Introduction to RV Electricity  120 Volts Alternating Current (AC) – Part 2

Converter

You have a power converter in your RV, what exactly does it do? It takes 120V AC and converts it to 12V DC to charge your battery and power your 12V DC items in the RV, normally also in that area is your 120V circuit breakers and the distribution point for all thing’s AC powered. A typical converter looks like this:

Circuit Breakers

Just like in a house, your RV has circuit breakers to manage when you attempt to pull too many amps through a particular circuit, breakers are there to protect the wiring, so it does not overheat.  Your RV also has a whole “house” circuit breaker. In a 30-amp RV you cannot pull more than 30 amps from the campground pedestal EVEN if you are using a “Dog-Bone” adapter to hook up to a 50-amp receptacle as you will trip the 30-amp circuit in your RV. If you trip one, turn off the excessive electrical draw and reset the breaker.