Best inverter for older airstream

[Moonkitty]

Sorry if this has been addressed but I'm trying to find the best solution so my partner can watch TV while traveling cross country. We have a 2008 International with no inverter. I am planning to buy a portable solar suitcase to charge our batteries. I'd like to boondock when possible but he wants to watch TV if he can. I know I need the batteries for furnace, pump and I believe fridge although I would be running that on propane if boondocking, nothing else we need. Plan on staying in campgrounds some of the time with hookups but just want the option to stay overnight with no electric.
So my question is can we purchase a portable inverter that I don't need to connect to the battery and/or the converter and if so does anyone have a recommendation?
Thank you!

[steverino]

For years I used a 200 watt inverter similar to this. https://theinverterstore.com/product...waArsAEALw_wcB

It was fine for running television or charging a laptop or phones. It plugs into cigarette lighter-style 12v outlet.

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by Moonkitty

Sorry if this has been addressed but I'm trying to find the best solution so my partner can watch TV while traveling cross country. We have a 2008 International with no inverter. I am planning to buy a portable solar suitcase to charge our batteries. I'd like to boondock when possible but he wants to watch TV if he can. I know I need the batteries for furnace, pump and I believe fridge although I would be running that on propane if boondocking, nothing else we need. Plan on staying in campgrounds some of the time with hookups but just want the option to stay overnight with no electric.
So my question is can we purchase a portable inverter that I don't need to connect to the battery and/or the converter and if so does anyone have a recommendation?
Thank you!

The inverter has to get DC power to "invert" it to AC, so it will use your battery. A little one.that.plugs into a cigarette lighter should work though.

[Moonkitty]

Thank you both for your responses. I like the inverter store as they explain everything. The inverter Steverino mentioned looks good to me as its 300w but only 180w using a 12v outlet which should be fine for the tv or charging our devices.

[ROBERT CROSS]

I have used this one for several years...it has nice display features and powers our TV along with the Bose Companion 2 speakers. It also has two AC and USB outlets.👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[TouringDan]

I like the one that Bob recommended, but I would get the 500 watt model. You can save $9, but more importantly the wiring is too small for 750 watts. 500 watts is more than adequate for your needs and less chance of overheating the wiring.

You don’t need an explanation, just plug it into a 12v outlet, turn it on and you are all set.

Heck, this is such a nice model with great features for not much money, I think I will order one for my car and to use in our Airstream so I don’t need to turn on the 2,000 watt inverter.

Dan

[Rich W]

You could also get a television that runs on 12 volt DC. Some TVs will run on 12 volt with an adapter instead of using the 115 volt AC plug. No sense in using an inverter to convert 12 volt DC to 115 volt AC to a TV that converts that back down to 12 volt DC.


If the TV has an external "brick" to convert power, look on the brick to see what the input and output voltages are. If there is no brick (it's internal) Google the make/model of the TV and see if there is an adapter plug for it that will allow you to plug into a cigar lighter. For power emergencies in my home I have a cigar lighter plug connected to a battery. I can run a TV, radio and some LED lights.

[Moonkitty]

Thank you all, I think we'll go with the Potek 500w. The TV only draws 43w max so we can also charge our cell phones and laptops. On the 12v outlet the max is 150w with the 500 so we should be good to go!
And our mobile RV guy just finished repairing our fridge that wouldn't keep running on propane so we don't need a new one. Now I can order more stuff for our trip!