Dr.Bob wrote:
Looking at a new 5th wheel that has a 50amp service. I do a lot of dry camping and my generator is 30amp. Would this be a problem?
The most common issue with 30A vs. 50 amp is that 50 amp rigs tend to have two air conditioners- and AC is a very significant draw! (And lets remember that a 50A hookup actually offers 100 amps worth of power while a 30A hook up is just 30 amps.)
In my 30 Amp rig, if the AC, the microwave and a hair drier are all running at the same time...click...there goes the breaker on the pedistal.
With your rig and a 50A hook up- you could typically run both of your AC's and the microwave and the hair drier with no problem.
But if you take your BIG 50A RV and use a 30A adaptor and only run one air conditioner and the microwave BUT no other big draw appliances...it generally works well.
What about cool weather- where no air conditioner is needed?- that's generally a lot easier unless you are running lots of space heaters...they often draw about 13 amps each- so again- a couple of space heaters and the microwave all at once will be pushing the limit for a 30A hook up. (note: generators + electric space heaters is kind of wasteful.)
By the way- my apologies for talking about 30A hookups when you are asking about a 30A generator...there's some nuances there- but again- the concept that 30 amps = one air conditioner and then only one other heavy-draw appliance like a microwave or coffee maker...that's the main consideration.
By the way- I neglected to mention electric water heaters...they are a big draw so AC + Electric hot water + a microave...that's potentially over the limit for 30 amps...If operating off of a generator- you are generally better off using LP to heat the water and the camper instead of electricity.
