SoftStart RV - run your RV AC on a small generator or even battery power
Can you run your RV’s air conditioner on a single small generator? Or, can you run your RV’s air conditioner on battery power? The answer can be yes to these questions but not if you haven’t made changes to how the system works. And you can easily make that change with a few tools and this RV gadget: the SoftStart RV.
How an RV air conditioner works
Electric motors all share basically the same design. Essentially there are two amounts of power required to run an electric motor - the running power and the starting power. To kick an electric motor into gear and get it running it takes a literal jolt of electricity.
Once the motor is running it’s relatively efficient. But it’s that initial power surge needed to get it going that can be the issue with running that RV air conditioner on a smaller generator.
We installed a SoftStart RV™ on the air conditioner of our first Rockwood Mini Lite to see how it worked and if we could run that AC unit on a single 1600 watt generator.
SoftStart RV™
SoftStartRV™ gradually increases the power to the electric motor until the compressor is running, creating a very smooth start that reduces the peak current by 50 to 70% or more. An RV rooftop 15,000 BTU, 120-volt compressor can now start with under 20 amps of current.
Now you can run your RV air conditioner(s) with minimal start-up power, potentially even two units on a 30 amp pedestal! SoftStart RV is designed to connect directly to the compressor motor and reduce the power surge that occurs on startup.
In fact it’s this technology that is now built into the air conditioner on our current Mini Lite that enables it to run on battery power. And we have tested this running the AC on the built-in 400 amp hour MasterVolt battery for up to eight hours.
With SoftStart RV you can:
Run two air conditioners on a 30 amp hookup
Run one air conditioner using only a small portable generator
Run one air conditioner on a 20 amp household hookup
Run one or two air conditioners using your onboard inverter system
SoftStartRV is specially designed, engineered and tested for all RVs: Motorhomes, Fifth wheels, campers, travel trailers, toy haulers, truck campers, vans, and tiny trailers.
Other benefits include:
No more “thumps” and “trailer shaking” in the quiet of the night as the compressor kicks in.
Reduces and eliminates that clunking compressor start-up noise… Everyone sleeps cool, quiet and restful.
Reduces startup power demand by an amazing 70%. It’s that good!
Small at just 4.5”x3”x2.5” and weighs just under 2 pounds.
Installing the SoftStart RV
Regular readers will know that I’m not a ladder type of guy but my nephew, Dalton, is so we talked him into installing the SoftStart RV on our air conditioner.
Essentially what comes in the box is the device itself which then gets tapped into the RV’s air conditioner wiring. This is not a complicated process at all and the video below from our friends at TechnoRV was what Dalton followed to install the unit. In fact it took Dalton all of about ten minutes and much of that time was spent removing the shroud on the air conditioner, which is also relatively simple but you’re up on the roof remember.
The wiring on the SoftStart RV is all color coded and matches the colors of the wiring on the air conditioner so following the guidelines in the instructions and just using a bit of common sense gets you the results. The SoftStart RV device fits within the shroud of the RV’s air conditioner when all is said and done so it’s a neat installation.
You also don’t have to do anything to modify the controls of the RV’s air conditioner so whatever you have now will continue to work. It’s a pretty nifty device.
Final thoughts
The thing we liked about the SoftStart RV on our own AC is that it was able to run on a single 1600 watt generator. Since we like to boondock this made it possible to enjoy some of those summer getaways and still operate the air conditioner.
It also takes away the thump when you start up the AC unit by progressively powering up the drive motor and compressor in the air conditioner - another side benefit.
As mentioned before this was installed on our first Mini Lite. The current model actually came with this technology from the factory and it’s conceivable that this may become normal practice. But it’s not. So having one of these SoftStart RV air conditioner controls installed could make boondocking easier in your world. It certainly did ours.
