I have a 30 foot Hornet travel trailer on a lot in Florida. It seems the 30 amp feed is barely adequate for the rig. If the a/c is running, using the microwave will usually trip the breaker in the rig's panel box. Why the a/c and microwave are on the same breaker is another mystery altogether. The wife's blow drier can easily trip a breaker.Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has ever done a conversion from a 30 amp feed to a 50 amp feed? I know the cable from the electric panel to the rig's plug would need changed out, along with the plug, and the panel itself would need changed. There is a 50 amp outlet in the electrical pedestal beside the RV. I know I would need to split the loads in a new panel box to distribute it more evenly. I'm thinking I am going to have a very hard time finding a 50 amp panel box to fit in where this 30 amp panel is located.I am just starting to think about this and was wondering if anyone has tried it and what they ran into.

The only hard part is pulling new romex from cord entry to the panel.What is the panel model number?MW and AC on one branch circuit seems wrong for OEM. Did PO add something?Do you keep the water and fridge on propane when the air is running?

Sounds like you have done a good job with the research. It would also puzzle me to have the microwave and A/C on the same breaker. What amp is it???There are other, less costly "work arounds", but I would start by putting your two heaviest loads on separate breakers.Worse case (zero $$) would be to put the roof A/C to fan while the microwave is on.Lots of options.

Numbers numbers numbersI would first determine if the factory did a stupid with balancing load with the breakers. You may have 2-breakers doing 80% of the load.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:Numbers numbers numbersI would first determine if the factory did a stupid with balancing load with the breakers. You may have 2-breakers doing 80% of the load.I agree and find it puzzling how they could put two items that exceed the breaker capacity on the same breaker.:E I would think code requirements would prevent that.:h:SLarry

Maybe the breaker that trips is the main 30A breaker? If there's some other non-negligible loads as well (particularly a water heater), it would not be hard at all to exceed 30A...and possibly not otherwise depending on the microwave and the air conditioner in question.If it is the 30A breaker that's popping, it may also be that the breaker is old/worn and tripping below its rating. That happens sometimes; replacing it would help in that case.If you have a generator with a transfer switch, you'd have to upgrade the transfer switch at the same time.I suspect it won't be too difficult to find a 50A panel that fits in the space of your 30A panel. The Parallax 3050-15 and WFCO 8930/50 are both pretty compact AC and DC distribution panels with 50A capacity. Neither one has a converter built in; if the panel you're replacing does (and is of this approximately 9" high size), you'd have to put it in a box or buy a deck-mount converter or something equivalent.

Convert to 50 amp | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

Big_Katuna
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
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I have Energy Management on my RV. Its great at running two ACs at the same time.

But the problem is on 30A you cant run anything else.

The only way to run anything else like a microwave or hair dryer is to turn off an AC and then you can only run one high current device OR add watts which was easy.

If I'm going to spend money on adding things, adding load shedders doesn't get me much. Saves me from popping a breaker maybe.

What I really want is more watts to run more stuff.
LarryJM
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
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myredracer wrote:
LarryJM wrote:
myredracer wrote:

You can buy an automatic load shedding device but aren't cheap. You could make your own up by using a CR Magnetics current sensing relay like in the photo, available on Amazon under $100. Wire the A/C circuit through the sensor and the hair dryer circuit to it so it can't run with AC unit on. Could also wire up to prevent an appliance in the kitchen from running. May not be too practical if AC is running a lot and voltage is low tho.

Not to hijack this, but this is an interesting concept since you could wire the microwave thru the sensor with the A/C powered thru the NC relay contacts so that when the micorwave is powered on it would cut off the A/C. Do I have that right? Also, why do you say "May not be too practical if AC is running a lot and voltage is low"?

Something like that would solve my single issue of having to be careful about running the microwave when the A/C is on and they are on separate breakers with on other loads but them on each breaker.

Larry

I have the CR Magnetics current sensing relay I installed in our TT and I use it to shut off the 1500 watts of built-in electric heating I installed when anything is plugged in that would make the load go over 30 amps. The relay works great. Can plug in the hair dryer, MW or any other high load, and the heaters are automatically disconnected and go back on when the loads are unplugged. It's actually pretty cool how well it works...

I was thinking if the voltage got low at their CG and the AC amps went up, there wouldn't be much left to run anything else on the 30 amp service. The 30 amp breaker doesn't care what the voltage is, and will trip when it gets over 30 amps for long enough (it has an inverse time-current characteristic).

Got it:C

THANK YOU,

Larry
time2roll
Nomad
Jun 27, 2015
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If the MW and AC are truly on the same circuit I recommend something like this:

http://www.bestconverter.com/Automatic-Load-Shed-_c_96.html

Actually I would put the AC on its own circuit and use the load shed to limit something else such as water heater/MW/hair drier/coffee maker branch circuit etc.
myredracer
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
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LarryJM wrote:
myredracer wrote:

You can buy an automatic load shedding device but aren't cheap. You could make your own up by using a CR Magnetics current sensing relay like in the photo, available on Amazon under $100. Wire the A/C circuit through the sensor and the hair dryer circuit to it so it can't run with AC unit on. Could also wire up to prevent an appliance in the kitchen from running. May not be too practical if AC is running a lot and voltage is low tho.

