Affiliate Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, EXPLORIST.life earns from qualifying purchases..
This blog post is going to teach you how to add an Inverter, Alternator charging via DC-DC Charger, and Solar charging to your OEM camper or RV that came factory installed with 30 amp shore power hookups. Here is how the typical camper with 30A shore power hookups is wired:
- The diagram above shows the typical bare-bones OEM RV/Camper with 30A shore power service.
- Shore power flows into the breaker box, powering the breaker box protected by a 30A breaker where 120V AC power is then distributed to the various circuits.
- One circuit is generally the Converter. The converter is usually built into the same enclosure that houses the breaker box (as shown) but is sometimes external. Either way, it’s wired in the same method.
- The converter converts the 120V AC power to 12V DC power which feeds the DC Fuse Block which powers the various DC devices around the camper (Lights, Fans, Etc..).
- From there, a positive and negative wire continues on to the house battery bank; usually two 12v batteries wired in parallel. These wires charge the batteries from shore power, and allow 12v devices to run when not connected to shore power.
- At the batteries, there are usually 2+ additional positive and negative wires heading off under the RV somewhere that are going to power additional DC circuits around the camper. These may be slide-outs, powered leveling jacks, and other ‘chassis’ items like that. These wires will likely have fuses in line to protect these wires coming from the battery.
- One of these wires is also likely the wire coming from the alternator to charge the house battery bank.
When the camper is NOT plugged in to shore power, all of the 12V DC appliances will run due to them still being connected to the batteries, but the 120V AC appliances will NOT operate because the converter is a one-way-street and will not convert 12V DC back to 120V AC. The charging from alternator is typically very slow (less than 10 amps) and should, generally, not be relied on to provide adequate power for recharging deeply depleted house battery banks.
30 Amp OEM Camper electrical upgrade Wiring Diagram
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE HI-RES PRINTABLE PDF OF THIS DIAGRAM
How to Integrate a DIY Camper Electrical Upgrade with the OEM Wiring
In addition to wiring the components together, here is a breakdown of how the flow of power to the above diagram works.
WIRING THE INVERTER/CHARGER To Shore Power.
When connected to shore power or generator, power flows from shore power (or generator) to the Victron Multiplus inverter charger. This charges the batteries which feeds the DC fuse block and allows 30A shore power passthrough to power the 120v appliances. You will take the 10/3 wire that goes from the shore power inlet to the back of the AC distribution panel and instead, run that wire from the shore power inlet to the input of the Victron Multiplus.
Wiring the Inverter/Charger AC Distribution Panel
The wire from the Multiplus Inverter/Charger to the AC Distribution panel should be replaced from the 10/3 OEM installed wire to a 6/3 wire and the 30A main breaker should be replaced with a 50A main breaker to accommodate for the additional capabilities of the Victron PowerAssist function.
Wiring the Solar Panel Array to your Camper Electrical System
When charging from solar, the solar panels & charge controller charge the batteries. The batteries are connected to the DC fuse block allowing use of the 12v devices around the camper. The Inverter takes the 12V DC power stored in the batteries and converts it to 120V AC power to power the 120V AC items around the camper.
Replacing Stock Camper Batteries with Busbars
A positive and negative busbar take the place of the stock batteries in the stock battery location (assuming that upgrading batteries means you will not be able to store your new battery bank in the stock location). From the Lynx Distributor, power flows to these two busbars where power is then sent to all of the OEM installed components like the DC distribution block, power jacks, slides, etc.
30A Camper Converter
The OEM installed converter must be completely disconnected. It can remain installed, but the wires must be disconnected from both the AC and DC side of the power distribution center. These wires can usually be bundled up and stuffed next to the converter.
30A Camper Alternator Charging
You will likely have a wire charging your OEM batteries from the alternator. This wire will likely be somewhere in the 12 AWG range. This will either run directly from your starting battery isolator if this is a motorhome or from your 7-pin connector if this is a trailer. This needs to be disconnected completely. This diagram uses a 30A DC-DC Charger and the OEM installed wire will be too small. The 6 AWG wire in the diagram will take the place of the OEM wire you are to remove. In the case of a trailer, 6 AWG wire will need to be run all the way to the truck starting battery if alternator charging via DC-DC Charger is desired and disconnected by the hitch by means of an Anderson connector.
30A Camper – Inverter w/ Solar & Alternator Charging Upgrade Shopping List
The following list will show you 98% of the items you need to install this system on your camper. If you need clarification on where something goes, please refer to the ‘Detailed Parts List’ below this consolidated shopping list. Also, you will need to refer to the solar array wiring diagrams at the bottom to add the appropriate solar array parts to your system below.
