15 Amp to 30 Amp changeover?????

[Paul Richter]

Hi there folks, I presently have 15 amp service into the trailer. I want to upgrade it to 30 amp. I've been sourcing out the the incoming wiring. The question I have is can I use my existing box & do I have to upgrade the wiring in the trailer. ps I don't have 12 v. Any other issues that anyone can think of would be greatly appreciated.

[Jon Vermilye]

It is hard to answer without knowing what kind, if any, distribution panel you currently have. In some cases all you would need to do is change the main breaker & the power cord & connector.

If your current box doesn't have a main you would most likely need to replace it with one that lets you feed a 30 amp breaker & distribute through a couple of 20's & 15's.

[Paul Richter]

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

It is hard to answer without knowing what kind, if any, distribution panel you currently have. In some cases all you would need to do is change the main breaker & the power cord & connector.

If your current box doesn't have a main you would most likely need to replace it with one that lets you feed a 30 amp breaker & distribute through a couple of 20's & 15's.

Jon It doesn't have a main, that's why I think I'm going to have to change it if I want to upgrade.

[Jon Vermilye]

If there are enough spaces in your box & it is rated for more than 20 amps (most are) you could put a 30 amp in one space, feed it with the new shorepower cable, than branch off additional breakers. Legally, you can go to as many as 5 circuits in a 30 amp box.

Remember, you don't need to use full size breakers. Dual & half size are available for some boxes.

If your panel is not a breaker box, of course, you will need to replace it.

[Joe MacDonald]

paul, I have a Trillium 5500 and still run on a 15 amp system. What do you think will cause so much draw in your trailer?
I regularly use a 1500 watt heater at night and a very old toaster(manual flip type from the 40s) and have never tripped a breaker yet
Joe

[Pam Garlow]

My 15 amp continually tripped even with my heater on low - maybe due to the age of the breaker itself. Since I wanted to be able to use electric heat, cooking, and the option of an air conditioner, I had a 30 amp system and new wiring put in. I feel better having done it.

[Doug Mager]

Breakers (R/V and residential) are never failproof. If they snap for no apparent reason, consider swapping off that breaker. ....also, its easy enough to convert (upgrade??) from a 15 to 30 amp service BUTT, IMHO you might also consider updating/upgrading ALL your trailer wiring to accomodate this swap!

[Pam Garlow]

That was exactly what I did. Didn't make much sense to upgrade the main circuit and still run on 25year old wiring (that worried me more than the old circuit) I had them add a few more duplex outlets and a couple of junction boxes for future use. Also a dedicated plug for either electric stove, small ac, etc.

[Roger C H]

A hint I found on another site:

For under ten bucks you can find a polarity tester. Use it before plugging in your rig. You may save blowing your whole system.

GB OUTLET TESTER Tests for six common wiring GRT-3500 GB ELECTRICAL

I stopped at my neighborhood hdwe store and picked one up, pronto. I have only used it once, but have placed its use in my to do list when hooking up my Trillium.

BTW, I also checked my inside outlets. They were all OK. I also purchased a 30 - 15 amp adapter to check the 30 amp plugs which I use.

[Mark Shaffer]

I am restoring a 1985 Burro, and updating all of the electric and also installing a new Elixir converter/charger. New 45 Amp Elixir Power Converter/Charger ELX-45: eBay Motors (item 310234051460 end time Aug-14-10 01:31:14 PDT)

I know it is over kill for a trailer this size, but I have 8 -12 volt circuits, and other than the 30 amp main breaker, I have 4 ac circuits. Plenty of room for additions in the future, and never have to worry about overloading a circuit. Running electric in these little egg campers is very easy due to the open access to the cabinets and under the benchs. I currently have 4 ac outlets, and a Cool Cat heat pump/AC with plenty of room to expand.
The price of doing my upgrade was around $200.00 for the converter, the 30 amp shore power cord, the wire, breakers and the recepticles. You could easily have that much invested adding on to the existing system with secondary panels and junction boxs.

Just my opinion, but replacing all of my electric with an upgraded system was the only way to go. Not only does it give me room to grow, but a cleaner look than junction boxes and additional wiring strung in and out of the cabinets and benchs.

[Roger C H]

"Just my opinion, but replacing all of my electric with an upgraded system was the only way to go. Not only does it give me room to grow, but a cleaner look than junction boxes and additional wiring strung in and out of the cabinets and benchs."

Another plus is you KNOW that all the wiring is in good shape and done correctly. I find you never have as much trouble as when you assume someone else did it right.

[Rose Feys]

Mark: We have a 1967 kit Burro (13 ft) and want to put in a Fantastic Vent fan, we are trying to figure out how to get the wires to the power box...any ideas?

[Mark Shaffer]

If your vent is in the same location as my vent in my Burro, it should be just above the sink/stove area? My vent was never cut in, so I installed my new headliner over the rough in spot for the vent to hide it. I did how ever install lighting in the ceiling and ran my wiring right through the area where the vent was. In my Burro, there is a chase between the back splash behind the stove and the back splash behind the sink. There is enough room there to run a bunch of wiring to the top cabinet and then to the ceiling where your vent is. I didn't want to run any wiring exposed, so I drilled a small hole between the outer layer and the inner layer where they seamed the egg together being carefull not to drill through the roof. I then fished my wiring down to the over head cabinet and down through the chase into the bottom cabinet. I mounted my new power converter in the bottom of the rear dinette bench and that is where all my 12 volt and 120 volt AC circuits are run to and from. 12 volt power is not that different to install than 120 volt AC. Actually alot simpler. I hope that some of my rambeling on helped. I wish I would have known about you wanting to run your lines to the vent before I finished my ceiling, I would have taken better pictures of how I got the wire there. I have attached a picture of my ceiling lights with the wiring ran to them, maybe you can use this as an example. If you have any other questions, just ask.

[Rose Feys]

thanks so much Mark for the info on how you laid out your wiring to the power box. I wish you lived closer to Michigan ....like next door to us!! We are going to pull the carpet down this weekend and get started next week on the power vent. Our vent is in front of the stove/sink/ i.e. to the driver side of the center seam, so hopefully we have the same chase etc. and can duplicate your wire trail. Thanks again!