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Old 11-30-2017, 03:10 AM   #1
Tinner12002
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New Converter

Well while having the RV in the shop to fix a couple little items and having slide toppers installed, they call and told me the 12v side of the converter went bad. Better it went out there than while I'm out camping somewhere!! But that really brings up a point we've all discussed on here and other forums about the lack of quality in the RV industry...especially on the electronic side of the issue. Seems really crazy that they can't provide equipment that will hold up for an extended period of time without failure. I did ask about maybe upgrading the converter...sure they said if I wanted to pay the full purchase price of the converter. After slide toppers I guess that will have to wait so I'll see how long this converter lasts.
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Old 11-30-2017, 04:08 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinner12002 View Post
Well while having the RV in the shop to fix a couple little items and having slide toppers installed, they call and told me the 12v side of the converter went bad. Better it went out there than while I'm out camping somewhere!! But that really brings up a point we've all discussed on here and other forums about the lack of quality in the RV industry...especially on the electronic side of the issue. Seems really crazy that they can't provide equipment that will hold up for an extended period of time without failure. I did ask about maybe upgrading the converter...sure they said if I wanted to pay the full purchase price of the converter. After slide toppers I guess that will have to wait so I'll see how long this converter lasts.
Please pardon my skepticism - BUT - the converter on your new trailer just happened to die while the techs were working on it?? SERIOUSLY????
Well I suppose it's possible
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Old 11-30-2017, 04:12 AM   #3
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I’m thinking the same thing.
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Old 11-30-2017, 04:34 AM   #4
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Same here, really sounds suspicious, at least to me.
My two cents.
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Old 11-30-2017, 05:21 AM   #5
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So if it sounds suspicious, what do you think is going on?? I thought I'd read on here where some have had issues with new converters. He said they had a new Cougar a couple weeks ago they had same issue with.
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Old 11-30-2017, 05:39 AM   #6
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I just now called back and quizzed them on it and he said when they brought the rv back into the shop to work on one of the toppers the slide was running intermittently and when they diagnosed the issue they found the 12v side of the converter wasn't running consistently or reliably however you want to phrase it. Anyway it has been replaced so hopefully trouble free now!!
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Old 11-30-2017, 05:39 AM   #7
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Sounds suspicious as in its easy to replace and gets more money from Keystone. I used to take my cars to a Firestone dealer for small repairs. Every time I took it in, something else needed to be replaced. I quit taking my stuff there and all the extra repairs went away. Imagine that!

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Old 11-30-2017, 05:46 AM   #8
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Sounds suspicious as in its easy to replace and gets more money from Keystone. I used to take my cars to a Firestone dealer for small repairs. Every time I took it in, something else needed to be replaced. I quit taking my stuff there and all the extra repairs went away. Imagine that!

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Not sure how easy it was as they had to empty out the storage area to get to the converter...I had it pretty full! Lol! I guess what they do between them and Keystone really isn't my issue as long as my rv is repaired and operating as it should. When I go pick it up he said they will have it opened up and plugged in so I can go through the repairs and make sure things are to my satisfaction, so I really can't ask for much more than that...want to stay on good terms with service so if I have issues down the road they will be willing to work with me on getting things done in a timely manner.
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Old 11-30-2017, 05:47 AM   #9
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I've been "trailering" or "motor-homing" for 1 year short of 50 years and I've never had a converter failure. I well remember when they were first installed as an option in trailers and were nothing more than a battery charger (complete with cable clamps) connected to the battery terminals inside the trailer. It's really suspicious that a trailer (new or nearly new) would have a converter failure while at the dealer's lot while they were working on it. I try to "never say never", but ????????

WFCO is the "industry standard" power center/converter and although some people have had problems/failures, I'd suspect that the vast majority of RV'ers don't even know where their converter is located, and that's a "testament" to the reliability of the device, when people can't even find it. As for replacements, Progressive is probably #2. Both have, from what I can find, nearly identical features and reliability.

Honestly, looking back at the way things were built and how long they lasted back in the 60's and 70's, for me, it's a "far stretch" to say that today's RV's are "inferior" or "built with inferior components"..... I do see consumer demand for "how much can you discount that model?" and "Do you have that floorplan in a lighter weight trailer?" as being more a motivator for manufacturers to build cheaper and lighter. You can still buy a $125K (or more) custom built fifth wheel, but if you do find the converter, chances are it's going to be a WFCO.
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Old 11-30-2017, 05:59 AM   #10
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I'll just say that nearly every time I've seen a "BAD" Converter is has been run for a period of time with either a bad/dead battery or no battery in the system... Some people seem to think that if the lights burn that the battery is good..
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Old 11-30-2017, 06:03 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinner12002 View Post
Well while having the RV in the shop to fix a couple little items and having slide toppers installed, they call and told me the 12v side of the converter went bad. Better it went out there than while I'm out camping somewhere!! But that really brings up a point we've all discussed on here and other forums about the lack of quality in the RV industry...especially on the electronic side of the issue. Seems really crazy that they can't provide equipment that will hold up for an extended period of time without failure. I did ask about maybe upgrading the converter...sure they said if I wanted to pay the full purchase price of the converter. After slide toppers I guess that will have to wait so I'll see how long this converter lasts.
Well, sure thy will replace OEM WFCO with the same, I just checked and an 80 AMP Progressive Dynamics Power Converter (PD9280) for $275, yea with toppers and new TH likely a budget stretcher. Most likely Dealer wants full list of $364+.
As to the early failure, electronics will either fail very quickly, or last many years.
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Old 11-30-2017, 06:24 AM   #12
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This is "purely speculation" so I offer it "for what it's worth"....

I wonder if the battery is connected to the trailer system through the battery cutoff switch in such a way that the battery is disconnected from the converter/slide circuit when the battery switch is off? That would isolate the battery from the slides and place a "extreme demand" on the converter. With repeated slide activation (installing slide covers) I'd suspect the converter couldn't handle that load.

There's a warning label near the slide switches that says not to activate the slides without a battery installed. If the battery cutoff switch "disconnects" the battery from that switch and only uses the converter for power, then it's likely that the dealer "burned up the converter" rather than the converter failed....

Why is this important???? IF (If it were my trailer I'd want to confirm this) IF the battery cutoff switch removes the battery from the slide circuit, then in the future, the converter will "fail again" if the slides are activated with the switch in the "off" position.... IF that's the situation, then I'd be extremely careful in making sure the battery switch is ON before moving the slides !!!!!

This may be a "dealer burned up the converter" rather than a "converter failed" situation.

At any rate, I'd suggest making sure how the battery cutoff switch is wired into the slide circuits.......
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Old 11-30-2017, 08:28 AM   #13
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My WFCO converter failed, a couple weeks past the 2 year warranty period and WFCO sent me a replacement MB, free of charge.

I had to send them the old board, they verified it was bad and sent me the new one.

They seem like a stand up company to me and were very helpful through the process.

-Brian
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Old 12-01-2017, 03:01 AM   #14
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Well hopefully all fixed at no cost to me so that's all I can ask. If they did burn it up then they obviously fixed their mistake, and I'm good with that. I know I've seen dealers go to the lot with a jump box to run lights and slides for potential customers when they want to look at an RV, even seen them plug into a car with cables, don't know that either was bad for the rv though. Anyway thanks for the input!
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