30 amp Plug at Home?

[mosesmcrae]

Lowe’s sells the outside box and outlet as a package for 30 amp rvs. Found it in the electrical department. I also bought #10-2 w/gnd wire and a thirty amp single pole breaker. You’ll also need connectors and wire clamps.

[CedarCreekWoody]

I hope anyone installing their own follows the correct procedures. There is now a lot of misinformation being posted on this thread. It is an easy install if you are familiar with house wiring, but get proper instructions from reliable sources.

[Taranwanderer]

30 or 50A, 120V people. Let’s remove all references to “240V” out of this thread, except to say, “don’t use 240V.”

I had an electrician do mine at the same time that he was running power to my detached garage (and installing my whole house generator,) so I couldn’t tell you what just the 30A RV plug cost. But I remember having to tell him, “It’s 120V.”

[Suzeeq97]

Yes, we had one installed to be able to use the air while getting ready in the hot months. It was well worth the $400 we paid for a licensed electrician to install a dedicated waterproof outdoor box and it has served us well. Good luck, you won't regret doing it!

[campkasten]

We have a 30 amp RV power connection at home for our camper and it is REALLY nice to have!

It was very simple to run the line from the subpanel in the utility room... the run was only 30 feet of wire and the RV receptacle in a nice weather resistant box.

With the power AND a water connection back there for the camper, we can easily use it as a guest room if necessary.


... or a dog house.

[desuhu]

Originally Posted by EricEdwards

Has anyone installed a 30 amp plug at home (if you keep your rig parked at home) for true shore power?

I keep a battery tender hooked up to my battery when we're parked at home. A couple of days before we leave on a trip, I disconnect the battery tender and use a dog leg to plug into a "regular" 110 outlet at my garage. I turn on the fridges, set the clocks on the microwave and stereo, and generally get stuff ready. The problem is, when we're getting ready to go or working inside our rig, it can get really hot. When we turn on the AC, it will run for a minute or two and then the GFCI on our garage outlet will trip. The rig is drawing too much juice. We want to be able to run the AC when we're tinkering inside or getting ready to go. Also, my teenagers like to hang out with friends and watch a movie in the rig when the cover is not on. They can't do that when the weather is warm.

Has anyone had an electrician install a 30 or 50 amp plug? Was it cost prohibitive? It it's more than a couple of hundred bucks I don't want to do it. I'm not experienced enough in electrical to do it myself.

We have a 50 amp plug at our home and yes it's pricey. Over $1000 for the 50 amp as it has to have 220.

[RDupre]

If you are going to put in a "shore power" plug, plan for the future and put in a 50 amp plug. In 2004, I installed two 50 amp plugs when I built my detached guess house/shed. I had one installed on the front and back corners of the same side of the building. At the time I had a small TT with 30 amp service. Several years ago, I upgraded to a large 50 amp TT and now have a Fifth Wheel with 50 amps. One day I may own a Class A motor home. Now, I have a slab and cover on the side of my shed with 50 amp service and have a second plug when I pull up the camper in the driveway for loading/unloading. I keep my 5th wheel always plugged in. Don't look at what's in your driveway today. Think about what may be there in the next 20 years.

[NavyVet58]

Originally Posted by Taranwanderer

30 or 50A, 120V people. Let’s remove all references to “240V” out of this thread, except to say, “don’t use 240V.”

I had an electrician do mine at the same time that he was running power to my detached garage (and installing my whole house generator,) so I couldn’t tell you what just the 30A RV plug cost. But I remember having to tell him, “It’s 120V.”

http://www.myrv.us/Imgs/PDF/50-amp%20Service.pdf

This is a link to proper wiring for a 240v 50 amp RV circuit. Your are correct in that the 30a RV circuit IS 120v

[vhcambrian]

I have one 30-amp outlet installed by the electrician when I had 200-amp service brought to my land. Then I had my apprenticeship cousin install a 50-amp to same pole (electrician wanted over $500 to install it).

This year I paid an electrician to rewire my barn to code and install another 200-amp service and install another 50-amp outlet. Then had the county install a pole and meter.

My renter has park trailer plugged into the barn outlet and I have my 5th wheel plugged into the pole.

All total I have about $6k into electrical. Someday I will build a house

[Slow Moon]

Originally Posted by tboots

A 120v 30Amp RV plug will not go into a 240v 30Amp outlet. Just sayin...

Maybe KyDan is warning that even licensed electricians have connected 240V to new 30Amp RV receptacles because they look a lot like an old dryer receptacle. If that happened, the RV plug would fit, but with a very bad result.

I'm VERY surprised to hear that licensed electricians have made this mistake, but I don't think our members are making it up. I'd hope this does not happen nowadays because dryer outlets are now 4-pronged. It may not hurt to heed KyDan's suggestion, but I'd be careful not to insult a professional electrician.

