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gkainz's avatar
gkainz
Explorer
Jul 24, 2021

50 Amp plugging into 30 amp service

My kids, new to RVing, bought a big toy hauler wired for 50 amp service. My experience is all 30 amp RVs. They tell me that a few of their destinations for their planned trip have 30 amp pedestals only.

What are the different adapters available to plug a 50 amp cord into a 30 amp service, and pros and cons of each? I think I saw somewhere there are adapters to use 2 30 amp outlets and combine to fully run a 50 amp RV?

What would you suggest I pass along to them for options and accessories. I already explained that just because you have all those electrical appliances and outlets, you can't always "just plug in and turn everything on" ... wondering if I need to resort to the old Green Acres simple ampacity solution that Oliver created for Lisa ... :)
  • Use a basic 50 to 30 dogbone adapter. Just have to be aware they will only have 3,600 watts of power to work with instead of the 12,000 watts of 50 amp service. Only be able to run one AC and be careful of other high amp devices. Best to run water heater on propane.

    The 50 to two 30’s adapters don’t work if the park has GFCI outlets, which is required by current code. And parks typically don’t have two 30 amp outlets. They have one 30 and one 20. Might work in an older park that is not up to current code.