Battery Drain When Travelling - Power Converter Issue?

[DoubleT]

I have 1 2008 2619 and need some clarification. Does TM come with a converter or an invertor? Help me understand the difference and the purpose/job each does. Thanks from an electrically challenged owner.!!

[TrailManorMan]

TM has no inverter, only converter, converts 120volts to 12 volts.
Inverters do the opposite by making 120 volts from 12 volts but drain batteries fast.

[Bill]

TrailManorman has it exactly right. Like most RVs and trailers, the TM has a converter. The converter changes 120VAC to 12 VDC, for two purposes. It runs the 12VDC loads in the camper (lights, water pump, etc.) And a separate charger section within the converter charges the trailer battery. Note that the converter must have a source of 120VAC (shore power or generator power) in order to do anything. Note also that there is no source of 120VAC power while travelling.

An inverter performs the opposite function. Given a source of 12VDC power - specifically, the trailer battery - it will produce 120VAC when no other source of AC power is available. TMs do not come with an inverter, and the battery in a TM is small enough that it will support production of only a small amount of 120VAC power. While it is possible to add an inverter to a TM, few of us do.

Bill

[Padgett]

Depends on how you want to dry camp. My Vixen RV (smallest Class A known) had a 1KW Freedom/Heart charger/converter/inverter. This was enough to run 110v lights/TV/Microwave/Coffie maker. It also had dual GC1 coach batteries and a Grp 31 starting battery (diesel).

However it was an '80s design before small portable gas inverters like the Honda EU2000 were available.

So while inverters have become less common for RVs they remain staples for the marine community and are widely avalable.

The main issue is cost, a good inverter/converter/charger can run about U$1/watt, buying seperate devices can be much less. The real key is how good is the equipment. A quality converter will have multi-stage charging and put out a clean 12v supply.

For gas inverters the criteria is different. Of prime importance to most is whether it will run the A/C, the other prime criteria is noise or lack of. You pay more for quiet and again the Honda EU2000 is the standard but at 1650W continuous is marginal for the AC..

There is a 800/900W genny from Harbor Freight for about $100 that will top off the batteries but is quite noisy.

When all is said and done, there are a number of small inexpensive (U$20-U$100) 12v-110v inverters from 100w to 1kw that would be just fine to run a TV or small appliance. Modern ones also provide USB power (5VDC) to charge cell phones and such. Just make sure they are rated for small electronics.

ps there are a number of other threads that go into much more detail on different units and energy budgets.

[TrailManorMan]

Originally Posted by DoubleT

I have 1 2008 2619 and need some clarification. Does TM come with a converter or an invertor? Help me understand the difference and the purpose/job each does. Thanks from an electrically challenged owner.!!

Padgett the question was ^^^^^^^

[Padgett]

My '06 2720SL has a WCO charger/converter but no Inverter. It does provide 120VAC distribution.

AFAIK TM has never provided an inverter though there are quite a few available from Harbor Frieght and Amazon.

Just remember that a 70W TV (television) is less than an amp at 120vac but takes nearly 6A of 12vdc.

[TrailManorMan]

Originally Posted by Padgett

My '06 2720SL has a WCO charger/converter but no Inverter. It does provide 120VAC distribution.

AFAIK TM has never provided an inverter though there are quite a few available from Harbor Frieght and Amazon.

Just remember that a 70W TV (television) is less than an amp at 120vac but takes nearly 6A of 12vdc.