Looking for information on how to wire and install an inverter in a camper van? If yes, then you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll show you how to build your own inverter setup in a van.
Specifically, this post will teach you how to connect an inverter to:
- The batteries
- Power outlet sockets
- Shower power
- A ground point
We will discuss how to build the very same inverter wiring system that you see in the diagram below.
Inverter Wiring Diagram
So if you’re ready, let’s get to it!
Confused where to start with DIY electrics? Check out our comprehensive camper van electrical system guide to start from the very beginning.
But First...
Anatomy Of An Inverter
Before beginning the installation process, it’s critical to know all the connection points of an inverter. This helps when you begin wiring everything together.
Different inverters will look slightly different when you check their connection points. But no matter what, the vast majority of inverters have the following connection points.
- Connection To Batteries (Pos. & Neg. Terminals)
- AC Out: Supplied 120v power to your devices.
- AC In: Connection to shore power to charge batteries (inverter/charger models only).
- Ground point
Let’s look at two popular examples.
Example 1: Victron Multiplus
We use a Victron 2000VA Multiplus [Amazon] inverter/charger. Below you can see the 4 connection areas.
Example 2: Aims Inverter/Charger
The AIMS inverter/charger [Amazon] is another popular inverter model for camper vans & RVs. You can see they also have the same four connection points, although they look slightly different. But the concept remains the same.
Now, let’s wire the whole inverter system together.
Download our electrical eBook (with diagrams) to learn how to wire an electrical system in a camper van.
Step 1:
Connecting Inverter To Batteries
The first step when installing an inverter in a camper van is to connect the inverter to the house batteries.
Technically Speaking…
We won’t be wiring the inverter directly to the batteries. Instead, we will be wiring the inverter to bus bars, which in turn will be wired to the batteries.
In this section, we will discuss how to connect the inverter to the bus bars. To learn more about how to connect the batteries to the bus bars, check out our post on 12v wiring for camper vans.
Wiring Inverter To Batteries
Materials & Tools List
Product | Purpose | Where To Buy |
Inverter / Charger | Converts 12v power to 120v. | |
2/0 AWG Wire | Connects inverter to bus bars. | |
Bus Bars | Power distribution point. | |
3/8" Wire Lugs | Used to connect 2/0 wire to bus bars. | |
Helpful Tools | ||
2/0 Wire Cutters | Cuts 2/0 wires down to size. | |
Utility Knife | Strips 2/0 wire jacket. | |
Hydraulic Lug Crimper | Crimps 3/8" lugs onto 2/0 wire ends. | |
Heat Gun | Activates heat shrink tubing. | |
Installation Instructions
- 1 - With wire cutters, cut an appropriate length of RED 2/0 AWG wire.
- 2 - With a utility knife , strip off ~1" of the 2/0 wire jacket to expose the bare wires.
- 3 - Place the provided heat shrink tubing over the 2/0 wire.
- 4 - With a hammer & lug crimper, crimp a 3/8" lug onto one of the wire ends.
- 5 - Place the heat shrink tubing over the lug & wire connection point and use a heat gun to activate the heat shrink.
- 6 - Repeat this process for the other end of the 2/0 wire.
- 7 - Attach one end of the 2/0 wire to the inverter's positive terminal and the other end to the positive bus bar.
- 8 - Repeat this process for the BLACK 2/0 wire.
After activating the heat shrink on your 2/0 wire ends, the final result should look similar to the image below.
Following the above process, your inverter should now be connected to your bus bars.
For information how to connect the bus bars to the batteries, check out our 12v wiring installation guide.
Step 2:
Wiring Inverter To Shore Power
In this section, we talk about how to connect an inverter to shore power. This is only required if you specifically purchased an ‘inverter/charger’ model that is capable of charging batteries, like our Victron Multiplus.
Note: If you opted for a non-Inverter/Charger model, you can skip this step and go straight to step 3.
Inverter To Shore Power
Materials & Tools List
Product | Purpose | Where To Buy |
12/3 AWG Wire | Connects inverter to power inlet. | |
15A Power Inlet | Extension cord connects here to charge inverter. | |
Helpful Tools | ||
Wire Stripper Tool | Strips 12 AWG wire. | |
High Quality Extension Cord | Connects inverter to shore power. | |
Installation Instructions
- 1 - With the wire multi-tool, cut an appropriate length of 12 AWG wire to connect inverter to power inlet.
- 2 - The 12 AWG wire we recommend includes three individual wires for positive, negative, and ground. With the same multi-tool, strip ~0.75" off the wire jackets for each of the three individual wires.
- 3 - Connect the positive, negative, & ground wires to the appropriate 'AC IN' terminals. (See note 1)
- 4 - Strip off the individual wire jackets on the other end of the 12 AWG wire and attach to the approprite terminals in the power inlet device.
Note 1: Not every inverter/charger has exactly the same connection point naming system. But they will all be similar.
Following the above process, your inverter/charger should now ready to connect to shore power to charge your house batteries.
Good To Know
Get a high-quality 12AWG extension cord [Amazon]. Cheap cords come with thinner wire strands, which may not be safe to support large wattages for long periods of time.
Step 3:
Wiring Inverter To Power Outlets
In this section, we show you how to connect your inverter to power outlets so that you can plug in your 120v devices.
