Get a PD4045 if I'm looking at a future solar system? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 04-25-2015, 07:04 PM   #1
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Name: Fallon
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Get a PD4045 if I'm looking at a future solar system?

I'm about to gut the electrics in our recently inherited 1978 13' Boler. I don't particularly trust any of the old wiring or electrics. Its old, has a good few issues & work I don't consider safe. Rather than try to fix it I'm going to repace it all. I've already redone the running gear lights & now looking at the house electrics.

It's currently got what i'm assuming is some old converter I'm assuming & a couple of 110v breakers under the sink. It has a few 110v outlets & 12v lighting.

I don't expect us to do much campground camping, more towards the bondocking end of the spectrum, so a converter won't be heavily used. I'll be putting a battery in (currently isn't one) here this month & may be putting a solar panel in at some point down the road.

For now I'm expecting to do mostly weekend to 4 day trips & recarging with a battery charger when I get home, or using our tow vehicle to top the battery up if need be. At the moment we just have lights & portable electronics to deal with. The fridge is toast & pulled out & for now we'll be using a cooler, but proabably putting in a 3 way to replace it. Plumbing is all removed except for the sink. If I do end up putting in a new fresh water tank it will have a pump. An inverter is a posibility at some point, but we don't have much in the way of 110v needs.

I'm looking to start building out things right now & am trying to figure out what I I should do. I obviously need some kind of power distribution & fuse or circuitbreaker protection (part of the PD4045). Is a PD4045 going to be a good start in terms of cost, space, flexibility (including future unexpected requirements) even though i dont have a huge need for the converter at the moment? When it comes time to add solar, just add panel & solar charge controller?

Any suggestions or recomendations?

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Old 04-26-2015, 03:22 AM   #2
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I put a Pd4045 in my completely rewired Boler. While I don't do much boondocking it's a great piece of equipment and it's priced right and I think it would work great for you.


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Old 04-26-2015, 03:41 AM   #3
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My Trillium came with a PD 4045. If it went bad I would not replace it. I would install a fuse box instead. Where we stay there are seldom hook ups. The only time I plug in is to charge the battery before leaving home. A battery charger is all I need. On the road I use solar. For the cost of a converter you can add solar and LED lights. That said, there will be a fellow here shortly to tell you why I'm wrong. Enjoy you new camper, Raz

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Old 04-26-2015, 08:09 AM   #4
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Back in 1978, my first trailer, a mid 60's 25' Airstream, didn't have a converter, it had a battery charger and a huge (8D - diesel starting size) battery. We full timed for almost a year and, by being sure that we had hook-ups about once a week we never had an issue with power. But, then again, all we had were a few lights a water pump and a fan on the 12 volt side. The entire electrical system was a single breaker for the 120 VAC side, and a real circuit board (a piece of plywood) with some terminal strips and a few fuses, for the 12 volt side. Unless I was into museum quality restoration, I would never want to go down that road again.


I just believe that as we restore our FGRV's, bringing them up to current RVing standards is always a good idea. Yes, one can get by with less and cobble together a combination of some sort that will fill their needs.


Me.... I like to ferret out what works best, and at a reasonable price, and when one finds both in an item, to promote it to others.


If one reads back in these posts, a number of happy campers who installed PD-4045's (and other brands of power chassis/converters) can be found, and at least one person that thinks that converters are a complete waste of time, space and money, can also be found. But you won't find anyone that did install a PD-4045 that isn't happy with the results.


All that said, in the real world, most buyers expect a converter and I would guess that the small expense of installing a PD-4045 would do nothing but add value for the vast majority of buyers, while the lack there of would make it a much harder sale to many future buyers.


Never forget, your first FGRV, like your first love, may not, (like certain STD's), be forever. That one ya gotta have may be just around the next bend in the road, been there and done that.....


It's a matter of personal choice and all I can do is present my opinions, of which I have many, all which are subject to correction and change as time passes.....



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Old 04-26-2015, 08:45 AM   #5
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I disconnected my converter when I upgraded my current solar system. The converter in my 2010 Casita would overcharge the batteries if I left it plugged into 110v. I have a Bogart TM2030 solar charge controller and it takes good care of my batteries when I am outside the garage and I use a 2 amp trickle charge when garaged. Love my solar!
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Old 04-26-2015, 08:55 AM   #6
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Rewiring?

[QUOTE=P. Raz;518175]My Trillium came with a PD 4045. If it went bad I would not replace it. I would install a fuse box instead.

Gee, why would you do that? The PD-4045 has a 12 circuit fuse block that is already wired to your battery and all of your DC circuits. If, by some remote chance the converter section did give up, all one would have to do is disconnect the AC input to, and the DC output from, the converter section and leave everything else in place..... The modular design of the PD-4045 is very adaptable.



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Old 04-26-2015, 06:21 PM   #7
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Thanks for the input. It sounds about like what i was thinking. The converter part might be useless to me now, but it can't hurt especially if we end up selling it later. I'll probably end up bagging one for the power distribution for now.

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