letting me run AC, warmth, the microwave, and the fridge instantly on grid energy.

Step 2: Set up Extra Environment friendly Home equipment

As I discussed earlier, the manufacturing unit fridge that was designed to run on propane or electrical was simply horrible about energy consumption. It was OK to run on propane (assuming it didn’t get its flame blown out happening the highway or park wherever unlevel), however to run on electrical, it wanted over 400 watts of energy to make warmth that it might use to make chilly.

So, I purchased a extra environment friendly compressor fridge from Walmart that solely makes use of about 50 watts on and off as soon as it’s cooled down. It additionally has extra room for meals! It nonetheless wants a greater mounting job and a few trim work, however child latches have stored the meals inside happening the highway.

Within the kitchen, I changed the gasoline vary/oven with an induction cooktop from Amazon and a toaster oven I already had kicking round from my final trailer construct. These had been each mounted with recycled wooden and the toaster oven is stored in place with a ratcheting strap. Each of those home equipment are powered by their very own circuits instantly from the ability station, as described earlier.

Sadly, a requirement electrical water heater I purchased doesn’t appear to be working correctly, so I’m nonetheless engaged on scorching water. I’ll replace readers as soon as I determine all that out. For now, I’m counting on RV park and truck cease showers (which are literally fairly good).

A Extra Sustainable Rest room

I’ve written a number of articles about toilets and sewers in the pastand I made a decision to follow what I’ve preached. As a substitute of letting the #1 and the #2 combine in a nasty tank below the camper after which needing to fret about locations to dump the poisonous mess, I discovered a solution to set up my Trelino composting toilet rather than the inventory bathroom.

After eradicating the manufacturing unit bathroom and blocking the black tank off, we merely added some scrap 2×4 boards to create a little bit wall across the base of it. It stays put happening the highway, however can nonetheless be picked up for emptying and cleansing (these are scuffs on the aspect within the picture).

Not like typical dwelling or RV bathrooms, the Trelino funnels the pee into one place and the poop into one other place. The pee goes right into a storage tank, and also you sprinkle one thing like coconut shavings or peat moss onto the poop, and neither stinks. The poop bag can safely go into any dumpster or trash can (like diapers do), and the pee will be dumped right into a campground bathroom or diluted and used to water vegetation.

Not solely do I keep away from the nastiness of hooking up sewer traces and the hassles of discovering dump stations, however I additionally enormously cut back the environmental affect of utilizing the trailer.

It Works Fairly Properly

Whereas there are nonetheless some minor kinks to work out and enhancements to be made (like completely mounting the photo voltaic panels to be extra constant), I’m very proud of this setup up to now. Not solely is it cleaner, however I’m avoiding some widespread RV hassles. I by no means must go discover a place to fill or swap propane bottles, and I by no means must search for a dump station.

There actually are not any downsides up to now!

All photographs by Jennifer Sensiba.