Not to hijack this, but this is an interesting concept since you could wire the microwave thru the sensor with the A/C powered thru the NC relay contacts so that when the micorwave is powered on it would cut off the A/C. Do I have that right? Also, why do you say "May not be too practical if AC is running a lot and voltage is low"?

Something like that would solve my single issue of having to be careful about running the microwave when the A/C is on and they are on separate breakers with on other loads but them on each breaker.

Larry

I have the CR Magnetics current sensing relay I installed in our TT and I use it to shut off the 1500 watts of built-in electric heating I installed when anything is plugged in that would make the load go over 30 amps. The relay works great. Can plug in the hair dryer, MW or any other high load, and the heaters are automatically disconnected and go back on when the loads are unplugged. It's actually pretty cool how well it works...

I was thinking if the voltage got low at their CG and the AC amps went up, there wouldn't be much left to run anything else on the 30 amp service. The 30 amp breaker doesn't care what the voltage is, and will trip when it gets over 30 amps for long enough (it has an inverse time-current characteristic).
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
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Load Shedding devices are not cheap. At least not the shedders that actually work right.
LarryJM
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
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I added a second 30A service and use a 50A to dual 30A dogbone to feed both. If 50A is not available I can feed the second 30A feed withj a heavy duty extension cord tied to the 20A pedestal. The second 30A service feeds two separate 110V duplex receptacles with each feed by a 15A CB. A pretty good description along with details of where I gotr the various materials and their cost is in the captions to the pics. The total cost was around 1/2 of just the cost of a detachable 50A shore power cord.

30A DUAL SERVICE

Larry
Big_Katuna
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
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Cheap cut is to add a second feed, a quality extension cord and add a small sub panel. Move the microwave to the new subpanel and maybe add a recep near by for the hairdryer.

I have a DP with 50A and EMS and 30A is not adequate. I ran an ext cord in and wired it directly to a recep on the bed pedestal for the hair dryer. She also uses that to heat up water in the electric water boiler for iced tea.
LarryJM
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
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myredracer wrote:

You can buy an automatic load shedding device but aren't cheap. You could make your own up by using a CR Magnetics current sensing relay like in the photo, available on Amazon under $100. Wire the A/C circuit through the sensor and the hair dryer circuit to it so it can't run with AC unit on. Could also wire up to prevent an appliance in the kitchen from running. May not be too practical if AC is running a lot and voltage is low tho.

Not to hijack this, but this is an interesting concept since you could wire the microwave thru the sensor with the A/C powered thru the NC relay contacts so that when the micorwave is powered on it would cut off the A/C. Do I have that right? Also, why do you say "May not be too practical if AC is running a lot and voltage is low"?

Something like that would solve my single issue of having to be careful about running the microwave when the A/C is on and they are on separate breakers with on other loads but them on each breaker.

Larry
RoyB
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
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You can also run a second extension cord into the trailer from the pedestal by just plugging into it.

Then you can plug your high wattage items into this and bypass the 30A panel in your trailer.

I suspect you are presently tripping the trailer 30A MAIN BREAKER which feeds all your trailer circuits. I think my setup will also trip the MAIN 30A breaker when running the Air Conditioner and the wifes hair dryer or microwave at the same time.

Depending on how the CG 30A connection at the pedestal looks we will sometimes use a RV50A-30A long adapter and connect our 30A trailer to the 50A side of the pedestal. Most everyone has the 30A trailers and those connections get worn out first. This doesn't give us any more power to use since it is feeding our 30A Panel Breaker but being a cleaner connector might run a bit cooler.

Rewiring to get around this problems seems like alot of work. Just run a second extension cord into the trailer for the wifes high wattage hair dryer. Better yet have her blow dry her hair outside plugged directly into the pedestal 20A Service.

Roy Ken
myredracer
Explorer II
Jun 27, 2015
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If MW and AC on same circuit, that's the first thing to fix.

Get a low wattage hair dryer? The one in our TT is rated 1875 watts but hasn't been a problem yet.

If you have a 20 amp receptacle in the pedestal (there should be by code) in addition to the 30 amps, you could install a 20 amp power inlet on the side of the Hornet and run a load like the AC unit directly off the 20 amp breaker and free up the 30 amp panel.

You can buy an automatic load shedding device but aren't cheap. You could make your own up by using a CR Magnetics current sensing relay like in the photo, available on Amazon under $100. Wire the A/C circuit through the sensor and the hair dryer circuit to it so it can't run with AC unit on. Could also wire up to prevent an appliance in the kitchen from running. May not be too practical if AC is running a lot and voltage is low tho.

If low voltage is a problem, could get a Hughes or Franks autoformer to prevent AC unit causing the current to rise and trip the 20 amp (in panel) or either 30 amp breaker. Low voltage is a common issue in RV parks because the NEC doesn't take into account the quantity of AC units that actually run at one time. in hotter regions of the US. Also more of a problem in older parks. Do you have any idea what the voltage is looking like throughout the day?

A plug-in voltage monitor could help to see if the voltage is getting low which will cause AC current to go up. Low voltage will also reduce the output of appliances with resistive heating elements like toasters and coffee makers (by square of the voltage).