Electrical Outlets Not Working

[emmabee10]

Hi everyone,

I just bought a 1977 Chevy motorhome, 22ft, and am brand new to the RV experience.

I plugged the motorhome into an electrical outlet at the side of the house and none of the outlets are working at all, I am worried and not sure what to do. I noticed the prongs are three so assuming 30 amps? I have very little experience with cars let alone a motorhome. In the bathroom in the cabinet, I noticed what looked like a breaker box. Any tips would be so appreciated! Thanks!!

[wolfe10]

emmabee10,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

The house outlet-- if it looks like the other outlets in your house (two straights and a round) is a standard 15 amp outlet. If your RV has a 30 amp shore power cord, you would need an ADAPTER (15 amp male to 30 amp female) to be able to plug it in.

If the house outlet looks similar to your 30 amp RV plug, DO NOT PLUG IT IN. It is likely to be a dryer plug and will be wired for 220 VAC instead of 120 VAC.

Please let us know about the house outlet you plugged into and we can go from there.

[emmabee10]

OK thanks, I will have to go check it out again. From what I remember, its an outside outlet by the garage, so the adapter could be the issue then. I'm parking it soon at an actual RV site, so should that outlet be safe to plug into my RV?

[wolfe10]

Yes, it would be safe to plug your 30 amp RV cord into an RV 30 amp outlet.

But, it would also be OK to plug it into a 15 amp (regular house-type) outlet using an adapter. Of course that would limit what you could run, but would not harm the RV wiring.

Only plugging into a dryer outlet at a house would harm the RV.

And, if other 120 VAC items in the RV operate, but the outlets do not, look for a GFI that has been tripped. They are the same as in a house.