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Old 01-07-2015, 06:58 PM   #43
Bill
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Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
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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
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