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tpb's avatar
tpb
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013

Old old camper question re electrical

I am a total newb and have some questions regarding my electrical setup. Beyond what I have found on google, I have no knowledge of any kind of electrical ... RV or household.

I decided to get my feet wet into having a camper by buying an old 1972 little 17" travel trailer. It is low on amenities: has a recirculating toilet, a manual hand pump for water to the sink, a small water tank, no holding tanks, propane stove and oven, propane furnace, propane/electric refrigerator, and a couple lights.

There is a regular household three prong plug (so 15 amp??). The electrical area inside the camper has two 15 amp breakers and the original sticker inside a cabinet states the camper is 30 amp.

I took the camper out last week for it's maiden voyage with me and managed to have the breaker flip (I believe the fault was the Keurig). Examining the breakers, one was totally broken and just loose; the other one that flipped, I turned off any electrical draws, unplugged the trailer for an hour or so, flipped the breaker and plugged it back in. The lights kind of wavered after this and overnight the breaker flipped again. I then got the refrigerator going on propane and tried to get the power back with no success.

I only had a day left so went with some plan B options for power and continued with our vacation. Upon returning I pulled apart the breaker stuff and found a number of burnt wires, loose connections and part, etc. I am taking everything into the local electricians for new parts on Monday.

My questions deal with the 15 amp plug part. Was there originally a 30 amp plug (seeing as the trailer fact sheet states 30 amp and there are two 15 amp breakers?). It does look to be a replaced plug. Can I/should I replace this plug with a 30 amp end? I have no real heavy need for electricity in this camper ... the fridge, lights, laptop, cell charger, little fan (I can ditch the Keurig). I was wondering if the burnt wires though were due to too heavy of an electrical pull for what I was feeding it. Like I said, I don't know anything about electrical but I am willing to learn. I don't want to guess and do anything dangerous though.

Any help/advice here would be appreciated.

7 Replies

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  • Led_67's avatar
    Led_67
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2013
    Have you checked out irv2.com they are a vintage rv website loaded with info
  • tatest's avatar
    tatest
    Explorer II
    Aug 04, 2013
    What's in the breaker box may not be original, or the standards may have changed. Today, it is not 30 amp service unless all other circuits (which may add up to a lot more than 30) branch off a 30 amp main.

    If you are going to plug into a 30 amp outlet, plug, cord, and all wiring to the main breaker need to be sized for 30 amps.

    Our comparably equipped 16' 1960s vintage TT had only 15 amp service, the only 120V consumption was a few light bulbs in dual fixtures with a 12 V side too. I have no experience with 70s era, next RVs were mid 80s and everything had changed, and there were standards evolving.

    If I were making an old one usable, I'd rewire to modern standards.
  • happybooker1's avatar
    happybooker1
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2013
    If you MUST have the Keurig, you could just have an extra extension cord with you. Most power poles @ campgrounds have the 30A outlet + 1-2 regular 110v outlets. Just run the extension cord out a window + plug in separately for the Keurig.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Aug 04, 2013
    It may be the original (OR any previous) owner replaced the plug to make it easier to plug in at home.

    Examine the cord.. Tell us about it, Is it 12GA, 14GA, 10GA, 8GA, the answer to this will tell us a lot. You may need nothing more than a new 30 amp plug and perhaps a new breaker or two.

    Or you may need a new 30 amp cord. (And new breakers) Possibly even a new box, Depending on the conditions you find when you look inside.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2013
    I would replace the original 15 amp shore power cord with a 30 amp RV cord. It will offer more amps to be available when a 30 amp connection is available. If you don't have a 30 amp RV outlet at the house, an adaptor can be purchased, inexpensively, for that contingency. In the latter situation, the heavier RV cord will replace 25' of any lesser cord used.

    Those Keurig coffee makers are a notorious power hog. I would suggest a different coffee maker for use in the RV.
  • tpb's avatar
    tpb
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2013
    CT_WANDERER wrote:
    I don't have a trailer, I am a MH guy. Can you tell us what the two breaker are for? I can tell you that one of your problems are the burnt wires that you know about. Is your power cord a heady duty cord? Can you find the wire gauge marking on it? I would not plug your trailer in until all the wires are repaired.
    With the light flickering, how are your batteries? Are they charged? Do you have a converter/charger in the trailer? Maybe if you do, you could run a extension cord directly to the converter to keep the battery charged. I hope someone with more trailer knowledge will jump in and help you more than I can.


    Just checked the wire and there is no gauge marking on it although it does look to be sizable. The only burnt wires are within the breaker box itself ... all other wiring looks sound. Dad came over to have a bit of a look and cut out all the stuff I needed to replace and he said I had broken connections within the breaker box that were shorting themselves out. This camper has no battery/converter/charger ... just straight lights, outlets and refrigerator from shore power.
  • CT_WANDERER's avatar
    CT_WANDERER
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2013
    I don't have a trailer, I am a MH guy. Can you tell us what the two breaker are for? I can tell you that one of your problems are the burnt wires that you know about. Is your power cord a heady duty cord? Can you find the wire gauge marking on it? I would not plug your trailer in until all the wires are repaired.
    With the light flickering, how are your batteries? Are they charged? Do you have a converter/charger in the trailer? Maybe if you do, you could run a extension cord directly to the converter to keep the battery charged. I hope someone with more trailer knowledge will jump in and help you more than I can.

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