electrical -inverter in 2003 rockwood freedom

[Zhankat]

hi everyone
I am new to this forum and a totally have some very stupid and basic questions. I recently purchased a used 2003 Rockwood Freedom tent trailer and I am trying to figure out how to work the inverter and the electrical in this trailer. first of all the interior lights were working when I got it, ie: turning thier switches turned them on/off. I could flip the switch to turn on the water pump (or open water tap and the water pump would come on & pump water to the sink) and I am assuming this was working off of battery power.
problem 1: the four plug-in outlets in the trailer have no power to them.
problem 2: the inverter appears to be "dead" ie does not light up, etc,
I have plugged into home power (using a converter plug to go from 15 amp service at my house to the RV plug, I tried flipping the power switchon the inverter but still nothing happens at the inverter, it does not light up, outlets still have no power, etc.

the gas detector still has power to it though as the green light is still on.
something odd I noticed though.. right next to the switch for the water pump is a silver toggle switch and when I follow the wiring for this switch it is not connected to anything, its two wires are just wired together and end. I am assuming this should be connected to something, and if so what & where? is this what someone was using as a disconnect point maybe?

also, recently I went to use the interior lights and they are very dim, I am assuming the battery is low as I have no idea when it was last charged.

I have attached a photo of the inverter this may help give you an idea of the inverter unit I have.

any directions on how to use this bugger, troubleshooting, etc would be very helpful.. the one thing I know very little about is electrical, sadly,

also, on the backside of the trailer there is one port I cannot identify ( see lower right opening in attached photo) I know the upper one is fresh water tank fill location & lower left is power cord for hookup what should be in the lower right?

thanks for your help!!

[007matman]

It looks like you have a Converter.. not an Inverter. Meaning it has a 120v input and a 12v output (used to charge the battery and run 12v appliances). This is pretty common in a tent trailer (I've owned two).

An Inverter would take 12v and ramp it up to 120v to operate 120v when disconnected from shore power.

If you're trying to run 12v appliances (lights, water pump, etc) and have no power when not plugged in, I'd suspect the battery first.

Also, post up a pic of the wiring you're describing along with a pic of the area it's in. Pop-ups are usually pretty simple. However, it's the owner modifications that can make things more complex.

[TheWolfPaq82]

I'd first check at the beginning. Power where you're plugged into ? then is there power getting to the converter ? If you have 120v coming in and your battery is dead...you'll still have lights. Check all the power leading up to the converter...then go from there.

[007matman]

Thinking about this further..

Problem 1: The only way your 120v outlets are going to work is if you're plugged into 120v power. Just use an adapter to go from 10/15A to your campers 30A plug. If you're plugged in are you sure the outlet is working?

Problem 2: there are usually no lights on the Converter. You'll only see a light when there is a problem.

The camper does not appear to have an AC unit. The extra hole you see there would be for the power cord from the converter/fuse box to connect to the side of the roof and power an AC unit. If it were me I'd get a new one (or if you can find it a door) and close that off.

The wires and a toggle could be a couple of things. On models with a flip-up sink there is a button that depresses when the sink is flipped up. Doing so enables 12v power to turn on inside the camper. It's a safety thing to prevent your furnace, lights, etc from working with the top down. It could be that your camper was modified and the switch removed or if you don't have the flip-up sink that's just the way it works. There are like a thousand other possibilities here. A photo would help to show us where it is inside the camper.

[Scrapper]

Where is your power cord? The lower right opening with the slits in the plastic should have a 30 amp cord in it. When your not plugged in the male end sits in the recess and there should be a hinged cover that closes it off to the weather.

[rfifer]

Look for a GFCI outlet. If you find it, there is a tab between the two plug recepticles - push it in. In our pup-up when we had it, if the ground fault circuit was tripped, the lights would not come on and there was no AC power to the outlet plugs.