No power to outlets when in battery mode.

wnjj wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
Correct, it is rather confusing that the RV industry decided to call the battery charger/power supply a "converter". While it does "convert" 120V to 12V in some respects it should have been called a battery charger since that really was the prime reason for the converter to exist.

It’s probably because early model RV’s only converted and didn’t charge the battery. My sister’s previous 88 Coleman tent trailer had a switch between “converter” and “batt”. You had to charge the battery externally. Inverters also weren’t on the scene so converting was only in one direction, hence why they are now “inverters”.

I think the proper term for what most of us have is “converter/charger”.

My Dad had a late 1970s TC which had a "converter" and no battery on board. Since no battery was on board of the TC and all the lighting was 12V the converter was a "power supply". Which is what the device is and should have been called.

When you work on electronic equipment, absolutely no technician will refer to a power supply section as a "converter". Nope, they call it what it is, a power supply.

Does a power supply "convert" voltages? Sure, but its function in life is to provide the correct voltage and amperage to your device and in the case of typical RV takes 120V and reduces it to 12V to provide power to your 12V items and charge the battery. In other words power your devices that work off of the battery.

Keep in mind, an "inverter" also "converts" from one voltage to another and that is why folks who buy a RV get so darn confused thinking they can plug in 120V appliances when not connected to commercial power grid or generator.