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Old 08-05-2014, 11:44 PM   #1
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30 50 amp question

Just picked up our Flagstaff microlite 21fbrs. Some of the campgrounds charge differently depending on weather you use 30 or 50 amp. Pretty green at this. Can someone explain the difference to me. We plan on taking it from Charlotte to Minnesota at the end of August. Thanks
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Old 08-06-2014, 12:24 AM   #2
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If your tt is a 30 amp you will be fine on 30. I would bring a 30-50 amp adapter so you can use either if the 30 amp outlet isn't working right. (Always test your outlets before plugging in). We used to always adapt up to 50 as we seemed to get away with running our AC and microwave simultaneously this way. Others have told me that isn't always the best idea although we never had an issue with it in 3 1/2 yrs. Then again we didn't used to use a surge protector either and we got lucky with that too. Now we have a surge protector and a 50 amp 5er so our options for power are more limited if we want yo run both a.c. units.
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Old 08-06-2014, 04:48 AM   #3
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Just picked up our Flagstaff microlite 21fbrs. Some of the campgrounds charge differently depending on weather you use 30 or 50 amp. Pretty green at this. Can someone explain the difference to me. We plan on taking it from Charlotte to Minnesota at the end of August. Thanks
You should use the 30 amp outlet, but sometimes it could be loose or something because it is used more. I will plug into a 50 amp with the 50 to 30 adapter or called a dog bone. The limiting factor is your main breaker, you still can't pull over 30 amp in your panel the 30 will trip in the trailer not at the post. Most CG 50 amp plug are in better condition. I'm plugged into 50 right now at the Rally but still can only pull my 30 amp. My wife had the A/C on and tried to dry her hair. The 30 amp breaker tripped in the panel like designed outside at the pole was still not tripped because it was 50 amps.
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Old 08-09-2014, 09:44 PM   #4
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Just picked up our Flagstaff microlite 21fbrs. Some of the campgrounds charge differently depending on weather you use 30 or 50 amp. Pretty green at this. Can someone explain the difference to me. We plan on taking it from Charlotte to Minnesota at the end of August. Thanks
A 30 amp plug has one hot wire that feeds your rv while the 50 has two hot wires but the conversion adapter only uses one of the hot wires. There is no benefit to plug in a 30 amp into a 50 amp unless the campsite outlets are damaged.
If your rv has a 50 amp there is a adapter that will let you plug into a 30 amp and 20 amp at the same time this will give you the two hots your camper needs the downsides are.
1. One hot will be fused at 20 while the other is at 30. The rv was designed to have 50 on each of them. Depending on appliances in the rv you might have a voltage drop or tripping breakers.
2. If the 20 and 30 amp breakers are on the same circuit in the campsite panel you could produce a heating factor on the nutural depending on the load, thus causing a fire hazard.
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Old 08-10-2014, 04:16 AM   #5
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A 30 amp plug has one hot wire that feeds your rv while the 50 has two hot wires but the conversion adapter only uses one of the hot wires. There is no benefit to plug in a 30 amp into a 50 amp unless the campsite outlets are damaged.
If your rv has a 50 amp there is a adapter that will let you plug into a 30 amp and 20 amp at the same time this will give you the two hots your camper needs the downsides are.
1. One hot will be fused at 20 while the other is at 30. The rv was designed to have 50 on each of them. Depending on appliances in the rv you might have a voltage drop or tripping breakers.
2. If the 20 and 30 amp breakers are on the same circuit in the campsite panel you could produce a heating factor on the nutural depending on the load, thus causing a fire hazard.
X'S 2 This is a very good explanation...
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Old 08-10-2014, 05:12 AM   #6
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50 amp means you have 220V - coming in the main breaker box....220v breaker box split into two sides....each taking 110v ....a 30 amp is 110v coming into the main box.
Since the 50 amp plug has two 110v hots 4 pins.....the 50 to 30 amp adapter uses only one of the 110v hot wire.... the other hot does not connect to anything....in the 30 amp system..... 3 pins coming out with only one 110v hot wire....hope this makes sense.....also if you have 50 amp you may have some 220 v appliance on board....but chance are they are 110v.....one a/c on a different sides of the box.....that is why when you run a plug from a generator to a house plug it only runs half the electric...unless you generator puts out 220 v and you are plugged into that......
good luck, be safe always get a pro electrician to show you what you have and explain it....
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Old 08-10-2014, 06:29 AM   #7
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This site in the link below has all the info to educate yourself on, using the left hand side links. The outlet testing tab is a must read. First NEWBIE camper lesson is to learn how to test ALL outlets (even campground ones) to make sure. We have many horror stories on these forums of bad outlets (even in campgrounds).

