Shore power... I'm in the dark!

[TheGetLostTaco]

Just wanting know about or see anyone's setup for connecting to shore power. Most of the kits I've found are for a semi. I don't even know if it is worth it. I was thinking about the random time you stay at a camp ground and want to plug the fridge into the grid instead of your battery. Any thoughts or am I out to lunch?

TIA,
DCT

 

[dwh]

What sort of vehicle? Not an RV or it would already have a shore power hookup.

So...get a shore power battery charger - 15 amps or more - and hook it up to the battery when you have shore power available.

 

[pugslyyy]

Unless I'm missing something...

What dwh said. Just use a 120V battery charger to keep your batteries topped off and run everything else as usual. Battery maintainers are good things to have around, anyways.

 

[matthewp]

I'll also second what DWH recommends. I did the same on my trailer.

 

[dlh62c]

The simplest way would be running a power cord though an open window.

I use a SmartPlug connected to a ac power strip inside.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0055...=smartplug&dpPl=1&dpID=41sKMOu5NkL&ref=plSrch

 

[anickode]

Ive seen some tight budget builds use a large-ish UPS picked up from a business auction or such. They are a charger/inverter in one and shut off the inverter portion and do a direct pass-through when energized. Strip the guts from one and hook it to your battery bank. It will charge your batteries and feed shore power 120v when plugged in, and seamlessly switch to inverter mode when unplugged. They usually have some sort of beeper that goes off incessantly when running on batteries, but That's easy to find and disable.

 

[Martinjmpr]

The simplest way would be running a power cord though an open window.

.
That's exactly what I do. I always carry my 120v AC cord for the fridge and an indoor/outdoor extension cord. When I'm at a campground with power I just plug it in. Every campground I've been to that has a power hookup has a standard household type 120vAC connector. Even the ones that have a 30 or 50 amp round connector always have a regular household plug, too.
.
The only other thing I carry is a jump starter. I suppose if you had your vehicle set up with an SAE connector for a battery tender you could plug the battery tender in but I've never felt the need to do so.

 

[Buliwyf]

I use a 120v/6a battery charger. Mount a flush reverse plug in the front bumper.