Hello there, I feel like this might be a question that's been asked before, but I can't seem to find an answer in the forums or anywhere else online, so here it goes. I recently purchased a Prius that I absolutely love, so I want to ensure that I'm not taking any risks with it yet, but I'm about to embark on living in a motorhome full time, while towing my prius (on a trailer) and I was curious if there was a way I could use the reserve energy in the hybrid battery of the prius to charge the house batteries in the rv. If this would be too extreme, is there any issue with using the dc outlet in the prius to charge a few small powerbanks for mobile devices and laptops while the car is being driven. Thank you very much!
Charge the motorhome.......no. Charge phones and laptops while the car is running.......sure.....just not too many at once.
1) This is a liability lawyer's wet dream. Should anything at all go wrong you will be sued every which way to get at the Manufacturer's deep pockets. Running a car while on a trailer, high voltage lines between trailer and Motorhome, home brew power plant, etc. 2) There are threads about using a Prius to power a home. Same idea, in theory the Motorhome draws less power. Your electrical connections will spend more time in the rain, plan accordingly! The Correct Answer FAQ: Home 3) For an inverter plugged into the cigarette lighter, keep it under 10 amps. Amazon.com: PowerDrive RPPD150 150-Watt DC to AC Power Inverter Strip w/USB Port and 3 Outlet: Automotive contains a fan my wife can hear
I would think using the Pri's 12v system (with the car in "ready" mode) to charge motorhome house batteries would be safer and simpler than trying to use the HV system. A current-limiting device should be placed in the charging connections. Larger amounts of 12v current are best drawn at the aux battery or underhood jump-start terminal. Sure, you can use the cig-lighter plugs inside to power things, but as mentioned, it's pretty current limited. It's enough for a small (~100W) inverter or laptop power supply. For maintaining RV house batteries, I highly recommend a solar-charging system. My truck camper house battery is charged exclusively by a small, solar charging system and I love it--"free", clean, silent energy. A solar-charging system is simple to assemble. Just connect a panel or two to the house batteries with a charge controller in between. I only have about $50 in my 10W system (you'd probably want a larger system though). It also does a great job of maintaining the battery when the camper isn't in use.
I use a parallel charging system when towing my caravan. The caravan has a 120 AH battery wired in parallel with the Prius battery through a relay only energized when the Prius is made ready. The cables are connected at the tow ball by a non reversible plug and socket. John (Britprius)
Thanks for all the responses! I thought it may be a bit overkill to try to power an entire motorhome but would it be too much to use the cigarette lighter with an ac outlet adapter so I can plug in various back up batteries, (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B45EOYS/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B45EOYS&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&tag=digmedlaw-20 , Amazon.com: HyperJuice 2 External Battery Pack for MacBook / iPad / iPhone / Smartphones - MBP2-100: Computers & Accessories ) and possibly a few rechargeable aa battery chargers? It wouldn't need to be all at once of course, but spread out over the day.
Small items such as phone chargers nimh battery chargers will not be a problem. In the UK the power outlet (cigarette lighter) is not powered with the car off. I do not know if the same applies to the North American continent Prius. John (Britprius).
In NA, the cig lighters are also not powered when the car is off. Sorry, xpc, we had a reply jam. I agree to charge things in the motorhome instead so the Prius can stay off.
the cigarette lighter has no current when the Prius is OFF. So you will need to have the car in the ready state. Then it might start the gas engine to top up the 12 volt charge. Not an ideal situation if it's being towed at the time. I suggest you charge things from inside the motorhome. If your parked at a camping site then it might make sense to charge using the Prius.
