Electrical Issue

Harvard wrote:
This raises the question, why are 30A pedestals not protected by GFCIs. I believe it is because there could be a lot of false trips due to the normal leakage current expected from any individual RV AC distribution of capacitance. JMO.

I suspect it's just the NEC editors haven't gotten around to thinking about it yet. 30A GFCI circuit breakers are available. (One could reasonably ask why 50A RV pedestal outlets are likewise not GFCI protected; two pole GFCI breakers do likewise exist, though they are not exactly inexpensive.

I don't think too many RVs cause false GFCI trips due to expected capacitance or leakage in the electrical system (though that is indeed a possibility sometimes). Rather, I think most trips are caused by people having wiring faults (such as neutral/ground faults) or other problems they don't know about, problems that are a potential hazard. Fridge or water heater elements that are breaking down and leaking current to ground are one distinct possibility. I don't have any actual data to back this up, however.

If GFCIs were to be required, it may possibly make sense to have the fault current trip limit a little less sensitive than for standard 20A GFCIs.

This raises the question, why are 30A pedestals not protected by GFCIs. I believe it is because there could be a lot of false trips due to the normal leakage current expected from any individual RV AC distribution of capacitance. JMO.

try this test. turn off the gfi circuit in your RV. plug into a GFI shore power and let us know if it trips.

Short answer is yes you do.
Assuming you have a good 30-20 adapter, experience has taught me that 90% of the time it is a water heater element that has failed, next is the electric element in the refrigerator.
Quick troubleshooting is to turn the water heater breaker off and unplug the refrigerator, then plug the coach back into the GFI and see if it trips.
If the GFI trips with refrigerator unplugged & WH breaker off time to look at power cord / adapter & overall wiring.
If not, turn on the WH breaker and see if the GFI trips. If not plug the refrigerator in and again see if the GFI trips.

Yes you have a grounding problem.
Open your power distribution panel and verify the white and the green wire on your main power cable are not connected together.
Get an electrician to help you if you need it.

Call me if you want.
Jerry Parr
602-321-8141