Thor Forums

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by fivekitties

I'm totally new to RV'ing.

We have a 2015 Thor Windsport 34F. It has an Onan 5500 generator and it also has an inverter system.

I don't understand the difference between the generator and the inverter. What is each used for?

Is the generator used only to charge the batteries, and then the inverter runs everything inside the coach off the batteries?

Can the inverter be used without turning on the generator? I noticed we have a green inverter button we can turn on/off without turning on the generator.

Sorry for the newbie question. Just trying to understand better.

Thanks!

In simple terms:

The generator charges the coach batteries and provides electrical power when you are not connected to shore power and the coach is not running.

The inverter converts 12 Volt DC from the coach batteries to 120 Volt AC current for running select appliances when you are not connected to shore power, and neither the generator not coach is running. The inverter can be used without running the generator. If your system includes an AGS (Automatic Generator Start), when enabled, it will automatically start the generator when the battery voltage drops below a certain level. So for example you can roll down the road using the inverter to power the frig etc... In my coach the inverter is not connected to all 120 V circuits. There are only a few circuits that are powered through the inverted. For instance3, the 120V outlet at the passenger seat on my coach is not run through the inverter.