50ft Shore power cable question

[jordanzwon1]

I have a 2023 No Boundaries 20.3.

Recently had a 30 amp plug installed at the house by my shop so I could allow overflow guests to stay in the trailer.

I would need a 50ft long 30amp power cable. Looking at the charts I see that 8 gauge wire is recommended for 25-50ft cables.

Everything online that I see however for a 50ft cable is 10 gauge.

What am I missing? I live in Texas so AC running when people staying in it is a must. Am I to assume that 10 gauge on a 50ft 30amp cable is ok?

Thanks a bunch!

[MGD1961]

That sounds about right for what’s on the market. It is rare for someone to want to do such a long run.

How about make your own cable with the 8 gauge? The ends are easily available and the cable is available at any big box store. Or you can get really nice 8/3 wire, fine stranded, from a marine outlet like West Marine put the ends on and rest easy

[wmtire]

Not a wiring size question, but an electrician question......just to confirm your 30 amp outlet was done correctly as we do see electricians miswire it. It was wired for 120 (or 125) volts, correct? As per this thread:

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...let-27223.html

The reason I am confirming is that we have many horror stories on these forums of a 30 amp outlet incorrectly wired for 240 volts and the damage it caused.

You definitely want to make sure you have a single pole breaker feeding that outlet as explained in the link above

[DES-1]

Originally Posted by jordanzwon1

I have a 2023 No Boundaries 20.3.

You should have received a 25ft cable with the NOBO, as we did. Just buy a 25ft extension and done. We carry our extension as part of the NOBO's kit. Normally not needed but always best to be prepared. This is the one we've bought for each trailer:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Mike134]

Your 50' 10/3 extension cord will be just fine.

https://www.southwire.com/calculator-vdrop

I plugged in a few numbers for you. I used 16 amps because your AC will draw 13 amps when running plus 3 amps for the converter to run the 12V stuff. I set it at 3% voltage drop which is very conservative you could easily go 5-6%

The answer is attached.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by DES-1

You should have received a 25ft cable with the NOBO, as we did. Just buy a 25ft extension and done. We carry our extension as part of the NOBO's kit. Normally not needed but always best to be prepared. This is the one we've bought for each trailer:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

I bought the 25' extension like you did, ran the A/C fine. Only one site in 5 years I needed the extension, but when you need it, you need it.

[jordanzwon1]

Originally Posted by Mike134

Your 50' 10/3 extension cord will be just fine.

https://www.southwire.com/calculator-vdrop

I plugged in a few numbers for you. I used 16 amps because your AC will draw 13 amps when running plus 3 amps for the converter to run the 12V stuff. I set it at 3% voltage drop which is very conservative you could easily go 5-6%

The answer is attached.

Thank you. What’s worst case scenario if it didn’t work? I don’t know anything about electrical but something just trip? I just don’t want a converter or something like that to be working too hard and to damage something.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by jordanzwon1

Thank you. What’s worst case scenario if it didn’t work? I don’t know anything about electrical but something just trip? I just don’t want a converter or something like that to be working too hard and to damage something.

Usually the circuit breaker in the house will trip. That's assuming that the 30 amp plug has been installed correctly. If it's been wired as 240, you could fry all the electronics in your trailer.

When we had the transfer switch installed in our house last year so that we could use our generator in a power failure (a frequent occurance in Houston),
the electrician provided a 50' 30amp cable.

[NJKris]

The big concern with long wire runs is something called line loss. Voltage drop caused by resistance of the wire. As long as the wire is thick enough, the line loss will not be enough to be concerned about. Big concern is with motors. Motors don't like low voltage, or they will run hot, and fail prematurely.

[jordanzwon1]

It’s all wired correctly 30 amp 120V on an independent 30amp breaker.

So consensus is that I could use a 50 foot cable with 10 gauge no problem

[jordanzwon1]

So should be good with 30 amp 50ft with 8 gauge like Camco or anyone else on Amazon sells. I just don’t want to damage anything

[NJKris]

More than fine with 8 gauge. My Camco 25' extension is 10 gauge, just looked it up, and ran everything fine at a campground.

[Mike134]

Originally Posted by jordanzwon1

It’s all wired correctly 30 amp 120V on an independent 30amp breaker.

So consensus is that I could use a 50 foot cable with 10 gauge no problem

yes you'll be fine.

[jordanzwon1]

Sorry I meant 10 gauge. I can find a 50ft 30amp in 9 gauge

[darrellr]

Originally Posted by NJKris

The big concern with long wire runs is something called line loss. Voltage drop caused by resistance of the wire. As long as the wire is thick enough, the line loss will not be enough to be concerned about. Big concern is with motors. Motors don't like low voltage, or they will run hot, and fail prematurely.

You mean motors like compressors on ACs and in refrigerators?

[Aussieguy]

Is it 50 foot from OUTLET you had installed to trailer parking spot? If yes why was it installed so far away

You can use multi meter to measure the voltage at the trailer
If it is 120v (+/- 5%) it should be good



You can buy a RV extension cord 30amp
Use it in conjunction with people’s RV power cord

Tell your guests if they have 50 amp to bring their own dogbone adapter

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by jordanzwon1

Sorry I meant 10 gauge. I can find a 50ft 30amp in 9 gauge

9 gauge is better than 10 gauge because its heavier and will carry the load better. ie. 16 gauge is very lightweight.

[jordanzwon1]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

Is it 50 foot from OUTLET you had installed to trailer parking spot? If yes why was it installed so far away

You can use multi meter to measure the voltage at the trailer
If it is 120v (+/- 5%) it should be good



You can buy a RV extension cord 30amp
Use it in conjunction with people’s RV power cord

Tell your guests if they have 50 amp to bring their own dogbone adapter

Yes it’s 50ft away. And only because I couldn’t afford to run a 30 amp pole to where I park, so I had the plug installed on the side of my shop.

How is one 50ft 30amp cord different than 2x25ft cords attached together? I have a 50ft cord now and it seems to work fine. My concern was it being 10 gauge wire.

[jordanzwon1]

Yeah. I just didn’t want any potential power lose to strain something in the trailer. Also please remember this is all new to me so if I am way overthinking this please let me know

[DougW]

Originally Posted by jordanzwon1

Yeah. I just didn’t want any potential power lose to strain something in the trailer. Also please remember this is all new to me so if I am way overthinking this please let me know

You are not overthinking this. Too small of a wire in the worst case would be the cord overheats and starts a fire. The 10 GA should be fine, remember the RV won’t be drawing 30 amps all the time, mostly it would be a surge as the aC comes on. Just remind anyone with unit with more than 1 AC that running two at a time is not a good idea as that would be a pretty heavy load for the circuit. Also they would need to think before running the AC, Water heater and microwave at the same time. Just use good judgement about power use and it should be fine.