Forester 30a Power cord

[Gene_M]

Greetings,
I have a concern regarding the end of the cord that attaches to the MH. It seems to me that the RV 30a specific connection convention is being crossed with the Home Wiring 30a connection. I guess i would like to know why, after the RV industry devised an RV specific arrangement, Forest River, and maybe others, have decided to confuse the interface.

Thanks in advance, and sorry if this concern is duplicated elsewhere.

[formerFR]

what makes you think this?

[Toyman]

I don’t understand?

Is it because Forester has an attached cord instead of a removable one ?

[sgtlm17]

What do you mean crossed connection?

[Gene_M]

OK, further explanation -
This is for the detachable cord that came with my 2018 2291S,
the RV end has the interface that looks like my home generator,
the other end has the interface for the RV park pedestal.

I hope I'm explaining it correctly, if not I will post pics later.

[McCormickJim]

Following this . . . .

[sgtlm17]

Yes they are detachable cords. The rv connection is pretty standard as far as I know a for a detachable locking plug. The pedastol plug end has been around years known as an rv-30. A ground, a neutral and a hot. I'm still confused as to what is crossed.

[WNY_Clipper]

Yes, you are right. The 30a 125v RV connection looks the same as a home 30a 250v connection. That is why sometimes electricians have wired an RV outlet to 250v by mistake and fried the RV's electrical systems.

[Oaklevel]

Still not following.

But unless your generator has a 110V 30A RV outlet the plugs are not the same even though they look similar.

[Gene_M]

More clarification. Please forgive the confusion I may be causing.
There is no crossing of wires, more a crossing of convention.

I should be able to plug the male end of the cord into the female end, I can't do that with the cord I got with my MH, they are different. What if someone tries to use a cord designed for home standby generators for the MH and plugs it into the incorrect type of service?

[rlsmith]

If I am reading your confusion right, as said by sgtlm17, the 3 wire 30amp RV plug is a white common wire, a blk or red hot wire and a green ground wire = 120volts has been around for decades. Now if you try plugging this into a house 3 wire 30 amp, you could be plugging into a red hot wire, a blk hot wire and green or bare ground wire = 220volts, and this has been around for decades too. And this is the area for your confusion... so the industry is trying to make this confusion go away with different 30amp plugs for RV's and different ones for homes by informing folks that its important to be sure that rv plug pedestals are wired for 120volts not 220. This is also the area that owners of generators run into problems plugging RV's into 30amp that = 220volts. Sorry if I have made your confusion worse.

[FarmerJim]

??????

[Photo Lab]

I believe what you are actually saying is that you want to plug the RV30 male into the 30amp 125 volt twist lock which is on the end of the cord that plugs into the RV. This design has been widely available in the electrical trade since at least the early sixties when I entered the trade. Personally, I've made up heavy extension cords for my RV out of SOW cord, using the matching twist lock connectors on each end, as we often camp at festivals where power is furnished, but not always right next to our site.

I suspect that the reasoning behind this choice for the connector design is that it is a)a standard, approved design (very common in marine installations, as well as higher end RVs) and/or b)Because it is much less likely to be accidentally unplugged. BTW, there is also a 50 amp version of this style connector. When shopping for mating connectors, pretty much all you need to know is 30 amps, 125 volts and locking. The pin on the plug with the L shape is the grounding conductor. Twist lock devices are designed to not interchange with ones made for different voltages or amperages, a good safety feature.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by Gene_M

More clarification. Please forgive the confusion I may be causing.
There is no crossing of wires, more a crossing of convention.

I should be able to plug the male end of the cord into the female end, I can't do that with the cord I got with my MH, they are different. What if someone tries to use a cord designed for home standby generators for the MH and plugs it into the incorrect type of service?

NO you can NOT plug the RV power cord back into itself! It is Not like your Home Extension Cords! Youroo!!

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by youroo

NO you can NOT plug the RV power cord back into itself! It is Not like your Home Extension Cords! Youroo!!

youroo is correct. An RV cord is not like a water hose, either... in which case you can screw one end into the other. There is no such obligation for RV power cords. The male end matches the outlet in a campsite electrical pedestal. The female end matches the "hole" in the side of your RV. That's all that matters.

[Gene_M]

RL, I think you have it.

Photo, I do want to plug one end into another. The 30a RV cord should be just like a home extension cord. I can plug my home generator cord end to end. I can not with the RV 30a cord. This says that the interfaces are different and that is a mix of interfaces that, IMO, is a mistake of the industry.

So, I guess what I'm asking is: why has the industry mixed plug faces?

[tgold]

The twist lock that connects to the Rv also has a screw cap to help secure the receptacle end to the Rv. This provides less chance of a loose connection, is water tight and safer also required by code. However a twist lock is twice or more than the price of a straight blade cord cap male or female end. The male end connects to a receptacle or pedestal that after being plugged in is protected by the cover of the enclosure. Still it has a lot to do with cost of making both ends a twist-lock.

[JP Camper]

Plug your oem cord into the RV, then, if needed, plug the male end into s standard female socket on a standard 30a RV extention cord. Simple

[formerFR]

or, if like me, you can simply 'hardwire' your shore power cord to your RV/Motorhome and never have to 'worry' about plugging it in incorrectly or someone 'taking' it... : )

mine came with a twist-on 50a module on the outside of the coach, but I removed the twist-lock connection from the end of the cord, rerouted the internal connection from the side of the coach to within the DEF bay, and wired the shore cord directly to it there. Now I can not only easily store my shore cord within the DEF bay, but easily deploy it out to the power pedestal.... no more 'lugging' the whole cord in and out of the storage compartment, and concern with the twist-lock connection becoming 'loose' over time.

[cavie]

Your RV cord will not plug into it'self. Your rv cord will not plug into your house unless someone has added an RV outlet. Your RV male plug has 2 flat blades shaped into a V, and one round blade. This is 110-volt configuration. This will not plug into your house or your generator. This is to prevent death and/or damage.

Edit: your RV cord will not plug into it'self. A 30a RV extension cord will plug into it'self but not into your house or a generator.