Good To Know
Our tutorial discusses how to utilize standard household wall sockets in your camper/RV. But many inverters already have built-in sockets, which is much simpler and cost-effective.
Inverter To Power Outlets
Materials & Tools List
Product | Purpose | Where To Buy |
12/3 AWG Wire | Connects inverter to power outlets and to shore power. | |
Circuit Breaker Box | Houses the circuit breaker. | |
15A Circuit Breaker | Protects 120v devices from surges. | |
125v Power Outlets | Lets you plug in your 120v devices. | |
Helpful Tools | ||
Wire Stripper Tool | Strips 12 AWG wire. | |
Installation Instructions
- 1 - With the wire multi-tool, cut an appropriate length of 12 AWG wire to connect the inverter to the circuit breaker box.
- 2 - The 12 AWG wire we recommend includes three individual wires for positive, negative, and ground. With the same multi-tool, strip ~0.75" off hte wire jacket for each of the three individual wires.
- 3 - Connect the positive, negative, & ground wires to the appropriate 'AC OUT' terminals. (See Note 1)
- 4 - Repeat the wire stripping process for the other side of the 12 AWG wire, and attach to the circuit breaker box.
- 5 - From the circuit breaker box, thread the 12 AWG wires through the holes in the back of the gang box and connect to the power outlet.
- 6 - Screw the power outlet to the gang box and then screw the wall plate to the power outlet.
- 7 - Insert the 15A circuit breaker into the breaker box.
Note 1: Not every inverter has exactly the same connection point naming system. But they will all be similar.
Please note: You will need to install the gang box to the backside of your camper van walls and thread the 12 AWG wires through before putting your walls up.
Download our electrical eBook (with diagrams) to learn how to wire an electrical system in a camper van.
Step 4:
Wiring The Inverter To A Ground Point
In the final step, we will connect the inverter to a ground point. But because we are installing this power inverter system in a camper van, we don’t have the same traditional ‘ground’ point as in a house. Instead, we can attach the ground wire to a designated point on our vehicle’s chassis.
We explain how to find these ground points further below in this section. But first, we will explain how to do the wiring, as shown in the wiring diagram below.
Inverter To A Ground Point
Materials & Tools List
Product | Purpose | Where To Buy |
4 AWG wire | Connects inverter to ground point | |
Ring connectors | Connects 12 AWG to ground point | |
Helpful Tools | ||
Hydraulic lug crimper | Strips 12 AWG wire. | |
Installation Instructions
- 1 - With the wire multi-tool, strip off ~0.75" of the 12 AWG wire jacket.
- 2 - With the same multi-tool, crimp a M8 lug and attach to the designated ground point on the inverter.
- 3 - Repeat the same process on the other end of the 12 AWG wire and attach the ring connector to a designated ground point on your vehicle's chassis.
How To Locate Your Vehicle's Ground Points
You can find your vehicle’s designated ground points either in the van’s handbook or by doing a quick search online.
Below is an image we found online with all the designated ground points for our Ford Transit van. We grounded our inverter by connecting to point #31 in the diagram below.
Were Our Inverter Diagrams Useful? There are more electrical diagrams in our eBook.
Alternatives To Heavy-Duty Inverters
To be honest, installing a large inverter in your camper is a big decision. Inverters aren’t cheap, they take up valuable space in your van, and they can take time to wire everything correctly.
Not to mention, the wiring process is somewhat tricky.
For some people, a large inverter is clearly the way to go. Perhaps they want to run a hot water heater or an induction stove. But for other people, having a large inverter may not be worth the effort.
If your only reason for installing an inverter in your camper is to simply power a laptop or other similarly low-wattage devices, getting a heavy-duty inverter may not be so wise.
If that’s the case, there are several great, portable alternatives available on the market today.
Space Saving, Simpler Inverter Alternatives
On Amazon, Bestek provides a series of great quality, portable inverters that are perfect for camper vans.
Our large Victron inverter [Amazon] was pulling too much power to be left on all day to power our laptops so we ended up buying a 300w Bestek inverter and we now use this small inverter much more frequently.
Best of all, when we’re not using our portable inverter, we simply store it away.
Portable Inverter Models | ||
300W Inverter | 500W Inverter | 1000W Inverter |
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What We Like
- No wiring needed: Simply plug in or clamp to your batteries (or bus bars) and it’s good to go.
- Portability: Simply pack the inverter away when you’re not using it. No wires, no fuss.
- Price point: Significantly less expensive than a larger inverter.
- Pure sine technology: Safe for your more expensive devices, like laptops & cameras.
What We Don't Like
- Cannot charge batteries: Meaning you cannot connect these inverters to shore power to charge your 12v batteries.
- Power limitation: Not suitable for anything above 1000-1200W.
If the above portable inverters aren’t for you, then keep reading. We detail how to install a formal power inverter/charger in a camper van below.
Was This Article Helpful? We have more useful articles to help you build your van Electrical System!
Conclusion: Installing An Inverter Is Just One Piece Of The Electrical Puzzle
If you’ve gotten this far then congratulations on successfully installing an inverter in your camper van!
If you did it while also installing sockets into your van walls then that’s a fantastic achievement. The whole inverter installation process took us more than a week to complete and wasn’t easy!
But setting up the inverter is just one piece of the puzzle when putting together your camper van electrical system. For more, check out our other posts below.
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