Now, to complicate matters more, if you check your electrical code books you might find a requirement for power sources to have the neutral and ground wires bonded. I discovered this the "Hard" way one day when I got zapped with about 60VAC coming from the 12VDC -ve connection of my old Xantrex 1KW MSW unit. A check of its manual reveal that the neutral and ground were bonded as the unit was intended to be permanently installed (which it was). This is also why transfer switches control BOTH the hot and neutral lines. So bonding is usually as follows (WRT R/V's):
1) Shorepower: no bonding as that should be done at the primary panel (and ONLY there) whereever you plug in.
2) Mounted inverter or generator: bonded inside the unit, as they are considered power sources.
3) Portable inverter or generator: not usually bonded, not required to be either. Also, if you look at how most of these units are set up you don't actually have a hot and neutral wire; those lines each carry about 1/2 of the voltage. This is where GCFI outlets come in handy.
The best way to tell if a generator or inverter has its neutral and ground bonded is to do a continuity check between those pins.
Also, this is code for Canada (specifically British Columbia), but it might also apply to the US as well; READ OR YOU CODE BOOKS OR LOOK IT UP OR ASK!!!!!
Cheers!
Mike
