No power on one leg.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Pretty much everything I wrote is indeed correct.

A load that has the ability of consuming FIFTY amperes should not be connected to a device that is rated for thirty amperes. I have repaired TOO MANY of these gizmos.

A single and I mean ONE instance of hot and neutral reverse leaves one leg of the 240-volt connection UNFUSED. How many times have I read this happening on this forum......hmm...?

The year of the rig the lack of experience by the new owner (explain power "management" for a start) and telling someone "Oh OK plugger-in and rip" is bad juju.

If someone HERE on this forum wants to take the time and write an article about how to educate the OP as to the significance of the mis-connection then I'll stop sharpening my incisors..

And FORGET the 240 bit. Those 50 amp connections are TREATED LIKE a pair of FIFTY AMP 120 volt con onnections that are out of phase with each other.

Instead of saying "Just Do It" I have elaborated a little.

BEFORE recommending connection of a mismatch please oh please go through the motions of trying to educate an inexperienced OP with the significance and ramifications of the possible consequences of what YOU are recommending.

FIRES originate at one point and I have news for you. They can spread. Camping means the possibility of pine needles at the power post. PVC wire insulation supports fire. Let's keep in mind the possibility of the hot neutral reversal and the SURETY of overload by a newbie.

Now. How "wrong" am I?

You're correct but for the opposite situation of what's being discussed, I think.

The original question, as I understand it, was plugging in a 50A RV to a 30A outlet (via an adapter). There is no swapped connection on the 30A plug that will result in 240V, since it's a 120V circuit; you would have 120VAC between the neutral and safety ground, the same as in any neutral/hot switch, but no overvoltage. (An open neutral back at the distribution panel could cause overvoltage, but that's true in any setup.)

The 50A load won't work because the circuit breaker pops. No wiring gets overloaded. If the 30A outlet has an overrated circuit breaker, that's a very real problem and a safety issue, but unrelated to adapter usage.

If the original question was about plugging a 30A RV into a 50A outlet, your concerns are very much relevant, and I also share them. I don't like the adapters that connect 30A RVs to 50A circuits, or 15A loads to 30A circuits, and that don't have proper overcurrent protection. I don't like fires in RVs or houses, and I don't want to have unsafe electrical systems in either one.