rv extension cord

My rig came with 25' cord. I bought another 50' 50AMP cord to match it. I've been forced to use it a couple times. You can find good prices on EBAY.

Assuming you have a built in cord...25ft extra can be handy.

I generally don't like going much further than that unless it's limited to light duty (no air/con, microwave, etc...) When considering how many amps can be handled, length and number of connections lowers the allowable amps before you run into too much voltage drop.

If we do get in that situation, we just keep the high draw items off and use a light duty cord with adapters for the extra length.

elishaman wrote:
I am planning a cross country rv trip and need to get a power extension cord. What do you feel is the maximum length I will need? Trying to not buy more than needed as storage is a premium on our 5th wheel.

I had a 30a plug installed at my house when I had my old FW, and needed an extension cord to reach it. That meant that an extension was required when I got the new one. I was able to find a used 25' Camco cord on Craigslist and made it a part of my standard kit. It must be an SOOW cord as it's a helluva lot more flexible than the OEM cord. I've not had to use the extension while on the road, yet, but I have/had them...in case.

Lyle

time2roll wrote:
Get the cord on the road if and when needed for the minimum length.

That will mean cross your fingers and there is one available. At that point you will be happy to be overcharged and pay and inflated price because you have no choice.
Or you can be prepared and have an extension cord in your storage area.

When we got our 5th wheel trailer it had an 25- foot extension RV power cable hooked to the end of the connected power cable... So I asked if I could have that. The sales lady grinned and then finally said I will be in the office for a few minutes... Then In a few minutes she came back out and the extension was still connected to the RV power cable of course... Then she looked at the cable again and said I will be in the office for a few minutes...

I finally figured out what she was telling me to do haha... So I unhooked it and laid it inside the door way on the fifth wheel haha...

It has come in handy a couple of times on my OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer. Always carry it with us...

Like the other post said the Water Hose is more likely to be short... I carry an extra water hose as well...

I also have a Signal TEE RG connection for the cable TV hookup and will run one RG cable to the TT cable TV connection and then throw the other 25-foot RG cable under the trailer. I use this cable to move the TV SET out to the patio sometimes... It is also neat to have the extra 25-foor RG cable in case the it is needed to hook up the cable TV connection to the trailer...

Seems like almost everything you need to do you needs a PLAN B haha,,,

Roy Ken

Get the cord on the road if and when needed for the minimum length.

I don't recall ever needing a power extension cord. Water, sure you'll need one once in a while we carry 2 25 ft water lines, and you certainly need extra sewer line. Walmart sells 30 amp extensions BTW.

SOW is the cord type and rubber flexibility vs plastic and cost are the main consideration for RVs. Cord weight difference is minor.

In all the places we have stayed, we only needed a 50 amp extension cord one time on our 35' 5er. And a 15' cord was more than enough. Our trailer connection is on the rear.

ACZL wrote:
When we got our 1st 5er (30amp), bought a 25' or so 30 amp ext cord. Now that we have a 50 amp 5er, I needed to use the ext cord, but in doing so, only used what we needed to because of lack of avail power supply thru cord. In other words, only 1 A/C unit out of 2 or and water heater. No probs. If we had to, could have switched wh over to gas, and have lil more power to use otherwise. But overall, just have to live within the means of of the 30 amp cord. If a 50 amp ext cord is avail, might be a heavy thing unless a sow cord can be found (just learned of this cord last week).

They make 50 amp extension cords for a reason. If you have a 50 amp RV it is wise to have a 50 amp ext. cord vs. a 30 amp cord.
For the OP 25' is a effective length and should ensure you can reach the pedestal. You mentioned storage is at a premium, however it would be silly to get a 15'-50 amp cord because you did not have room to store a 25' cord?