[bhunt2405]

We have a 30A in the lean-to on the back of the garage. The camper is parked on a gravel pad near by. We also have one inside in the front. We pull the camper up so I can pack up the food and stuff. We will run the fridge for a couple of days before I load it. The water is on the driveway side so it is easier to fill. The only thing I have noticed is that the propane detector burns out every 2 years. Those little things are about $65.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by NavyVet58

Most 50a circuits are 240 v. The inverter takes care of the voltage. But, if you only wire a 30 amp, make sure it is 120v

How did an inverter get into this conversation. You are gonna have explain to this 45 year Master Electrician how an inverter takes care of the voltage. An inverter Changes 12 volts DC into 120 volts AC and nothing more. The more I read the worse it gets! So much bad information in this thread. 50 amp is 240 volt service. Period. 30 amp is 120 volts.

You can not plug a 30 amp RV cord into a 230 volt dryer outlet. It will not go in. An electrician can wire a 30 amp 120 outlet with 240 volts instead of 120 volts. You just can not plug a 30 amp rv cord into a dryer outlet.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by jcschultz01

It was pretty easy to wire up a 120V, 50A circuit.
Follow the directions on the plug package AND CHECK THE VOLTAGE! Buy a good multimeter if you don't have one. Mine is a Fluke with a thermocouple for temp sensing as well. Worth the money vs. a cheap analog model.

BTW I also wired up a 220, 30A receptacle for my Bolt electric car. Again, no big deal, just pay attention to what is hot, neutral and ground. Or look online. The Chevy salesman seemed to be amazed.

A 50 amp RV service is 240 volts. A 30 amp RV service is 120 volts.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Jagercamps2

I installed 30 amp myself after watching a video on YouTube. Must make sure receptacle is TT wired. Also, the breaker box switch must be compatible with the breaker box. You can’t just use any switch. Cost maybe $100 and my time. I can run the a/c and not blow switches. It also cut the electric bill a tad because it isn’t drawing as much power as it did through smaller plug

What is TT wired?

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Slow Moon

"110vac to 220vac (trailer) pigtail adapter"?

I believe he is talking about a 50/30 amp dog bone.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Taranwanderer

30 or 50A, 120V people. Let’s remove all references to “240V” out of this thread, except to say, “don’t use 240V.”

I had an electrician do mine at the same time that he was running power to my detached garage (and installing my whole house generator,) so I couldn’t tell you what just the 30A RV plug cost. But I remember having to tell him, “It’s 120V.”

You cannot remove 240 volts from this thread because that is exactly what 50 amp RV service is 240 volts L1 to L2 240 volts is delivered to the main breaker inside a 50 amp powered RV. Be it a trailer or Motor Home.

[Tvd]

I ran my wire myself and my sisters, electrician, boyfriend wired up the plug and breaker for me and he wired it like a drier. We plugged in and fried the inverter in the camper. That was a expensive lesson. Luckily my rv dealer had one and we got it in and the 30 amp wired correctly.

[dacheedah]

I have a 30amp plug and as many have reminded it is 110v 30amps, I also have a hydrant and a sewer line so when we overfill the house we have extra beds. We also boone dock a few times a year and after a storm this summer our neighborhood was without power for a few days, this was a great air conditioned spot on a generator not big enough to run the house.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Tvd

I ran my wire myself and my sisters, electrician, boyfriend wired up the plug and breaker for me and he wired it like a drier. We plugged in and fried the inverter in the camper. That was a expensive lesson. Luckily my rv dealer had one and we got it in and the 30 amp wired correctly.

You are very lucky you only lost the converter. Many have lost TVs and other items that happened to be on when the power was plugged in.

[formerFR]

as for the OP's original concern and question about running the rig off of a standard household outlet: fine, just do it.

We've powered our rig on a single 20amp household outlet many times, and over many months will parked next to our cabin - making use of the air conditioner witj no issues, as well as the residential fridge at the same time - also using it as a secondary 'cabin' when the folks visited.

I use a heavy-duty extension cord that's rated for 15 to 20amps or more.

If you are plugging into a GFCI outlet, and it is 'tripping', it is generally not because you've exceeded it's amp ratings, as that would actually trip the BREAKER in the home's Main Panel, but many times since RV's already have GFCI circuits in the rig, the two do not play well together.

If your outlet is on a 15amp circuit breaker, you'll have less room for other things while you have the air conditioner operating, but generally after the a/c first starts up, the amps fall into the 8-12 amps range, still allowing for other things to be used.
If your outlet is on a 20amp circuit breaker, you can probably do much of what you 'normally' do - it's simply 20amps versus 30amps - only 10 amps less.


As for 'wiring' a 30amp RV outlet, if you wish to do so, it is simply the same type of 3 wire electrical(Black, White, ground), but larger wire, and the 30amp Outlet is shaped differently, as well as using a 30amp breaker in the Main Panel.
It's simply the same 120volt power, but with a 30amp breaker.