Forum Discussion
Bubbaclyde
Jan 14, 2014Explorer
Since it is a relatively new trailer, have you discussed this problem with the dealer where you bought it? There could possibly be some wiring issues, loose wires, bad breakers etc and it may be covered under warranty or recall. Most travel trailers/motorhomes I have owned in the past have had trouble with the A/C being able to keep up in the Texas heat and humidity. The 13,500 BTU/hr A/C alone can pull 3956 Watts when running continuously, which, it will run continuously when trying to keep up while the trailer is sitting out in the hot Texas heat and it seems to be running continuously because it will not cool the trailer properly. The 30 Amp x 120 Volt outlet leg on the pedestal is rated at 3600 Watts max. Amps x Volts = Watts. Considering the power the A/C is drawing, the electric water heater, the electric refrigerator, another beer refrigerator outside that is probably running constantly trying to keep up in the heat, all of the electrical items combined, are you starting to see where there could be a problem with overload? Does your trailer have a 30 amp main breaker located in the trailer breaker box? If it does, and the breaker never trips but the parks pedestal 30 amp breaker trips, it seems like you could have either a problem in the shore power cable/cord which is causing the pedestal breaker to trip, or the parks 30 amp breakers are old and may be tripping at say 20 amps or so instead of allowing a full 30 amp power and that could be why the pedestal breaker trips before the trailer breaker does. Breakers do deteriate and go bad. The reason it doesn`t trip the 120 Volt leg on the 50 Amp plug with your adaptor is because you have more power available to you, even though it is still 120 Volts on the leg you are using on the 50 Amp. 50 Amps x 120 Volts = 6000 available watts. If you are still tripping the 50 amp breaker occasionally, there is a major problem somewhere and if there isn`t one now, there soon will be as the shore power cable is rated for 30 Amps power and doesn`t have the wire size or capacity for 50 Amps and/or more. It will eventually melt down on you and possibly burn your trailer down in the process or electrocute somebody. The 30 amp breaker in the trailer, if it has one, will not stop this from happening. With all of the accessories you are using, a 50 amp upgrade is definitely the way to go. Your trailer may already be pre-wired for another A/C unit but you will need the 50 amp service to run it as the two A/C units will run off opposing 120 volt legs on the 240 volt, 50 amp service. Do you have the build sheet for your trailer? If not, you should be able to get it and wiring diagrams for your trailer, from the factory. Another thing, the A/C could possibly not be cooling properly because it is not operating with enough voltage because of all the power being robbed to run other things. The less voltage available to you, the less efficiency you will have available. Example; 120 Volts x 30 Amps = 3600 Watts. 108 Volts x 30 Amps = 3250 Watts. Did it cool properly before trying to use all of the other items? Have you checked the voltage available to you at the parks? Have you checked the amps being pulled by your trailer? A good $100 multi-meter/amp meter is cheap compared to burning down a $40,000 trailer. You could also start out running just what the trailer had on it when you bought it and then add one thing at a time until you find the point that it`s tripping your breaker and then add up the total wattage you were using. The best way would be to figure out your electrical load you have been using is by adding up the wattage of all the items you are using plus the equipment in the trailer. Keep in mind too that to be safe, you should only use 80-85% of available power. Example; 3600 watts available x 85% = 2880 watts. One more question, is this happening to you everywhere you go or is the problem isolated to one park? Sorry my response is so long winded but I hope this helps you out.
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