RV Electric

This schematic shows the wiring differences. It also shows the reverse adapter that let's 50 amp units plug into 30 amp outlets. There is also an adapter that let's 30 amp units plug into 50 amp outlets (not shown):




Hope it helps
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Old 08-10-2014, 06:40 AM   #8
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50 amp means you have 220V - coming in the main breaker box....220v breaker box split into two sides....each taking 110v ....a 30 amp is 110v coming into the main box.
Since the 50 amp plug has two 110v hots 4 pins.....the 50 to 30 amp adapter uses only one of the 110v hot wire.... the other hot does not connect to anything....in the 30 amp system..... 3 pins coming out with only one 110v hot wire....hope this makes sense.....also if you have 50 amp you may have some 220 v appliance on board....but chance are they are 110v.....one a/c on a different sides of the box.....that is why when you run a plug from a generator to a house plug it only runs half the electric...unless you generator puts out 220 v and you are plugged into that......
good luck, be safe always get a pro electrician to show you what you have and explain it....
Actually, the voltage is not the advantage to your rv wired for 50 amp service. It's the 100 amps available (50 amps to a bus "A" and 50 amps to a bus "B"). This allows all the utilization equipment (2 A/C's, fridge, tv's, AC outlets, etc.) to operate simultaneously without interuption. Typically, the utilization equipment is wired to the busses to allow balancing (1 A/C to bus "A" 1 A/C to bus "B" etc.). An rv wired for 30 amp service may have 2 busses but the combined amperage to both busses will only be 30 amps. Don't know why but some rv's allow the onboard genny to furnish 50 amp service but restrict shore power to 30 amp service. Go figure.
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Old 08-10-2014, 06:43 AM   #9
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I've had an electrician tell me that I am probably getting better power from a 50 amp for my 30 amp due to large wire, or shorter distance, and in better shape breaker, then most 30 amps are wired for. Good example was we were camping at a place hooked up to 30 amp. Running two fridges and ac. Kept blowing breaker on post. Used adapter to plug into 50 amp, and had no issues. Ac ran better too, in my opinion.
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Old 08-10-2014, 07:42 AM   #10
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When plugged into a 50 amp service you can use all of the 30 amps available as dictated by your trailer main breaker. Most common breakers are rated 60 to 75% load under contest use before heating causes them to trip. When you use a dog bone and 50 to supply 30 you don't have this issue on a stressed park breaker in the power ped. Still protected by the TT panel. I did this very thing in Goshen as the 30 amp plug was hot and loose.
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:23 AM   #11
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My previous TT was 30 amp service. We had a few issues at times with the campground electrical. With the 30 amp service being used more. They wear out faster. I started to use the dog bone 30-50 amp and plugging into the 50 amp every time. Just make sure that when the campground ask. Always say 30 amp service as that's all you will use. And will save you money
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Old 08-10-2014, 09:41 AM   #12
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X'S 2 This is a very good explanation...
Thanks, I tried to keep it simple without many technical words.
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Old 08-10-2014, 06:44 PM   #13
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30 50 amp question

The only danger in connecting 30 amp cord to a 50 amp outlet is the cord is not protected. If there is a partial short before the on board breaker or the on board breaker fails could cause a fire. But the probability of that happening is low. FWIW

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Old 08-10-2014, 06:56 PM   #14
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The 50A sockets always look less worn at campgrounds, so I use a 50A to 30A dog bone whenever possible followed by a 30A Progressive surge protector. Whenever I have only the (worn) 30A connector at the site the campsite breaker sometimes trips when the A/C and microwave are both running. If the campsite connectors are worn, your TT will draw more amps through their breaker & any arcing can damage your cord. I would rather replace a short dog bone cord vs. my TT cord or surge protector plug...
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Old 08-10-2014, 07:31 PM   #15
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Timely thread...spent the past week in a CG for family camping week. My new 5er has a 50A cord and plug, old TT was a 30A plug, and so is my surge protector. So I used a 50 to 30 adapter, plugged into the 30A outlet, and all was OK for 2 days. Only one AC on the 5er, running, and electric HWH element, the main fridge, and a mini fridge in the garage. After 2 days, the 30A breaker on the pedestal tripped. I went out to reset it, and it was actually loose in the box! Fast forward to yesterday afternoon, 84 degrees and everyone in the park using AC. I returned to the camper to find the breaker tripped again. Reset it, the surge guard was reading 110V and 29A use! After about 10 min, it tripped again, and when I went out to the pedestal, it was smoking! So I undid my adapter and surge guard and plugged into the 50A plug, and all was well after that. I was a little apprehensive about no longer having a surge guard in place though.

Even if I was pulling more than my 30A, it still should have just tripped the breaker, not fried it! Told the CG staff about it, they were apologetic, just glad it didn't damage any of my equipment. Ordered 50A surge guard shortly after this whole episode...
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Old 08-10-2014, 07:54 PM   #16
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Which surge protector to get? My new 5'er is 50 Amp service. I'm looking at getting a surge/protection device, but am confused with prices ranging from 400$ to 100$. What do the experts here recommend brand-wise?


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Old 08-10-2014, 08:43 PM   #17
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Which surge protector to get? My new 5'er is 50 Amp service. I'm looking at getting a surge/protection device, but am confused with prices ranging from 400$ to 100$. What do the experts here recommend brand-wise?


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Get o be that has both over and under protection. Progressive industries has a lifetime warranty. Surge guard is also considered good. Hardwired is good as it is not as easily stolen but is more expensive. Portable works well and you can get a locking gasp or lock the power pole cover closed. We went with the Surge guard 34750. It is 50 amp portable with over/under protection.
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