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RV Gear Pro

RV Converters & Inverters

Your RV runs on two kinds of power at once: 120-volt AC from the shore pedestal or generator, and 12-volt DC stored in the house batteries. Converters step that AC down to keep the batteries charged, inverters turn battery power back into 120-volt AC so your outlets work off-grid, and transfer switches pick which AC source feeds the rig without ever connecting both. Figure out which direction your power needs to flow and the category you need becomes obvious.

134 products

Converters, inverters, and how they fit together

Almost every electrical question in this branch comes down to two things: which direction the power is flowing, and what is feeding it. Shore power and the generator supply 120-volt AC; your batteries store 12-volt DC. Each of the four categories below handles one part of moving power between them, so start with the task you are trying to accomplish.

  • Power Converters & Centers. The AC-to-DC direction. A converter/charger runs your 12-volt lights and pumps off shore power and keeps the house batteries topped up. The all-in-one power center lives here too, combining the converter with the fuse and breaker panel.
  • Pure-Sine Inverters. DC-to-AC with clean, grid-quality output for laptops, CPAPs, and anything with a motor or sensitive board that a cheaper inverter would buzz or damage.
  • Inverter-Chargers. One box that inverts off the battery and charges from shore power, switching between the two on its own. This is the piece most serious boondocking builds are organized around.
  • Transfer Switches. The device that ties your generator into the same wiring as your shore cord and guarantees only one source is connected at a time, so the two can never backfeed.

Keeping batteries charged on shore power is a converter's job. Making your outlets live off the battery is an inverter's job. Running a generator into the coach wiring calls for a transfer switch to tie it in safely.

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