Is there anything special about RV electrical outlets?

Standard RV outlets are, Well, not my favorite outlet.

Your suggestion of a standard duplex, in a box, is like several times better than what is usually installed in RV's.. And exactly how I did it.

wayfun wrote:
Thanks for the responses. I decided to leave the original outlet in place for now and I spliced into the romex in the storage compartment. At the splice I made the connection with a duplex outlet inside a metal box with appropriate strain relief for the wiring. In the future I may replace the original outlet in the bedroom with a charging outlet. To do so I'll need a shallow "old work" box and Lowe's didn't have one yesterday.

Dennis

If your thought is to install a charging outlet where a receptacle used to be, the Sigma charging center fits the opening where a standard 120V recept. was and leaves no screw holes showing. These are slightly wider and longer than a recept/ cover plate. No need for a re-work box as they screw into the luan plywood.

Home Depot and Lowes have plastic outlet boxes like this designed to be retrofitted into existing walls (the wall plate will cover the mounting screws). If not in stock you can order it online and have it shipped to the store for pickup.

Thanks for the responses. I decided to leave the original outlet in place for now and I spliced into the romex in the storage compartment. At the splice I made the connection with a duplex outlet inside a metal box with appropriate strain relief for the wiring. In the future I may replace the original outlet in the bedroom with a charging outlet. To do so I'll need a shallow "old work" box and Lowe's didn't have one yesterday.

Dennis

RV receptacles, which are the same as used in mobile homes, are not required to be mounted inside any kind of a box. They are called "self contained" devices, or SCD for short. I've seen Slater, Pass & Seymour and Wirecon (Hubbell) SCDs and I'm sure there's others. They have a plastic cover which covers the terminations on the back and there are no exposed 120 volt parts. Can be installed anywhere in an RV as long as there is adequate depth. They can accomodate three romex cables. They are CSA/UL approved, permitted under the NEC and are not inferior or even "junk" as claimed by some out there. There is no reason whatsoever to replace existing SCDs with a residential device and box or to install a residential device & box instead of an SCD. One nice thing about them is that they are quite shallow compared to a residential outlet box and are good for new construction or retrofit. SCD devices are readily available at RV parts vendors and dealers and on ebay.

There is a special tool for punching down the wires (unstripped) onto the metal slots on the rear but you can use a flat blade screwdriver if you are very careful and do it slowly. The technical term is insulation displacement termination.

If you can't do a splice in a run of romex within an SCD, it would need to be in an outlet/junction box complete with cover and must be in an accessible location.

Info. brochure from Wirecon (section A1): Wirecon SCDs

Pass & Seymour SCD receptacle:



For 12 volt charging, you could use something like this Sigma charging center:

beemerphile1 wrote:
Some incorrect answers have been posted.

RV receptacles are identical to mobile home receptacles. Neither require being installed inside an electrical box.

A typical residential/commercial receptacle MUST be installed inside an electrical box. If you replace an RV receptacle with a residential receptacle, you MUST install within an electrical box.

Also by code, any 120vac junctions MUST be in an electrical junction box. If you tap into the 120vac line, it MUST be in a box.

Where did you read that anyone said to install without a box?

Some incorrect answers have been posted.

RV receptacles are identical to mobile home receptacles. Neither require being installed inside an electrical box.

A typical residential/commercial receptacle MUST be installed inside an electrical box. If you replace an RV receptacle with a residential receptacle, you MUST install within an electrical box.

Also by code, any 120vac junctions MUST be in an electrical junction box. If you tap into the 120vac line, it MUST be in a box.

I know a lot of people don't like the blade style of connections and neither did I. But the reality is that they are very sound, carry the load without any problem and are UL & CSA approved. It's also the way the commercial world is wired and has been for many years.

The ones that came with my TT is more than ten years old and have powered a space heater and water heater all that time. They still work perfectly.

Yes, the RV outlets are just quick and dirty for assembly purposes. I replace them with real outlets installed in a box wherever I can. In my opinion the IDC connections are somewhat dangerous.

I wasn't as lucky - I had to install a junction box where I had some slack in the romex. Then I did my splicing with wire nuts etx and ran romex to the new receptacle.

I would not do any 120VAC splicing without doing it inside an approved junction box...

Roy Ken