Another very important consideration when using an inverter is your RV batteries and the solar panels supplying a charge to them. The more electricity you plan to use not only requires a larger inverter, but a larger battery bank and solar panels too. Batteries are rated in amp hours. The amp hour rating is basically how many amps the battery can deliver for how many hours before it needs to be recharged—amps multiplied by hours. In other words, a battery that can deliver 5 amps for 20 hours has an amp-hour rating of 100 (5 x 20 = 100).

You need to compute the amperage you plan to use to determine if your batteries are capable of providing enough. The power, in watts, drawn from the batteries by your inverter is the same as the power drawn by the 120V AC items, plus about 15 percent for losses in the inverter.

Amps are watts divided by volts. For instance, a TV might draw 480 watts from a household 120V AC source; that is 4 amps of current (480 ÷ 120 = 4). To supply these same 4 amps from the 12V batteries, the inverter must draw 40 amps (480 ÷ 12 = 40). Add to this another 6 amps for inverter inefficiencies.

As stated earlier, it is possible to drive a 35-foot motorhome and still be conscious of the environment around us. We as a country—and more so as RVers—can and should protect the environment. We should leave our campsites in as good or even better condition than we found them. Whether it is lessening the carbon footprint we leave behind by using renewable energy sources, or just being good stewards to the land we enjoy using so much, we can all do our part.

One of my wishes is for my children's children and their future generations to visit the spectacular places we visited in our RV. When they do, we hope they see America as it was when it was still green.