50 AMP plug with Handle! Shocker

[Jay2504]

It won’t help the OP, but wouldn’t having the 50 amp cord permanently connected to the camper, on some sort of reel eliminate one connection
? I have seen some 30 amp campers where the cord comes out of a “mouse hole” and is directly connected inside. Why is this not more popular? Jay

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Jay2504

It won’t help the OP, but wouldn’t having the 50 amp cord permanently connected to the camper, on some sort of reel eliminate one connection
? I have seen some 30 amp campers where the cord comes out of a “mouse hole” and is directly connected inside. Why is this not more popular? Jay

The mouse hole with a 50amp cord would be pretty miserable, IMO since it's thicker, heavier, and less pliable.

As for a cord reel, they take up a good bit of space. On my rig, space in the basement is a hot commodity. Plus, I like when the cord inlet is at the rear of the camper vs. the front.

[ThruHiker]

Originally Posted by ependydad

The mouse hole with a 50amp cord would be pretty miserable, IMO since it's thicker, heavier, and less pliable.

As for a cord reel, they take up a good bit of space. On my rig, space in the basement is a hot commodity. Plus, I like when the cord inlet is at the rear of the camper vs. the front.

Yup. Our old 30A TT had the cord permanently mounted and connected in a dedicated hatch in the side of the trailer. There was a little plastic door, 4x4 or thereabouts, that you pulled it out of and fed it into. 50A 4wire cables are way thicker, heavier and less flexible though. The reel works, and you can buy them. But like ependydad said, space for it is at a premium. Besides, in our 5er, the bulkhead fitting is about a foot from the rear of the trailer... not near the hatch at all.

[The Evil Twin]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Same goes for the comments about the rolling earthquake. The power cord's male end shouldn't be impacted by that.

The only 2 comments regarding that (I only saw 2) were not about the cord itself. One of which, mine, below and I still stand by it.

This is a good reminder to check ALL screw terminals on our rigs. Motorhomes and TT's are basically stick homes that are often subjected to hurricanes and earthquakes at the same time.

[dalford]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

This was talked about by Mike Sokol at a seminar he gave at the International Rally.
As I recall, Mike's comments on this:
1. Plug was designed for factory connections of heavy equipment and repurposed. In a factory, the machine is usually plugged in once and left that way for long periods of time.

2. Many folks don't know that you are supposed to push then turn to properly make the connection.
3. Many folks don't bother to completely lock down the collar or don't engage the collar at all or the collar breaks and is not replaced.
4. The Smart Plug has significantly larger surface area for making the connection, so lower resistance.


I just wish there was a Smart Plug that was designed so that the cord would hang straight down.

I have a Camco, I think, 50 amp right angle plug for my 5th wheel. Let me warn you so you don’t do what I did. Set up and plugged in shore power. Insert, twist lock, lightly secure with threaded collar. Later, as I was connecting my water and by the way all pedestal connections were at the rear of my unit, I yanked on the water hose that was tangled with my shore power cord. Unbeknownst to me this action undid the twist lock of my 50 amp service. When I went inside and turned on the 50 amp breaker the toaster explodes, the microwave was going on and off. I immediately flipped 50 amps breaker off. Too late for the toaster and the converter. I was lucky I did not take out TVs or acs.

I can only assume I lost the common connection when the twist lock unlocked. I’m very careful of that now and more securely tighten the collar.

[rlh1957]

Originally Posted by garyhopp

Here is a shocker, We were in a campground and the ac was running fine and all of a sudden we noticed the Ref. was getting warmer, upon having the park check the 50 connection and the surge suppressor not indicating a problem, we limped home. I began to examine the issue. Many of us have had and currently use the easy to remove cord end in the photo, when continually being inserted and removed we never think about it any farther.
Wela you can see in the photos that the neutral (White) wire is the shortest and closest to the cord clamp. Over time it has pulled out of the contact and is making and braking connection. It has become apparent this plug needs to be checked frequently.
Result: New Converter, New Microwave, New Heat element for refrigerator.

Replace mine with a new Molded cord and Plug.

Surge suppressor wouldn't indicate a problem as there was no surge or much voltage drop... But a significant heat buildup from drawing extra current to my the connection across such high resistance of a loose and bad connection.
This looks like an aftermarket head on there or one of the China Specials you get for $29.
If put together properly and disconnected properly each time you shouldn't need to check it. Feel it for any abnormal heat difference at each end when operating. The end that is hotter indicates possible loose connections.

[cavie]

Think about this. Do you want to remove 1 plug in connection and replace it with a MOVING connection???? Reels are convenient and troublesome at the same time.