A NOTE ABOUT QUANTITIES
For the ‘Quantities’ in the below shopping list, each singular component is listed a quanty per each, wire is listed a quantity of feet, and heat shrink is listed as qty 1 = 2.25″.
For Example:
Qty 1 – Inverter Charger means you need to purchase 1 Inverter Charger
Qty 3 – 4/0 Wire means you need 3 feet of 4/0 wire. This may mean you need to buy 5ft from the product page
Qty 5 heat shrink means you need 5 pieces of 2.25″ heat shrink. This means you’ll need 5 x 2.25″ pieces of heat shrink for a total of 11.25″ of heat shrink.
Qty 8 – 2/0 x 5/16″ Wire lugs means you need 8 wire lugs… not 8 packs of wire lugs.
30A Camper – Inverter w/ Solar & Alternator Charging Upgrade Parts Detail
Choosing your Solar Panels & Charge Controller
The following section provides you with several different options for solar charging. The above parts list can remain completely unchanged and the diagram above can remain mostly unchanged except for the alterations noted by the diagrams below, but whatever solar array setup you choose below for your needs, these parts will need to be added to your shopping list. These are broken up by total solar wattage. As a general rule, you want to have twice as many watts of solar as you do amp hours of batteries. So, 300Ah Batteries = 600W solar. 400Ah Batteries = 800W solar. 600Ah Batteries = 1200W of solar. This is just a rule of thumb. Not a law.
400 Watts – 4x100W Solar Panels – 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
600 Watts – 6x100W Solar Panels – 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
600 Watts – 3x200W Solar Panels- 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
800 Watts – 4x200W Solar Panels- 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
1000 Watts – 5x200W Solar Panels- 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
1200 Watts – 4x300W Solar Panels- 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
Good Morning Nate,
Read your post regarding putting a dc-dc charger on a already built out van yesterday. Wow, a ton of great information. Thank you for doing what you do. I learn from each post.
My scenario is slightly different. I have a 2105 Pleasure Way Plateau on a MB 3500 chassis. I have 1 BB 100 AH battery, no solar and no generator. I can plug in if I’m not boon-docking. Otherwise my only source of charging driving is down the road with the 220A vehicle alternator.
I have installed a Victron dc-dc Charger, the 12/12- 30A Orion. I installed it with a off/on switch. Whenever I hit the road for longer than an hour I turn on the dc-dc charger. I did this because when I park the rig for a longtime at home I put the chassis battery on a battery manager to keep the battery healthy. Didn’t want the battery manager confusing the dc-dc Charger because of the current flowing into the chassis battery.
I hope that makes sense.
I was always amazed at how fast the BB charged after a significant draw, usually below 50% SOC. My battery would charge in 60-90 mins. Spoke with BB and they said it would be better to do a slower charge over longer period of time. It would be better for the BB and the alternator. They recommended I use the victron dc-dc Charger. There is also BM-712 installed for monitoring the batteries.
Ok, here is the question:
I think I have two sources charging my coach BB battery. The Installed dc-dc charger and the original charging system that came with the van. Is that correct? Do I need to disconnect the original system and what is the best way to do that?
I hope those questions make sense. I get the deer in the headlight look when I ask folks about this. I wanna be sure the van is safe to drive for a long tripI have coming up. Approximately 6-8 hours of driving me way. Looking for some assurance and a sense of direction. Thanks for your time and input.
Thanks again. Have a good day.
Regards, Greg
Remember: What’s WITHIN you is stronger THAN what’s in your way! – No Barriers Summit
From this information, I cannot tell if there is two charging methods; but having two charging methods is probably not a good idea if that is, indeed, the case.
You should, indeed, disconnect the non-Orion alternator charger method of charging. This may be as simple as removing a fuse, but again, I can’t tell as I am not specifically familiar with how your specific RV is wired.
Nate, I am installing a 50amp inlet to my camper. Do I change the cable (10/3) to my 3000 w Victron inverter charger to 6/3 to accommodate 50amps?
Or is the 10/3 enough to handle a 50 amp charge?
You’ll need to change ALL KINDS OF STUFF. 50A shore power is 240v split-phase. In order to make the change from 30A 120V single phase to 50A 240V split phase, you’ll not only need to change most of the wire sizes and fuses, you’ll also need to add a SECOND inverter to take care of the 2nd hot leg in the system. Unless you REALLY REALLY need that, I’d highly advise against it.
