Inverter Loop Location 2025 Arcadia 292slrl Fifth Wheel

[Chris_228]

I have a new Arcadia with the Solarflex 220 package, which states "inverter prep" I've poked around a little, but it has jumped out where its located. I'm hoping up in the front comparment with the rest of the solar & battery gear.... I am adding an 2000w inverter with a built in transfer switch. Anyone know where the loop of wire is located?

 

[NH_Bulldog]

On my Cougar, it was behind a black plastic cover that said Inverter Prep. Unscrew the cover and there is a short loop of yellow Romex. I couldn't for the life of me pull any more of it out, so I removed the whole front carpeted panel and found about 20' of Romex jammed in there like an ingrown hair. Since all my equipment is in the front compartment, not the passthrough, I took the opportunity to drill a hole in the front divider and pushed a 3-4' loop of Romex through, and then buttoned everything up in the passthrough. This is what my setup looks like (before I reinstalled the batteries and battery box lid.

Be mindful of which inverter you buy. Do your research, ask questions and have a full understanding of what the particular model you buy can and cannot do.

 

[Chris_228]

Thanks for replying NHB. What a novel idea to put it behind a panel marked "Inverter Prep" LOL. Apparently they forgot to do that on mine, amongst other things. No such panel is in my pass through storage area. All of the device you show in your picture look like mine and it is all in the front storage area.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Mine came from the factory as a SolarFlex 220 and I added everything (including the second solar panel) to make it a 440i. My electrician brother ribbed me on my "sloppy" wire routing, so I will probably get in there next week to tidy it up a bit more.

Anyway, it may be worth looking behind the front wall of the passthrough (if you can) to see if the Romex is hiding behind there. Last resort, you could call Keystone customer service and ask them for some ideas.

 

[Chris_228]

I will have to poke around this weekend, since the inverter will be here soon.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

What inverter did you purchase?

 

[Chris_228]

After a lot of looking and pricing, I ended up getting a 2KW Renolgy with a built in transfer switch. The Keystone recommendations were too expensive. I paid $288 for the Renolgy, which seemed kinda free in comparison to others. All the reviews I went through made the Renolgy seem like a OK choice for now.

This is part of a larger project to semi permanently/removable mount my Honda 3KW Inverter gen, with a transfer switch & remote from inside.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

I liked the Renogy too, but it does have what many consider a design flaw, so after having one and bench testing it, I returned the Renogy and went with a different brand.

The auto transfer on the Renogy works as advertised, but the unit has to be on and active even while on shore power or the passthrough power doesn't function. For example, if you are at a campground and connected to shore power and want to watch TV at night or make coffee in the morning, your inverter has to be turned on or else those outlets will be dead since the Renogy does not passthrough power when the inverter is off.

I went around and around with the Renogy techs on this, but they said that unit is designed to act as a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) and needs to be on all of the time for it to work as they designed it.

 

[Chris_228]

I am curious what your thoughts are on the down side of it functioning that way? Is it that your think you are wasting its potential life expectancy, being On when not needed? I saw a spec saying it consumes around 18W when not in use, which I didn't think was much to worry about while being connected to shore power.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

I just don't like things running when they don't have to be. It is designed to run all the time, so longevity of the unit may not be a big concern.

The one I ended up going with (silver box on the right in the picture I attached) has the auto transfer and will pass power through even when the unit is off. It came with a remote panel that I installed in the front bedroom wall next to the thermostat for the the bedroom AC unit, so I can flip it on in the morning to run my Keurig for coffee and then turn it off when I don't need it. It was only $100 more than the Renogy and has all the same features as the ones that Keystone uses at half the cost.

 

[workinonit]

Rob, what it the name of the unit's maker?

 

[Chris_228]

I think its a Progressive Dynamics Inverter.

​

 

[NH_Bulldog]

It is a Progressive Dynamics PD1620A. I paid about $389 in December but prices are up to around $460 right now but do fluctuate wildly.

 

[Stircrazy]

do you need an auto change over with the new weird inverter loops they are installing? I know for my setup where the inverter powers the entire 5th wheel I use it but it is only to act as a back up, so if I lose shore power it automatically kick the inverter in (if I have it on) and dry camping it saves me the hassle of turning it on haha.. but the new inverter loop prep are those outlets powered by normal shore power also or just the inverter? if they are just powered by the inverter then why bother with a ATS?

 

[NH_Bulldog]

The inverter prep loop is an uninterrupted run of Romex from the power center breaker that feeds selected outlets. When you install an inverter, you cut the Romex loop and one end goes to the inverter AC In and the other goes to the inverter AC Out. On some inverter models, the inverter must be on in order for shore power to pass through to the outlets, on other inverter models, the inverter can be off and shore power will still pass through.

There is nothing in my camper other than the beer fridge in my outside kitchen that “needs” to have shore power in most situations (warm beer is better than no beer in a pinch), so my inverter is usually off until I head out on the road or I am dry camping.

 

[Stircrazy]

The inverter prep loop is an uninterrupted run of Romex from the power center breaker that feeds selected outlets. When you install an inverter, you cut the Romex loop and one end goes to the inverter AC In and the other goes to the inverter AC Out. On some inverter models, the inverter must be on in order for shore power to pass through to the outlets, on other inverter models, the inverter can be off and shore power will still pass through.

There is nothing in my camper other than the beer fridge in my outside kitchen that “needs” to have shore power in most situations (warm beer is better than no beer in a pinch), so my inverter is usually off until I head out on the road or I am dry camping.

ok so if you don't have an inverter those outlets are useless when you are plugged in at a campsite, am I understanding that right?

ya most of my camping is no hookups, we have enough solar and battery to do it, if I don't want to run the beer fridge in the outdoor kitchen. if I do, I tried it one weekend when it was about 120F out, probably not the best time to try it.. but I lost about 20% of my battery capacity a day. at the time I just had four 6V GC2 batteries. so I just upgraded to LifePO4 in the 5th to 912AH (1216AH if I want to add the battery from the camper. I built all 4 the same so I could do that easy) and its in the planning stage to take my solar from 480 watts to about 1000-1200 watts depending which panels I go with.

normally when I get to the campground I just throw the inverter in "Remote" and we use the wall plate inside to turn it on when we need it and off when we are done with it.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

ok so if you don't have an inverter those outlets are useless when you are plugged in at a campsite, am I understanding that right?

No, unless and until you cut the loop of Romex they give you easy access to, the outlets work like any outlet.

Ideally, if you choose to install an inverter and it is the right kind of inverter, nothing functionally changes in the operation of the outlets except they will work whether you are on shore power or not.

 

[chuckster57]

If your trailer has the inverter loop and no inverter then ALL the AC outlets should work when plugged into shore power. If they aren't then you have a wiring issue that needs to be addressed.

 

[asr524]

No, unless and until you cut the loop of Romex they give you easy access to, the outlets work like any outlet.

Ideally, if you choose to install an inverter and it is the right kind of inverter, nothing functionally changes in the operation of the outlets except they will work whether you are on shore power or not.

I have a different model but this is the romex splice your referring to correct? I haven't traced mine completely but one end goes up the wall and the other looks like it heads toward the converter.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Yes, that was the older way of doing it. Now they just pull an extra 10’ of wire, tuck it behind an access panel and let you cut it yourself.