[Iwannacamp]

I agree with some of the neutral comments.
One must be careful when posting as others(most of them correct I might add) will correct you/your post...and sometimes not very nicely.
JMO(just my observation)

[McKannick]

Another apparent loose connection causes big problems. As I posted elsewhere, many electrical issues are from improperly torqued down screws that deal with RV electrical connections, and this plug seems to bear that out yet again. Haven't dealt with this particular plug, but I'm guessing the directions 'may' have included the proper inch-pounds of torque that should have been applied to secure the wires to the terminals. Or if not, then somewhere in the vast pool of internet knowledge there should be a general purpose torque for wire gauge / size connections. Then the other factors that may have not been quite correct like the wire length for each terminal, amount of bare wire exposed to be clamped down on, tin or not to tin the wire ends, the grip of the cord clamp, etc.

[gubs]

Originally Posted by garyhopp

It is clear and becoming clearer. Someone post an issue for info on this site and out of the woods come the experts.

I only published this to notify anyone with similar issues to look at them, as a result all I read is comments from all the electrical engineers and design experts about the plug itself.

I was a electrician for 45 years and installed many plugs and had very few if any fail. As noted in my post the design is the issue and not the installation for all the comments about the installation, you being so sure it is not installed correctly please comment why?

Have never posted a thread on this site before and I thought it might help or prevent an issue for someone.... Apparently all it does is provide fodder for the experts behind a keyboard!

Thanks, I just purchased one of those plugs, think I will take it back and get something else!! Thanks again

[WolfPup2018]

Most decent plugs are mold injection , eliminates any mechanical failure. Yes sometimes you need to replace things. A surge protector is normally only good for 5 years as an example. Not like using the same plug for 20 years

[captnrick3]

Originally Posted by garyhopp

It is clear and becoming clearer. Someone post an issue for info on this site and out of the woods come the experts.

I only published this to notify anyone with similar issues to look at them, as a result all I read is comments from all the electrical engineers and design experts about the plug itself.

I was a electrician for 45 years and installed many plugs and had very few if any fail. As noted in my post the design is the issue and not the installation for all the comments about the installation, you being so sure it is not installed correctly please comment why?

Have never posted a thread on this site before and I thought it might help or prevent an issue for someone.... Apparently all it does is provide fodder for the experts behind a keyboard!

Thanks much for your post. I will be checking all my cords and extensions.

[Davebro]

Thank you for posting this original concern about a commonly used plug . Remember many of us read posts like this one, learn from it and incorporate changes in what we do without posting a response.

[Hetken1]

Originally Posted by ysidive

I replaced mine with a SMART PLUG.... Check out the website... Best decision I made... Plug locks in and is easy to plug in even in the dark.. Locks in place and is solid...

Also installed a Smart Plug - Quality -

[Priusron]

Only one post talking about an EMS. A permanently mounted system would have prevented the damage. In my opinion no rv should be without an EMS. As was stated a pole mounted system would not have prevented the damage. Don’t blame the plug for the damage when it was the lack of installed equipment that contributed to the damage. I guess you could say that the lack of the owner to spend the money was a large contributing factor.

[Dakota 1120]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Why not simply turn off the breaker that supplies the voltage to the circuit you are plugging your extension cord into? Once plugged in/together, turn on the breaker.

That is how you should be doing it anyway whether at home or at a campsite.

^^^ THIS ^^^^ I ALWAYS make sure the breakers are off when plugging into a campground pedestal. Once the cord is attached to the pedestal and the camper, then the breaker in the pedestal is tripped on.

[MOODMAN]

Originally Posted by garyhopp

It is clear and becoming clearer. Someone post an issue for info on this site and out of the woods come the experts.!

I'm not an expert, and I appreciate your post. Thanks. But I do have a question...Why was the AC not affected by the plug issue while other things were?

[Dianafish]

Well, it sure helped me!!!! Checking outs as we speak! Thank you!

[richardbrucewinquestjr]

Originally Posted by cavie

A 45 year electrician and you cannot see that neutral connection?? Those lugs are not designed for # 6 fine stranded wire. The 45 year MASTER electrician in me doesn't have much use for engineers either LOL. That's a whole different story LOL But in this case they know what they are talking about. Camco electric products are as cheap as they get. I'm guessing Camco by the color and the design on the inside. There is a big difference between $12.00 Camco and a $39.00 leviton or similar cord cap..

This one is cheap and not installed correctly.,

Buying most anything from China is like buying a used car (let the buyer beware).
I will buy items from pretty much any country other than China as from what I've seen most of their products are subpar in quality.

[cfo111]

putting on replacement plugs isn't the problem it is the people that don't watch what they are doing. or care, or just don't know what they are doing. I went in RV store and read package it is UL approved. Different campers in the past did put on plugs on all of them never had a problem.