RV Hot Skin (Exterior electrification)
This past weekend my wife was electrocuted when she stepped onto the trailer steps and grabbed the handrail while in bare feet. She was subsequently thrown from the rig and landed in the grass. She ...
Forum Discussion
Mike134 wrote:wopachop wrote:
That was a lot of info. Mike can you explain your picture please? I guess the 120v ground is tied into the trailer frame? yes it should be.
If thats the case, could your test show zero ohms but once plugged in there could be a hot wire touching the frame?No because if you had a good ground connection you would trip the circuit breaker on the circuit touching the metal frame Trying to think how that would work. Could the person not get shocked, but there is still a hot wire touching the frame? yes for example linemen wearing rubber boots and gloves to keep them insulated from "ground" when they work live circuitsAssuming youre not plugged into a gfci.
I want to test my own trailer next time im home. Plug the trailer in. Set meter to AC volts, and then probe the outlets between hot and ground? I can also test the ohms between all the adapters and the trailer frame.
First and foremost before doing anything else check for zero ohms between the ground pin on your adapter like I did and bare metal of the trailer. Then check between the ground slot of a trailer outlet and that same plug's ground pin. Again ZERO ohms is the value you're looking for. Your wife was shocked because the trailer was not grounded and that can be caused by a host of reasons as previous posts have discribed. Once you fix the ground problem then finding the wire causing the "hot frame" will be easier.
Just want to add all this testing is done with the trailer UNPLUGGED from any power source. Let us know what you find out about the grounding
