Trillium 1300, 1980. Converter replacement. Which fits best?

[Colleeno]

All, I’m taking our Trilly in to get a new converter. (We’re installing a new propex furnace that requires a steady 12v from the converter.) For those of you who have done this, which converter did you use that best fits in the space where the converter now sits? I want to tell the shop which one to use. I’m concerned mainly with depth — I’d like the new converter to fit next to the wheel well like the old one. Thanks in advance. Colleen

[David Tilston]

Colleen, Trillium used some different converters. Is yours on the front of the kitchen, or on the side, towards the dinette?

[David B.]

Colleen, you would be using a converter only while camping with shore power. We have the Propex furnace in our Lil Snoozy, rarely camp with hook-ups, so the furnace runs directly off the battery with out any problems. When we do have 110 volts to plug into, we just have a smart battery charger by CTEK connected to the battery, otherwise solar panel keeps our battery charged.
Dave & Paula

[Clayton]

Hi Colleen, I have a Trillium 1300 with a very similar set up to David B. We almost never have electrical hook ups at the campsites we like to go to but always use our Propex heater. It is ran directly off our two 6 volt batteries. I also have an inverter to run any small appliances that we would normally run off 110 volt power. This system works perfect for us.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[Colleeno]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

Colleen, Trillium used some different converters. Is yours on the front of the kitchen, or on the side, towards the dinette?

Hi David. Ours is in the kitchen, in front of the wheel well.

[Colleeno]

Thank you David and Clayton. One of the main reasons we got the Propex was its 12 v abilities. I’m not exactly sure where we tapped into the system but I believe we tapped in “after converter” if you know what I mean, not straight from the battery. We wanted a Propex but our RV guy knows nothing about them so we did the work ourselves. If you can put it simply, can you tell me where you tapped into the electrical system when you set it up? It’s rocket science to me, my partner is better at it than me, but that’s not saying much. It was much easier to wire our new laundry room than this was apparently. ( :

[John in Michigan]

Instead of replacing, I renovated the converter in my Trillium. Here's how:

- replaced both the AC and DC circuit breaker on the front panel
- replaced the SPDT switch on the front panel
- removed and replaced the transformer with a Mean Well SP-150-12 power supply

All of the above parts are available on Amazon and also at electronic part supply companies.

[John in Michigan]

The original Trillium converter is a simple design. The switch (SPDT switch) on the front panel allows you to switch your 12 volt DC source back and forth between the AC to DC transformer and the battery. Doesn't get any simpler than that.

The Propex furnace would be wired in on the DC side of the converter, allowing it to be powered by either the AC to DC transformer or the battery.

[Joe MacDonald]

take a picture of your converter and post it, my 1300 didn't have a converter, and I just used an old school battery charger.
My 5500 did have one, but I re-used it's space when I upgraded.
you may or may not be able to use the same space when upgrading, but no matter what it can be done, just might be more complicated.
they can be made to fit almost anywhere, just might mean a bit more wiring, depending on the configuration. It might be a good time to clean up the 110v side as well, mine was terrible, and from what I see it was factory original
Joe