Getting Ready for First Trip - Need Some Hand Holding

[tbutler]

You will find that the quality of electrical supply can vary in RV parks. Many older parks were wired for 30A electric and haven't been properly re-wired. We occasionally find parks where the wire size is not adequate for 50A service. There may be a 50A plug on the post but if the wire to the post is not #6 or #4 for longer runs, the voltage will drop from 120 to 110 to 100 or even 90 or below. Our coach has a built in monitor that shows the voltage of the supply line and our amperage draw. Using this monitor I can see what voltage is reaching our coach. Anything between 120V and 110V is fine. If the voltage drops below 110V your appliances, lights, air conditioners/heat pumps draw more amps which can push you over the limit for the breaker. It can also damage your appliances to run on low voltage for an extended period of time.

We also have a power monitoring system that will shut down appliances if we are approaching the amperage limit of the breaker on the post. It automatically senses 30A or 50A current (30A is 110/120V and 50A is 220/240V). In your coach the two hot leads of a 50A line are split into two separate circuits, each supplying 50A electric at 110/120V. At 50A we should be able to run everything in the coach at one time including the washer/dryer. At 30A, we have to use appliances in rotation, not all at one time. If we err, the system will shut off the appliances that would put us over the limit. This monitoring system can even be set for 20A supply so we can plug into a normal household breaker for a 20A line with an outdoor extension cord and use that electric source without tripping the breaker providing the 20A extension cord is of sufficient size to supply a full 20A to the coach. If there is an external 20A outlet, I have an adapter that will allow me to plug my 50A cord into a 20A outlet directly. Then there is no problem with voltage drop due to wire size!

We also use a plug in surge protector at the post which will trip if the voltage drops too low. It has saved us several times. I usually check to see what the line voltage is right away when we plug in and turn on the air conditioners but when we don't need the air conditioners immediately I sometimes forget. Checking voltage when there is no load on the system will not tell you if the supply line is sufficient. To check proper line voltage the line should be under heavy load. If wired properly, the line should still provide the 110/120V at full load (the breaker limit).

Since we are heavily dependent on the electrical supply in our coaches, it is wise to learn as much as possible about electricity. Moving around and plugging in at different locations constantly means it is even more important to understand what is going on when you plug in. One bad electric supply source can destroy a whole bunch of expensive electrical devices. Here is a web site that I recommend to help you understand campground and RV Electric,