Forum Discussion

laramies's avatar
laramies
Explorer
Sep 05, 2016

Any ideas???

Hi All,

We've had our travel trailer on a seasonal site for almost 4 years. A couple years ago I did a power plug conversion on the cord. Over the last 6 months we have had drops in our 110v system. Most are for less then a second, the camper drops the 110v and then right back on. No consistency to what is running when it happens, sometimes the microwave, sometimes the coffee maker, sometimes phone chargers but most times nothing drawing 110v. I've had the campground verify that everything to the post is working correctly, they've even tested the post at full 30 amp draw. I have even checked the power plug conversion connections again. Recently the drops have been for longer. This past weekend after it dropped for a few minutes I turned off the all circuit breakers inside, turned off and on the 30 amp outside on the post. Went inside and turn on the main. Nothing. After a few tries of this hocky pokey everything came back on and no problems.
When I turned the rest of the circuit breakers back on I left off the AC and water heater as we aren't using the AC and I've been using the water heater on gas.

The campground has an electrician who is supposed to look at it, but I was wondering if you guys have any ideas???

Jim
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Sep 08, 2016
    mkirsch wrote:
    Are all the circuits (20A, 30A, 50A) serviced by the same line in a typical RV power pedestal? In other words, one line comes into the pedestal, and it's split out into the 20A, 30A, and 50A plugs. Or, is each one a separate circuit from the central power distribution?

    If they share a common feed, you could just plug in a lamp to the 20A outlet and not have to figure out any additional adapters.

    Though, a 30A plug to 20A socket adapter would be handy to have to quickly plug something in at the pedestal when the power goes out next time.


    Yes and no. There is only one main feed to the pedestal typically for all the circuits, but (assuming there's a 50A connection) it is a split-phase feed with two legs. Often, but probably not always, the 30A and 20A connections are made on opposite legs of the incoming power feed.

    If you're losing both legs at the same time because of difficulties farther upstream in the electrical system, such as because the incoming single-phase utility power is having trouble, then these details don't really matter. If you're losing one of the two legs on the campground loop, then it can make a difference.

    (As an aside, it's permitted--as of the 2008 NEC apparently--to wire 50A receptacles for RVs with two phases of a 120/208 three phase supply, rather than a 120/240 split single phase. In a park wired like that, it's possible that a utility problem on one or two of the three phases upstream from the RV park would still cause half of a pedestal to lose power. The differences are completely academic for what's being discussed here.)
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Sep 08, 2016
    Ed's idea of a light on the pedestal is brilliant.

    At our house we endure a lot of nuisance trips. It's also becoming more frequent that when transmission line failure happens, the relays will sequence between power distributed and no power. The utility reconfigured the grid a few years ago and now, since the nearest substation is 20 miles away instead of 3 miles, any time a squirrel or bird shorts out the overhead or a drunk hits a pole, we are without power.
  • mkirsch's avatar
    mkirsch
    Nomad II
    Sep 08, 2016
    Are all the circuits (20A, 30A, 50A) serviced by the same line in a typical RV power pedestal? In other words, one line comes into the pedestal, and it's split out into the 20A, 30A, and 50A plugs. Or, is each one a separate circuit from the central power distribution?

    If they share a common feed, you could just plug in a lamp to the 20A outlet and not have to figure out any additional adapters.

    Though, a 30A plug to 20A socket adapter would be handy to have to quickly plug something in at the pedestal when the power goes out next time.
  • laramies's avatar
    laramies
    Explorer
    Sep 08, 2016
    Thanks everyone for the ideas!!! I won't be back to the trailer for a couple weeks but will give them try then. I'll let you know if I find anything.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Sep 06, 2016
    Do you have any kind of a "Surge Guard" device?

    Actually we have that kind of power fail where I am often.. It's not the park's problem. Problem is external to the park (power company) it blinks off and then back on... Now in my case this means I loose power for about 3 mintues (Gives Air Conditioners and such time to reset and restart normally) but I'd hate not to have that Surge Guard protecting me cause when this happens the power gets real scary for a few seconds.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Sep 05, 2016
    laramies wrote:
    Recently the drops have been for longer. This past weekend after it dropped for a few minutes I turned off the all circuit breakers inside, turned off and on the 30 amp outside on the post. Went inside and turn on the main. Nothing. After a few tries of this hocky pokey everything came back on and no problems.
    The additional time will help pinpoint the issue.

    Instead of flipping breakers get out your voltmeter.
    Check the voltage at the pedestal, on the main breaker in the RV and then any connection between such as a Jbox or transfer switch.
    Persistence will isolate the issue.

    Also consider removing access covers and look closely for heat issues. Might be hard to spot. May as well check all connections are tight while inspecting.
  • Dave_H_M's avatar
    Dave_H_M
    Explorer II
    Sep 05, 2016
    get going on what Ed suggested.

    If me, the next time it went out, I would hustle out to the pedestal yank the power cord and stick a meter in there.
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Sep 05, 2016
    Check all of your wire connections in your breaker panel (with power disconnected). I found about half the screws on the breakers, neutral bar, and ground bar not properly tightened. Same for 12 vdc panel.
  • Ed_Gee's avatar
    Ed_Gee
    Explorer II
    Sep 05, 2016
    Considering that these issues are all happening on the same camping site shore power pedestal I don't think you can rule out the pedestal. In order to troubleshoot which it is, your RV cord or system, or the pedestal, I'd suggest you plug some sort of light that you can see from the trailer into the pedestal at the same point your cord plugs in. This might require some additional adapters .... but at least it would eliminate half the possibility of the problem source.
  • TakingThe5th's avatar
    TakingThe5th
    Explorer
    Sep 05, 2016
    Maybe your line cord is going bad. Is it old? Four years in the sun can't help.

About Technical Issues

Having RV issues? Connect with others who have been in your shoes.24,210 PostsLatest Activity: Mar 04, 2025