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So many parks have old crappy wiring and worn out breakers… many have been replaced while we are there… sad thing is the guys they have on hand to fix them are…. well… I know more about it than a lot of them do and that’s a really scary thought.!!! The stupid things they tell me about my wiring…like they know… OMG !!

[Davy]

With the heat we have been having campgrounds are going to be stretched thin repairing or replacing breaker problems and we may be confronted with poor voltage due to the loads on systems.

Since we (http://www.jamestownadvanced.com) have been making outlet boxes for RV parks we have learned a few things. First, even the newest outlet boxes with tight connections are only going to reliably supply 40 amps per leg. A breaker will easily handle 80% of its rating, but beyond that a breaker can trip at any time.

But if we manage our power requirements and limit loads to 40 amps per leg maximum we should expect uninterrupted service. HOWEVER>>>>>>>>>power managment requires us to understand we could have loads we are not thinking about when we select the circuits we want powered. For example, if we choose to run 2 ACs per leg we are likely to draw 26 to 30 amps total on each leg. That leaves us with a margin of safety between the AC load and the magic 40 amp limit. We are likely to leave the inverters on so whatever phantom loads we have on the inverters, plus whatever loads we add such as lighting are going to be added to the AC load. We can help that by resetting the inverter chargine rate to a low amperage. When the AC loads are low, such as at night the inverters should fully charge any battery power deficit.

But don’t forget we also have periodic loads. We have water pumps, hot water heaters, air compressors and other periodic electrical loads that can kick on unexpectedly and trip a breaker if our load is already near limits.

The best way to manage power is to learn how much amperage each device on a circuit breaker pulls, and then consider if the device is critical. When it takes 4 AC units to keep our coach cool (rare, but it has happened) I turn off the HW heater, the air compressor and other non essential circuit breakers. Then if we want to grill or use the cooktop I will turn off one or two AC units until I am done cooking and then turn them back on.

If you have done everything right and you are still popping RV park breakers the cause is either loose connections at the breaker inside the power outlet box, a tired or defective outlet box breaker, or low voltage which increases the current draw.

[Archived]

We had the same problem at the campground we are at this weekend. Only one leg was getting 120 the other was getting 60. They originally tried to say my bus was to big or improperly wired. After explaining how things work they agreed to bring in an electrician. To their suprise, and not mine, the underground supply was rotted and needed to be dug up and replaced. Unfortunately we are the last site on the feed so we can only use one A/C at a time or we trip their breaker. At least we have power so who can complain (to much anyways)

Campground owners first response to the situation was we’ve never had anything this big in our campground so it has to be your rig causing the issue. he has since come around.

Guess we should start bring our own electrical repair tools with extra 50 amp outlets and 8/3 wire to fix the campsites for them. 😃

[Archived]

Bringing our own 50 amp breakers was Natalie’s idea for going forward. This has been happening more and more to us.

This place is just a little older. We are at the Camp Wilderness campground at Carowinds in NC/SC. While I think the proof is in the pudding (or breaker changing) with three air conditioners running we were pulling 16 amps on one leg and 37 on the other. They tried to tell me that that totals over 50, so we shouldn’t be surprised. Uh, no. Not my first campfire.

[Ed]

While it is easy to change out a campground’s faulty breaker or tighten up loose connections it is equally likely the average campground is going to go nuts if you try to fix their problem, or they are going to blame you for their problem. That is one reason we avoid summer travel. The RV parks are stretched to the limit, they have more business than they can handle and when everything turns to tapioca we who own bus conversions end up with the short end of the stick. When we do travel when temps are down, fewer folks are using the campgrounds and there is less demand for good power we are happy although the campground owner may wish he had more business. The key for us is to try to stick to resorts that cater to high end coaches. They clearly understand our needs and know how to provide it.

The guy that told Karl he was using the 50 amp they were supplying is proof quality help is in short supply. 20 and 30 amp receptacles provide a total of 20 or 30 amps (theoretical) on one 120 volt leg. A 50 amp receptacle provides 50 amps (theoretical) on each of two 120 volt legs for a total of 100 amps. I’m guessing somebody is in trouble if the campground allows that guy to play with electric.

[needtocamp]

Strong
application agreement with Jon.

Creative
power management will go a long way to get you through a hot day. Turn off the
hot water heater, inverters, aux air compressor and the refrigerator. You
should be able to run 4 AC units on 30 amps of 220 until outside air temperature
drops. The water will stay reasonably hot and the refrigerator will stay cold
for 6 hours or so. As the day cools down, turn off one of the AC units and turn
on the refrigerator etc.

If you managed to get into a park that only has 30 amp service, remember that
its 30 amps at 110 volts, not 220. If the spot beside you is not used, you
could run a 30 amp extension cord over and end up with 60 amps at 110 volts or
30 amps at 220 volts depending on the phase. DO NOT TRY this if you are not
positive what you are doing.

[Archived]

I always carry a variety of 50 amp breakers with me. I have replaced breakers in a park but only after explaining the problem, making sure they understand I did not cause the problem and obtaining their permission.

Most of the time I am parked at churches so the breakers come in handy. I also carry a 50 amp box with a 20ft. pigtail wired to it in order to wire in temporarily. I also keep one or two new 50 amp boxes from Lowe’s or Home Depot ($26 either place) and some 8/4 wire. If the panel is accessable I can pick up some fittings and install it permanently. I have left a lot of those across the country.

I do not know what I would do if my Dad had not been an electrician so I could pick up some of this through osmosis.

I check every plug BEFORE I plug in unless I wired it myself and sometimes even then…

DKO

[Archived]

Agree with all. Great points.

