Inverter Needed To Power An Outdoor Kitchen Fridge On A 2019 Coachmen Freedom Express Travel Trailer

Question:

I have a Coachmen Freedom Express travel trailer, and my batteries are mounted in front near the hitch. I have a small refrigerator in the outdoor kitchen area in the back of the camper, that I want to power while Im driving, hence wanting the 1500 Watt inverter. My question is around the wiring required to run from the front of the camper basically to the rear of the camper. The total length is about 28 feet. What gauge wire is required for this long of a run, and is a ground wire required, or can I just locally attach to the frame? Also, does the answer change if I use it to power only while driving up to 6 hours at a time and move to shore 120V power when parked?

asked by: Ken G

Expert Reply:

The cable length for the Go Power Industrial Pure Sine Wave Inverter # 34279950 can't extend past 10' so you would need to either install a second battery closer to the fridge or use a different style inverter, like the Progressive Dynamics 1800 Watt Inverter w/ Transfer Switch # PD44FR.

This inverter would wire into your AC distribution panel and then into a sub-panel where you would move the circuit breakers for anything you want to be powered by the inverter to. This is a lot more work and would require more items in order to complete the installation, but would be the only way to safely power your fridge. This inverter has a built in transfer switch so when you connect to shore power it will automatically shut off and allow for shore power to pass through it to the subpanel.

I've attached a video below where I'll go through the installation process if you want to get a better idea of what this would entail.

expert reply by: Kevin C