So the long and the short of it is, if you need to convert AC to DC AND DC to AC, you might need a power inverter charger. If you have no AC appliances onboard that you’ll use off grid, then you don’t need the inverter element. We managed to live through a Patagonian winter with no driving or hookup (global travel restrictions at play), and we coped just fine. With enough solar capacity, you may never need to charge the batteries from a mains supply so may not need the converter element. Inverter chargers aren’t cheap components so it’ll save you money and unnecessary complexity in your electrical design too.Įven if you do have a battery bank installed, a combined inverter charger still isn’t absolutely essential. If your camper doesn’t have a battery bank, all your household AC appliances will run on the mains circuit when hooked up to a mains supply.īy making sure all devices, lights and appliances use AC, there’s no need to convert that power to DC. The short answer is you don’t need a combined inverter charger in an RV or campervan. Read more: How To Tell If RV Converter Is Bad But if your camper isn’t one of them, you want to replace them or you are building a camper conversion, you can buy a combined power inverter charger. Some RVs already have a converter and/or inverter installed. The voltage must be stepped down and transformed from 110v or 240v AC to 12v DC first. To take advantage of a mains shore power on a campsite or at home to top up the batteries, the mains supply must be converted. The converter’s job is to change AC power to DC power.Ĭamper’s leisure battery banks can only be recharged with DC power. Instead, stored DC power must be converted to AC first. So appliances like microwaves, laptop chargers, coffee makers or TVs, won’t run directly from the battery bank. We’re written detailed posts on both RV inverters and RV converters but to summarise the key points:Īn inverter’s job is to change DC power to AC power.ġ2v camper leisure batteries store DC power but household appliances normally plugged into a power outlet need an AC power source. In the most simple terms, a power inverter charger does the job of both an inverter and a converter. What does a Power Inverter Charger do in an RV? So are you ready? Here’s everything you need to know about RV inverter chargers. We’ve recommended our top picks of RV inverter chargers too. You’ll be able to figure out what size you need and the key features to look out for when buying. The post explains what they are, how they work and importantly the pros and cons of these over choosing a separate inverter and converter. Here we focus specifically on combined RV inverter charger units. This post is one part of a mini series about RV converters and inverters. This is where inverters, converters or a combined RV inverter charger step in. Our campervan heater and diesel cooker both need a power supply.Įven our composting toilet needs a small but constant electrical supply.Īll these appliances run directly from the battery bank.Ī well sized camper solar setup will help meet much, if not all, your off grid demand, keeping the batteries in tip top condition.īut what about AC appliances like laptops, camera batteries, air conditioning units and microwaves?Īnd what about charging the batteries when the weather is off, so not enough solar to meet the demand? We want to keep a fridge on and maintain good ventilation by running the roof vent. Living in a van comfortably full-time, at least for us, demands a certain level of available electric. Well we’ve been living in our camper full time since 2018 and we don’t have an RV inverter charger so they’re not what we’d call essential. If you’ve read what we have, you’ll be convinced that if you’re serious about boondocking, an RV inverter charger is an essential bit of kit.
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