Nate, My 5th wheel came with 50 amp shore power and I’d really hoped to add solar at some point. Would you advise against that?
Adding solar is a great idea to any size of RV. 🙂
Thanks Nate, thats a relief. But the process does sound more complicated handling the 50 amp shore power. Is it a question of the input? What if I only rarely plug into 50 amp power?
thanks again,
stay safe, (Winter Park rocks!)
It’s a matter of having 2 x 120v circuits coming into the camper. 50A service is 240v split phase and consists of two 120v circuits.
Nate, which is the video where you connect the lynx -in to the lynx distribution and and diy the shunt in between the two? I watched it once and now can’t locate it. Appreciate it
That’s not a video I have out just yet. It’s coming, but the one you watched wasn’t from me. 🙂
Hi Nate. I was wondering if you ever design a system that runs off only 300 amps of lithium batteries using the stock sprinters alternator
As of now, ALL of my diagrams found at https://www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams can run off of 300Ah of Lithium batteries and the stock sprinter alternator.
I’ve learned so much from your articles, and this one in particular was exactly what I was looking for! I had the general picture correct but it is reassuring to find that you landed in the same solution, and to get a better grasp on wire sizing.
Thank you so much for your hard work putting all this together
Greeting Nate!
I’m hoping that you can shed some light on a installation that I’m trying to do. I currently have an 89 Fleetwood Jamboree RV that I’m incorporating solar into, but i’m wanting to run a 24v system. I currently have 400w of panels, a MPP Solar 2400w 24V 110Vac Solar Inverter + 60A battery charger + 80A MPPT solar charger (all in one unit) that will be tied into a 24v 2.45kWh (92.8Ah) A123 LFP Battery Box. Here comes the tricky part. I’m still running a 12v onboard system, and was wondering if I can still utilize both the 12v onboard, and the 24v solar. I wanted to do as you mentioned by running the A/C shore power to the MPP inverter charger, and then onto the input of the A/C distribution panel. I just don’t want the 24v solar system to charge the 12v batteries, nor do I want the alternator/12v system to interfere with the 24v system. Is this possible? Any help is greatly appreciated! Regards…
Sure! You would just have to use 12v-24v and 24v-12v converters in the places you were needing to make that conversion or keep the voltages isolated.
In lieu of the 6/3 marine cable at ~ $6/ft, would 6/2 w/ground cable at ~ $2/ft work? I need about 25 feet… Thanks for the heads up on the Multiplus potential for additional 120v amperage.
You would have to cross-reference the cable you are hoping to use with ABYC standards on how many strands are inside of the wire you are proposing and see if that particular wire meets those particular codes. That can be found under ABYC E-11 Table XI.
The stuff from home depot/lowes will not be compliant. If it were… I would just recommend that stuff since it’s significantly less expensive. I assure you…I don’t recommend stuff just for the sake of it being expensive. There is generally ALWAYS a code compliance reason or a performance benefit.
Nate,
Thank you so much for all of your info you have provided. It has helped us build our knowledge so easily. We are looking at creating a solar array for a 50 amp stationary trailer. We want to have a power station that we could plug in to the RV, and be able to essentially pull up to the power source and plug it in. Wondering if this plan works and would really appreciate your advice. Instead of wiring the inverter to the RV breaker, could we wire it to a female 50A outlet? Then use a 50A cord from the outlet to the RV. Thanks for your help and consideration!
This diagram will not work step-by-step for 50A service. It is made for campers with 30A shore power input. Perhaps I’m misunderstanding what you are trying to accomplish though; but I doubt this diagram will help with what you are trying to do.
Right, we are grasping ideas from this but trying to come up with a wiring diagram that would work for us. We are hoping to create a power station that we could plug our RV into rather than wiring everything in to the trailer itself. Are you going to open up 1 on 1 consults any time in the next month or two by chance?
Likely not. The best way to get my help is my private group: https://community.explorist.life/
Nate, wondering about the chassis ground coming from the Solar Charge Controller. Since everything is tied to the Lynx Distributor, isn’t everything eventually tied to chassis ground. I am just barely learning about the DC side of things so my knowledge along these lines is very sparse.
The equipment grounds for the Solar Charge controller & Inverter/Charger are required by ABYC and are there so that in the case of catastrophic equipment failure & the positive wire touching the case of the device, the circuit will complete, short circuit, blow the fuse, and cut power to the circuit.