A Question About Shore Power - Fiberglass RV
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Old 03-20-2012, 02:47 PM   #1
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A Question About Shore Power

I've never had a camper with power before, so I'm not all that familiar with camp site setups. Our Boler has a regular 15/20 amp 110/120 volt female connector on the outside, so I'm wondering if there's any special equipment I should have on hand to attach to different power poles.

When a campground advertises that it has 50 amp service, does this usually mean that there are connections for 50 amp, 30 amp and straight 15 amp 110 power plugs?

Is there a way to easily covert from 50 or 30 amp to a 15 amp 110 plug?

Thanks,
Noel
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Old 03-20-2012, 03:10 PM   #2
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Normally, on the same pole with the 30/50amp connector is a 15 or 20amp standard outlet. You do not want to convert from a 50 or 30amp shore power down to 15amp unless you have a 15/20 amp breaker in your trailer. With 50 amps coming in and no breaker, a short could send your whole rig up in a puff!
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Old 03-20-2012, 05:19 PM   #3
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Go to the Walmart or Canadian Tire in the RV section they will have a plug in adapter to change it down to a 30 amp to 110 also one from 50amp to 30 amp should you ever stay in a campground that only offers 50 amp plugs - which can happen from time to time. They are only a few dollars each.... Dennis raised a good point re the 50 amp though.

They look something like this
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Old 03-20-2012, 07:33 PM   #4
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Your 15 amp shore power cable should be connected to a 15 or 20 amp circuit breaker in the trailer. That being the case, it won't make any difference what service you connect to, if you get short in the trailer, it's own circuit breaker will protect you.
As mentioned, adapters are available. Usually the 30 amp outet is what I use with a adapter to the smaller plug. The smaller outlets are frequently loose and badly worn.



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Old 03-20-2012, 10:07 PM   #5
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Question Female?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Red-Dwarf View Post
Our Boler has a regular 15/20 amp 110/120 volt female connector on the outside, so I'm wondering if there's any special equipment I should have on hand to attach to different power poles.
There should be a power cord with a Male connector permanently attached to the kitchen side of the trailer, maybe behind a compartment door. An outside Female connector is a different kind of animal...!
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Old 03-21-2012, 07:35 AM   #6
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30 Amp RV Male Plug To 15 Amp Female Connector RV Adapter

Customer Image Gallery for Conntek 30 Amp RV Male Plug To 15 Amp Female Connector RV Adapter
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Old 03-21-2012, 07:54 AM   #7
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Harbor Freight carries these, too.

30A Male to 15A Female RV Pigtail Power Adapter

(Maybe Princess Auto for the OP)
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Old 03-21-2012, 07:58 AM   #8
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About that shore power connector on the side of your camper.
First I hope it's gender is "Male" meaning that there are pins showing. A female would require that you handle a cord with hot pins showing, real bad news.....
If it is female it may actually be a 120 VAC outlet someone installed for outside power needs and, as mentioned above, you will have to find where they hid the attached shore cable.

All that said:
One of the first things I do with a new-to-me motorhome or trailer is to remove the hard wired shore power cord and replace it with a male recepticle (?) on the side of the rig. This has several advantages:
1. I don't have to stuff the cord in and out of the rig, running the risk of tangles and/or snagging something inside the storage space.
2. I get back the entire space where the cord was living for storage of more useful items, like more Twinkies.
3. I can use a shorter cord when that's all I need, or break out the real long one when needed.
4. If all I need is 15 amp service I can use a lot smaller cable than the heavier 30 amp cable that was built in.
5. I never have to replace cable hatches that seems to break on a regular basis
6. There's one less hole on the side to let water in
7. If you drive away while still connected it "might" do less damage. (Done that!)
On the negative side:
1. I did have a perp steal my cord (one time in 30+ years)
2. Waterproof connectors can be a bit on the $$$ side, but seem to last forever
3. An RV "Resort" in San Luis Obispo, CA did not allow connecting with what they called an "Extension Cord", so I left.



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Old 03-21-2012, 11:10 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red-Dwarf View Post
I've never had a camper with power before, so I'm not all that familiar with camp site setups. Our Boler has a regular 15/20 amp 110/120 volt female connector on the outside, so I'm wondering if there's any special equipment I should have on hand to attach to different power poles.

When a campground advertises that it has 50 amp service, does this usually mean that there are connections for 50 amp, 30 amp and straight 15 amp 110 power plugs?

Is there a way to easily covert from 50 or 30 amp to a 15 amp 110 plug?

Thanks,
Noel
You don't have to be covert about it, you can make the change openly.

If your trailer has a 'typical' 3-prong plug on the end of its supplied cord, the kind you see in houses for 15/20 amps, that is all you want to plug into. And yes, the vast majority of campgrounds with electric service have this kind of female outlet. (I just realized, those outlets are hot, so CGs are supplying campers with hot females! )

On the other hand, if your trailer has a larger plug (say, for 30A) with the slanted prongs, it is best to have an adapter with you so you can plug into the aforementioned 20A service if no 30A outlet is provided. Just realize that the 20A will not have enough juice to run a roof AC, but probably everything else will run; the circuit breaker will pop if you try it. Many CGs do provide a 30A or even a 50A outlet (perhaps even both) right along with the 20A outlet.

My apologies to the ladies...
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Old 03-21-2012, 04:03 PM   #10
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Thanks all.

I looked again, and it is a male connector on the Boler - don't know why I though it was female.

So it seems that I'm pretty safe just having one of the 30 Amp to 15 Amp Adapters on hand.

Noel
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Old 03-21-2012, 04:20 PM   #11
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+++ for "More Twinkies"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Miller View Post
About that shore power connector on the side of your camper.
First I hope it's gender is "Male" meaning that there are pins showing. A female would require that you handle a cord with hot pins showing, real bad news.....
If it is female it may actually be a 120 VAC outlet someone installed for outside power needs and, as mentioned above, you will have to find where they hid the attached shore cable.

All that said:
One of the first things I do with a new-to-me motorhome or trailer is to remove the hard wired shore power cord and replace it with a male recepticle (?) on the side of the rig. This has several advantages:
1. I don't have to stuff the cord in and out of the rig, running the risk of tangles and/or snagging something inside the storage space.
2. I get back the entire space where the cord was living for storage of more useful items, like more Twinkies.
3. I can use a shorter cord when that's all I need, or break out the real long one when needed.
4. If all I need is 15 amp service I can use a lot smaller cable than the heavier 30 amp cable that was built in.
5. I never have to replace cable hatches that seems to break on a regular basis
6. There's one less hole on the side to let water in
7. If you drive away while still connected it "might" do less damage. (Done that!)
On the negative side:
1. I did have a perp steal my cord (one time in 30+ years)
2. Waterproof connectors can be a bit on the $$$ side, but seem to last forever
3. An RV "Resort" in San Luis Obispo, CA did not allow connecting with what they called an "Extension Cord", so I left.
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--Fred and Natalie
1978 Trillium 4500 "Bernerwagon"
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