electrical option - not enough juice for everything

[caper]

If your 15 amp breaker in the house was to fail you would not be drawing 200 amp. If you are on a 50 amp service and your 30 amp main breaker did not trip you are then able to put up to 50 amps on the main wire of the TT.

[jimh]

i may be getting ready to answer why not the change the 30 amp main in the trailer to 50 A. the main protects the buss in the breaker box. the individual breakers in the box protect the individual wires they are assigned to.

my other suggestion to change out the cable and the 50 amp main may not work if the breaker box (buss) isn't rated above 30A. it may be worth a check but i suspect the manufacture has this sized right.

the voltage drops in the original cable and connections isn't going to be improved by adding another connection unless the problem is in the 30 amp socket at the pedistal. ur still contending with the same supply voltage with more resistance (2 more connections by adding the adapter).

adapting from 50 a to 30 a is a way to get around a pedestal breaker tripping and the main in the trailer not.

[MillerTime]

Ok, if the impossible happens, call your insurance and make a claim, then your lawyer to handle the claim about breaker failing (which is not going to fail in the closed position), then to camco for offering an adapter, the campground for having electric......

[jimh]

i'm thinking the 50 amp at the pedestal would trip before u got enough for a fire. i believe u can put 30a thru #12, i don't know what u can put thru 10. these numbers may be in free space which u don't have in a cable.

personally, i wouldn't have a problem adapting from 50 to 30. it wouldn't keep me awake at night. Several yrs ago, i camped in a park in Ky that only offered 50 and 20. the campground had adapters for use. i always thought that if they offered 50 there would be a 30 in there as well. that was a first.

[MillerTime]

Jim
14 gauge =15 amp
12. =20 amp
10. =30 amp
8. =40 amp
6. =60 amp

This is the american wire gauge system-Awg, straight from the book

[jimh]

Originally Posted by MillerTime

Jim
14 gauge =15 amp
12. =20 amp
10. =30 amp
8. =40 amp
6. =60 amp

This is the american wire gauge system-Awg, straight from the book

agree.
that is below what the wire is capable of. that overload factor is why i wouldn't be concerned abt the remote possibility that i could overload the wire outside. even though the inside main is not meant to protect the outside cable, it would in most cases. i wouldn't even think of putting too large a breaker on one of the inside circuits.

[caper]

You can purchase a 50 to 30 amp adapter so you can use a CG that does not have 30 amp service. They are not to be used to try to get extra power to the TT when you are overloading the draw. The gauge of wire used to go from the plug on the side of the TT to the control panel will be the weak link in this whole setup.

[LaydBack]

I done the 50A conversion on my last trailer. Most expensive part was the cord and that was maybe $120-$140. Actually, the most expensive part was the new hardwired Surge Guard. I used the original converter, as I was not needing anymore DC power, so no need to replace it. There's pics and details in the link in my sig. I'd say I was maybe at $500 including the surge guard, cord, 50A panel, and new hatch door.

[Kaboom]

After reading this post I realized I do not know where my breakers are at. If I were to trip the breaker, I would not know where to even look. 2012 XLR 27 HFS. During the walk through no mention was made and nothing in the manual.

Thanks, sorry if this is a off the topic

[Witch Doctor]

On my Trailer the fireplace, water heater and GFI are on their own breakers. The first thing I would do is put a amp probe on each and see what they are pulling each one. I could see plugging in a coffee maker and hair drier and a space heater to trip your GFI that's all 1 breaker. Breakers get weak and wires get loose. If you are not tripping the 30 amp main it is not a power problem coming in to the unit. I use to trip my AC breaker when I put the fan on high. Changed the breaker and the problem was solved. The real problem is finding out what is wired were. I tried to get a wiring diagram from FR and they said they do not have one, it depends on who installed it on the line when being made. Changing to 50 amp will not help if you are not tripping the main. I run a coffee maker, water heater and fireplace and never trip and my main is 30 amp.

[powertrader]

Originally Posted by jeeplj8

It is interesting to see how quickly you exceed the 15 amps available with just a few appliances. It sounds like 50 amp service is going to cost more than I want to spend. My original plan to have one of them shower at night. I like that plan better now.

But Miller a idea at least makes sure I have 30 amps on the right side of the box.

The simple inexpensive solution is the Coleman stove-top (gas) coffee maker. That will eliminate the 10amp draw.

[Dave Lyon]

As several have mentioned - managing the power consumption is probably your wisest option. I run a separte extension cord to the pedistal when I need to power ceramic heater etc. You've paid for the power - why not use it.

There is no way I would spend in excess of $500 to convert to 50 amp, when power consumption can be managed through common sense.

my two cents!

[SimchaSabre]

I don't think I saw anyone here mention yet that a 50Amp RV upgrade would require a 4 wire hook-up (2 hots, a Neutual & a ground.) So you'd have to pull a lot of heavy wire between your converter and the outside plug.

[tnpopr]

If the trailer has a 55 amp converter what is the harm in using the 30 / 50 adapter?

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by tnpopr

If the trailer has a 55 amp converter what is the harm in using the 30 / 50 adapter?

Even tho you'd have 50 amps available your load center still will have a max of 30 amps before breakee trips.


Ps the 55 amp converter is output amps not input.

Turbs

[AquaMan]

Ok, from what I understand, you are using your HW on gas AND electric for faster recovery. Do you have a 6 or 10 gal HW heater? If you have a 6 gal, a more simple approach might be to move to a 10 gal HW and use on gas only in the morning. Electric problem solved. Wife and daughter happy.

[tnpopr]

Thanks, my understanding of electrical things doesn't go much past pushing in the plug. I've always wondered why my trailer has a 30 amp cable and sticker on the side but the converter is 55 amp.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by tnpopr

Thanks, my understanding of electrical things doesn't go much past pushing in the plug. I've always wondered why my trailer has a 30 amp cable and sticker on the side but the converter is 55 amp.

No problem

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by tnpopr

Thanks, my understanding of electrical things doesn't go much past pushing in the plug. I've always wondered why my trailer has a 30 amp cable and sticker on the side but the converter is 55 amp.

Your converter is doing as it name says, and "converting" AC voltage into DC voltage......in able to provide power to the things in your trailer that run off of DC power. Your trailer has a 30 amp 120 Volt AC cable. Your converter is capable of outputting 55 amps of 12 volt DC power.

120 volt AC is not the same as 12 volt DC.

For example (and this is just a guess), your converter might use 8 amps of AC power to output 55 amps of 12 volt DC power.

The basic function of a converter, as the name suggests, is to convert 120 volts AC electricity into 12 volts DC power.

This article may help understand it better:

http://rvservices.koa.com/rvinformat...d-amp-draw.asp

[jimh]

Originally Posted by SimchaSabre

I don't think I saw anyone here mention yet that a 50Amp RV upgrade would require a 4 wire hook-up (2 hots, a Neutual & a ground.) So you'd have to pull a lot of heavy wire between your converter and the outside plug.

you r correct. what i was suggesting earlier was to use only one leg of the 50 amp supply. i would upgrade the connecting cable from #10 to #6. then change the main in the trailer from 30 to 50. i would still keep the pedestal side with a 30 amp (3 prong) plug (wired 1 hot, 1 neutral, and 1 ground). that would give u 20 more amps to play with (when u plugged into a 50 at the pedestal using an adapter). the extra 20 may be all u need.

only problem i see doing this is that the breaker box may not be able to take the extra amperage...ie buss may be too small.
also once u go thru this much expense, u might as well replace the breaker box and do the full upgrade.