The Power Converter On My Son's Travel Trailer Blows Hot Air, Is This Safe?

by Kim
(Florida)

My son has a 80's model prowler tag along...his converter box is warm to the touch and blows warm air. Is this dangerous? Why would it feel hot?

Thanks

ANSWER: Greetings Kim thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.

It is completely normal for a Power Converter to get very warm. The reason you feel very warm air coming out of the Converter/Charger is there is a fan in the converter that is used to dissipate the heat that is generated by the converter when it is operating.

The one thing you do not want to do is store items in the storage compartment where the converter is located. The converter needs space so that it can exhaust the warm air so that it does not exceed its proper operating temperature. If you block the vents and exhaust of the converter you can overheat and possibly damage the converter.

So if your son is storing items in this electrical compartment, you should remind him to move the items to another compartment.

The one thing I am surprised you did not mention was the sound that the converter makes while it is operating. I cannot tell you how many people reach out to me saying that something is wrong with their RV's converter because it is making a humming or electrical buzzing sound. That is also normal for converters in older RVs.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you.

Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic? You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Click Here To Post Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al