Is there room to upgrade 1000-watt inverter in Mercedes floorplan?

Dear Dave,
I am looking at purchasing a 2023 Thor Quantum Mercedes Sprinter. The problem is it only comes with a 1/2 wave inverter and only 1000 watts. I’m looking to upgrade the 1000-watt inverter and install a Go Power! IC2000 inverter with 2 AGM 100ah deep cycle batteries. Do you feel there is room for this or should I look for a different coach? —Donald

Dear Donald,
According to the Thor website and brochure, the Quantum is a Class C motorhome and is not available on the Mercedes Sprinter Chassis. It comes standard on the Ford E-Series and has an optional Chevy on the smaller units. The Mercedes Sprinter is only available on the Tiburon and Delano on the Class C units and their B Vans. The reason I bring this up is if the unit you are looking at is on a Mercedes Sprinter, it will have limited space for anything larger than the thinner 1000-watt inverter.

Inverter not available on Quantum

Also, according to the brochure for the Quantum, an inverter is not available as standard or as an option. Could this be a dealer add-on? It does show the battery compartment is large enough for four batteries. However, you would not want to put the larger IC2000 in that compartment as it is an open compartment designed for the standard Group 31 lead acid batteries, and the inverter is not weatherproof.

The Delano does come with a standard 1000-watt inverter for the entertainment system and select outlets. It does not list it as an inverter/charger, though, which means it must have a traditional converter either in the distribution center or standalone. I would also guess this is a WFCO brand converter/charger and would be compatible with the AGM batteries you plan to install.

Contact Thor customer service

I would suggest contacting Thor customer service to verify the type of converter/charger so you know if it is compatible or not. If it is, then you do not need to use the Go Power! IC2000 but rather the ISW2000, which is a pure sine wave model, which is smaller and less expensive.

I would also question why you need to go from 1000 watt to 2000 watt, as the refrigerator is a 12-volt compressor-driven model. That would not require 120-volt power while boondocking and is not supplied by the inverter. I would recommend going to Go Power!’s website and using their calculator tool to determine how much power you really need.

Since the standard inverter only runs the entertainment center and a select few outlets, it might be overkill. The new AGM batteries will be less maintenance but still only offer 100 total AH, as you only want to drain an AGM down 50%.

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Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”

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