Temporary Shore Power

[cmhbob]

Picked up our Sandpiper 35Loft yesterday, in snow/sleet/freezing drizzle. First time towing any fifth wheel, or anything that big. Yay me, and thank you God for Your help!

At any rate, as we rig out for our fulltime trip over the next two weeks or so, I'm going to want/need power out there. Plus the kids want to sleep out there. The house is for sale, so I don't want to make any huge permanent changes.

I have a spare punchout on my breaker box. Can I have an electrician install a 30 amp breaker there, and run some appropriate cable outside for a temp shore power installation?

Our washer is on a dedicated circuit. Could I, if the washer breaker is at least 30 amp, use the appropriate adapters to my SP cable and run just from that plug when the washer is unplugged?

Could I just attach a regular battery charger to the house battery? I know I'll only get 12v that way, but I really just need lights and heat.

Related question: We have a house-type ceiling fan. Should that (and the Konka TV) be AC only?

[snjparham]

The only thing you need full 30 amps for is if you plan to run the A/C. You can plug the shore power cable in to a 15 amp receptacle with appropriate adapter and keep the battery charged and run the heater and other 12v appliances.

In my 5th wheel, the ceiling fan and TV are AC only. Using the SP cable you would be able to watch the TV as well.

[cmhbob]

Snjparham, thanks. It's all good now. We had a 30-50 adapter pigtail, as well as a 15-amp plug modifier for the pigtail. Got that all plugged in, and had to use a 15-foot extension to our 30-foot shore power cord, but we're wired. Makes the kids happy; they wanted to sleep outside tonight. They wanted to last night, but I had a minor issue with the propane that I wanted to clear up first.

NB: The extension cords must have a tight connection to transfer power. I had a 1/2 inch or so gap between the male and female plastic bases on the cords, and no power flowing. Make sure those two sections are tightly connected.

[scubieman]

This is what I do, most houses have outside outlets. I have my RV plugged into a existing outdoor outlet that was installed before I bought the house. I just use it for winter storage (to keep batteries charged). You can use any outlet you want. If you happen to plug your RV into a 20 AMP outlet. The worse that will happen is you will trip that breaker when you turn on too many things.

I personally would not hire a electrician to come in and install one breaker for a temp solution.