Except Jon. Gotta go when the critters don’t have school, which is summer time. But some day, Lord willing, we too can retire and cruise on our own schedule.

[Archived]

Has anyone ever used one of those 50 amp RV boxes. Looks like you can plug into the 30 and 20 then the box has a 50 amp plug, seems to be the parks don’t have nearly as many issues with the 30 amps as they are more frequently used.nalso the best thing I have found to test the parks electrical connection is a Good Govenor

[Archived]

Before I sold the company to my daughter we used to manufacture them. We produced them under our own brand name, but we also private labeled them for a variety of manufacturers. http://www.jamestownadvanced.com

I can tell you that no matter whose name is on the box they are all built to the same UL Standard 231 for temporary power outlets.

Input is a 4 wire service consisting of 2 hots (240 volts between them), a common (120 between the common and either hot leg, and a ground. In the box the 50 amp dual circuit breaker has one breaker of the pair on one hot leg, the other breaker in the pair is on the second leg. The 30 amp breaker will be on one leg, and the 20 amp breaker will be the other leg, and according to the NEC (National Electric Code) the 20 amp breaker must be a GFCI.

If you use a “cheater” that plugs into the 30 amp and the 20 amp receptacles by means of a “Y” connection one leg of your bus will have 20 amps and the other will have 30 amps. This presumes your coach is set up to complete the ground prior to putting electric through the transfer switch otherwise the 20 amp breaker will always trip.

From the above it can be seen you have a total of 50 amps (theoretical) available to you. If you had pugged into the 50 amp receptacle instead you have a total of 100 amps available, 50 on each leg.

The likely reason why the 50 amp portion of the boxes seems to be the one with problems is circuit breakers were not designed to function as switches yet RV owners typically turn off the breaker prior to plugging in, and then turn it on once plugged in. A circuit breaker works fine for occasionally turning off a circuit, but after a while it fails because it was intended to be used as a safety device only with manual on and off cycles being rare.

It doesn’t help that RV park owners rarely tighten the connections in the outlet box, something that should be done at least once a season.

[Don]

I must quit trying to live out these forum threads in real life. I read this one the other day and wouldn’t you know the very next place I go….

I stopped in a RV park that is “Big Rig Friendly” today and the 50 amp breaker started tripping not long after at about 35 amps. As I was going outside to go to the office a bigger breaker up the line kicked and everybody came outside. That gave me an opportunity to tell the management that the breaker in my spot was not holding.

When I asked permission to either plug into an adjacent site or check the wiring and breaker at my site I was told very abruptly that she would refund my money and I could leave. I told her that I did not wish to leave. I would rather have the electricity that was included in my camping fee. I also told her, very nicely mind you, that she was welcome to come inside and watch the voltage and see for herself that we were not overloading. She was not happy but I might have been the 10th person to ask the same question.

She did send a man down who took the breaker from the adjacent site and put it in mine. Then he put a NEW breaker in the adjacent site which is empty. I just stood there scratching my head and smiling. Lol

It is holding so far but the sun is down and I and not pulling many amps now. We are planning to stay tomorrow too so I will see how it holds in the heat. Of course if it kicks in the night I may take her up on that refund…

DKO

[Archived]

DKO,

Tell us the campground name and location so others won’t have to deal with the power issue during this heat and the campgrounds lack of customer service.

[Don]

I certainly will tomorrow after I am a few miles down the road. Although I am not saying I would not stop here in the future. They did change the breaker even if the lady at the desk isn’t eligible for any customer service awards. Like I said, I might have been the 10th person in there “complaining about the power” as she put it. Everybody else has been kind and personable.

The park was also relatively easy to get into and that is important to me. Had I been driving only the bus or the bus with a toad it would have been not problem at all. Seeing as how I am pulling a 24 ft. trailer I expect it to be a little tighter and it was. I let my wife drive and I was outside guiding her.

The spots I am in is plenty long and with room to spare and the exit will be easy from here. So my experience has not all been negative.

DKO

[Ed]

I can’t tell you how glad I am that it isn’t just me !!!

We are now three for three on this trip. To top it off, after they replaced the breaker today and all was well someone (who shall remain nameless) turned on the stovetop. It didn’t break. It just didn’t work. It must have burned up.

The brand new replacement is currently holding. We’ll see. I turned off the battery chargers because they were pulling 10 amps + each.

That’s another food question. Why so many amps and how long can I leave them turned off?

[Davy]

Karl,

I am not familiar with what inverters you have so I cannot be specific, but all of our inverters provide us with the ability to limit the rate of charge or the amount of current we draw. I typically set my inverters for a very low current draw because while we sleep, whatever deficit we had created by the use of power during the day (DC power) was made up by charging the house batteries at night.

When I want to run a lot of AC current devices, usually three of my AC units I go through the panel and just turn off everything I can live without such as HW heater, air compressor (both of which come on beyond my control), TVs or entertainment center, etc. Campground power quality sucks, and during the summer when everyone is running their air conditioners poorly maintained power outlets, undersized wires, and low voltage all make available power unreliable, and when they have problems we get blamed. It is just so much easier and less stressful for me to severely limit my current draw.

As an alternative to lowering the current draw for your inverters, you might consider setting them to the highest setting for charging, and leave them turned off when you need 3 or 4 air conditioners. Then when you want air conditioning and want to cook or grille out run your generator for and hour or two. At that point you can be an energy hog and run anything you want because the generator has enough power to handle any loads. The biggest DC current draws will be the interior lights and your tivoli lighting so use of those if kept to a minimum will help.