110V charging while underway

[Wilyum]

Hi everyone, Im renting a class C RV from Canadream and was surprised to learn that none of their models have 110v outlets that operate while driving. Even my Dodge Caravan has this ability. I want to be able to charge a small 24v/50a mobility scooter battery while under way but need a 110v outlet for the 110v charger. Any suggestions? Im thinking maybe a lighter outlet power inverter using a nokia trickle charger? Would this be strong enough? Dont want to blow the lighter fuse. Thanks!

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[Mark_K5LXP]

I have the same brand of inverter (larger model) I've used to run my absorption fridge while underway. The question mark for power drawn from the lighter socket is how many watts the mobility scooter charger draws. It should be marked somewhere on it. "Unless otherwise specified" lighter sockets should be kept under 10A, which translates to about 1 amp at 120V. If for some reason the draw is higher than this (my fridge draws about 34A running on the inverter) you'd have to connect it directly to the chassis or house battery supply which isn't as hard as it might sound, but harder than plugging into a lighter socket. So find out what the charger draws and you can make your game plan from there.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Wilyum]

I have the same brand of inverter (larger model) I've used to run my absorption fridge while underway. The question mark for power drawn from the lighter socket is how many watts the mobility scooter charger draws. It should be marked somewhere on it. "Unless otherwise specified" lighter sockets should be kept under 10A, which translates to about 1 amp at 120V. If for some reason the draw is higher than this (my fridge draws about 34A running on the inverter) you'd have to connect it directly to the chassis or house battery supply which isn't as hard as it might sound, but harder than plugging into a lighter socket. So find out what the charger draws and you can make your game plan from there.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Thanks Mark the factory charger specs say 24V / 2-3Amps (off board)

 

[SeilerBird]

Plug it into your light socket and plug in the scooter. After about 5 minutes if the fuse has not blown grab the wire from the socket to the scooter and see if the wire is getting warm. If It is warm then I would not use it until it Is wired directly to the battery.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

If we take the worst case 3A at 24V (which sounds about right to charge 50Ah worth of battery) that's 72 watts. Converting that to 12V that's a nominal 7 amps plus a bit lost to efficiency. Call it maybe 8 amps. I would have no qualms about plugging that into a lighter socket.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[SpencerPJ]

My plan would depend on how critical the scooter need was. I've never charged more than a laptop with power port plug in types as you are looking at. A couple backup fuses would be a wise choice, maybe spend some time looking online based on brand and chassis, where the fuse box is etc. If the scooter was critical, I'd probably have a spare battery for it.

 

[Kirk]

If you rent an RV that has an onboard generator it will supply ample 120V power to supply the scooter charger. Those do supply 120V while driving to all onboard outlets. Canadadream does have them available.

 

[Isaac-1]

If it is on a Ford chassis the factory 12V socket should be fused for 20 amps, which is higher than with some other brands, meaning in theory you are good up to about a 200 watt inverter output without worrying about blowing the fuse.

p.s. you could use that 300 watt inverter as long as you don't try to draw more than 200-250 watts out of it. With a running engine your voltage should be 13.8VDC to the 12V port or higher, this equates to 276 watts at a 20 amp draw.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

The spec for "normal" cigarette lighters is 10A. That's not to say "better" ones can't handle more but there's no definitive way to identify them. So you go with 10A until proven otherwise. I've had cheap plugs melt in the socket at even less power so the above advice to use your hand to see if it's getting hot is a valid test.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Isaac-1]

Ford says 15 amps https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...a&div=f&vFilteringEnabled=False&buildtype=web and fuses them for 20 amps