We are going to visit family this Christmas & will be parking in their yard & they said we can plug into their house system...but it is only 15 amp...what do we need to NOT turn on with this low amp service?

Run water heater and refrigerator on gas and you are good to go power wise. Fill up onboard water and do not hook up water hose. Pink RV antifreeze in tanks. If using just for sleeping no water needed use plastic bag in toilet bowl for number 2. Gallon water jug instead of water tank.

You can live very well in an RV with 15 amp plugin.

That will keep your batteries charged and that's about it. You can run your furnace, but no electric heaters. Also don't heat water with electric. You will find out real quick if you overload the circuit and the house breaker trips.

What part of the Country are you going to?? Just remember that a 15 Amp circuit is the same as the wall outlets in one room of your house. If you are staying south, use normal winterizing, but do not try to use an electric heater to heat the rig. NoACs, hair dryers, very limited microwave, no electric heaters, fridge and Water heater on gas, and remember that converter that provides 12V stuff and battery charging pull pretty heavy also.

Agree run water heater, fridge, furnace on propane only. Try not to use microwave, coffee makers at the same time. How you use water is up to you. If family is in the south then use it as you normally do.

15 Amp Service | Good Sam Community

Birdnst
Explorer
Dec 03, 2019
Plug it in at your home and test it out, if possible.
Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Dec 03, 2019
It depends, do you have an inverter?

As noted, on 15amp alone you're pretty limited. If you have a large inverter you can run off of that and use the 15amp to keep the batteries topped off.
cavie
Explorer
Dec 03, 2019
If you trip the house GFI with very little load, then turn off the GFI circuit in you RV.
romore
Explorer II
Dec 03, 2019
Use the garbage can three doors down.
ScottG
Nomad
Dec 03, 2019
2oldman wrote:
agwill wrote:
no water needed use plastic bag in toilet bowl for number 2.
Ugh..and where does this bag end up? Use water or go in the house.

Well I can guaratee if he puts them in their garbage can they wont invite him back again!
2oldman
Explorer II
Dec 03, 2019
agwill wrote:
no water needed use plastic bag in toilet bowl for number 2.
Ugh..and where does this bag end up? Use water or go in the house.
midnightsadie
Explorer II
Dec 03, 2019
it would be nice to check the house see what else is on that same 15amp breaker . if nothing use as others have said .
DownTheAvenue
Explorer
Dec 03, 2019
This is just an issue of assumption conservation. You can run one heavy consumer of electricity at a time. The microwave with everything else off. A space heater with everything else turned off. I have done this for years at my brother's house. I use a 10 gauge extension cord and run the converter to keep the batteries charged and run a space heater constantly with it set to a 750 watt setting. I watch TV, make coffee in the morning, and keep the batteries charged without issue. I heat water on propane and keep the refrigerator on gas. Never a problem.
Ed_Gee
Explorer II
Dec 03, 2019
haste maker wrote:
We are going to visit family this Christmas & will be parking in their yard & they said we can plug into their house system...but it is only 15 amp...what do we need to NOT turn on with this low amp service?

You can get by on 15A if you adhere to what others have suggested.....but you may want to take a look at their house breaker for the garage wall outlets. Often garages are wired for 20A.....it can make a difference. Also suggest using 12gage extension cord instead of lesser 14 or worse 16 gage cord.
wildtoad
Explorer II
Dec 02, 2019
Agree run water heater, fridge, furnace on propane only. Try not to use microwave, coffee makers at the same time. How you use water is up to you. If family is in the south then use it as you normally do.