K3WE wrote:
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.
The RV I'm looking at only has 1 air conditioner. We have only camped in a campground 4 times in the past 30 years. Don't apologize for talking about 30 amp hook ups, we may be using campgrounds more in the future. Thank you for the information it is very helpful.
