I have had my rv's stored in this lot for 17 years with an electrical hookup. The last 10 have been a 40ft. Tiffin Pheaton. Ever since the Phaeton has been here we have had problems keeping the 120 volt 15 watt GFCI breaker from opening. I am not the only one in the lot that has the same issue. Usually, the only thing operating is my charger to maintain the battery banks although all my ac receptacles are available. I have a household fridge which I like to keep plugged in if we're planning a short time between trips but I am concerned it will be shut down. I have checked the power draw which is under 120 watts even with the fridge on. I keep the ice maker turned off to keep the ice heater from overdrawing power.If I don't keep a regular check I will find the breaker out. One of my neighbors has the same problem so he keeps a check for me also. We're not the only two on the lot with the problem. The owner is aware of the issue and also has problems with other units.I am looking for any idea as to what/if anything I can do.Yes, I meant "amp" not volt-amp.

A 30 watt $45 solar panel from Amazon and a $25 weatherproof controller from WindyNation will keep your batteries charged.

Tell the owner to get off his dead *** and call an electrician to fix the problem. The problem is with the storage facility not having a sufficient electrical supply to carry the load.

I would suggest connecting a ground wire from the chassis to the electrical ground at the supply plugin.

If you have a DMM capable of measuring AC voltage, you might use it to measure the voltage between the Neutral and Ground pins on an outlet.Ideally, you shouldn't measure any voltage between them.If you measure more than a few volts between them, the electrical hookup that feeds your RV doesn't have a proper bond between those two wires.In a residence, those two wires are usually bonded together at the main disconnect switch or breaker box.In a commercial building, the bonding location may be different - but it needs to be present.

lryrob9301 wrote:Tell the owner to get off his dead *** and call an electrician to fix the problem. The problem is with the storage facility not having a sufficient electrical supply to carry the load.Seems more like a GFCI issue rather than overload. Maybe the OP can confirm if each outlet is on a separate GFCI breaker.

Storage RV lot with GFIC breakers | Good Sam Community

BB_TX
Nomad
Mar 25, 2022
I am assuming you mean 120 vac 15 amp breaker, not 15 watt breaker. And that each RV has a separate circuit breaker.

If you truly have a GFCI circuit breaker (rather than GFCI outlet/receptacle) then it could be tripping on current overload (greater than 15 amps) or a ground fault, meaning you have a fault somewhere in your wiring or in one of your 120 vac appliances plugged in to your RV.

I would not expect a ground fault as that should trip as soon as you plug in, unless the fault is in something only powered up occasionally.

I would guess you are running very close to 15 amps draw on the breaker and over time it finally heats up enough to trip. Especially if the breakers are old. Bad wiring at the breaker can also cause extra heating of the breaker.
naturist
Nomad
Mar 25, 2022
All breakers, including GFCI, get a wee bit weaker every time it pops.
ktmrfs
Explorer II
Mar 25, 2022
is it a GFCI that causes the trip or an overcurrent?
If it is a GFCI on an outdoor breaker panel, outlet and cord I suspect that the cause of the trip is leakage somewhere downstream of the breaker. Moisture in the outlet, or moisture in the trailer outside outlet would be my first suspects.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Mar 25, 2022
A simple test is to plug into a 20A GFCI at home, RV park, etc and see if it trips.

Isolating the cause of a tripping GFCI can take time and your post suggests it's somewhat random. One test is to turn off all CBs in the RV including the main one. Wait then turn on the main CB, wait, then each CB waiting after each one. The "wait" can be a few minutes or perhaps days in your case. If the problem is an individual CB/circuit then the next step is to isolate that circuit problem.

Common problems are the GFCI, moisture from outside plug, plugs near water like a sink, appliances, defective wiring or screw in the wiring, etc. Are the plugs exposed to rain?

A GFCI is a safety device that detects an imbalance (known as a ground fault) of amps between the hot and neutral and that difference could be going through you, hence it trips.
theoldwizard1
Explorer II
Mar 25, 2022
GFCIs have nothing to do with grounds ! They work in a very different manner then a typical breaker. They measure the amount of current going into a load and compare it to the amount of current going out. If they are different, they trip.

Modern (past 10+ years ?) require incoming power in order to be reset.

Refrigerators and laundry equipment are notorious for tripping GFCIs.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Mar 25, 2022
First you have not one protection device but two.
First is a circuit breaker. this is what worries about the "Amps" if it's a 15 amp breaker a 20 amp load = the click of darkness (Tripped)

Then you have the GFCI. it does not care about amps. it carries about mA (Thousands of an ampere or amp/1000) if the difference between the current on the black and white wires is more than a few mA different.. you get the click of darkeness.

many RV's do not play well with GFCI.. I know how to cheat and make them play nice but... cheating is not without danger so.. Sorry. I will not tell.

But any current leakage to the GREEN wire (Safety ground) or any other path to ground (Such as your body) trips the GFCI.

Finally.. GFCI's are required by law for 15 amp outlets in areas where there is a moisture danger.. Kitchen, bath, outdoors, garage, and so on.
mikestock
Explorer
Mar 25, 2022
There are 12 boxes in this storage area with 4 receptacles each. As far as I know, almost everyone has had problems. If I knew how to cheat the breaker I would do it on a temporary basis when I need to run my fridge for a short period between trips. Guess I would need to go into the owner's box and jump it out but shouldn't be messing with that.
As I said, I have driven a 6' rod in the ground to see if that may help. It didn't. All I do now, under normal circumstances is switch off the 12 v battery switch and hook up a trickle charger to the batteries. This works OK but I think a solar charger may be best. I would do this today but it needs to be permanent and I dread trying to route permanent wiring down the old fridge vent to the batteries. I pay $10/month for power so I guess it would be worth it in the long run, however, I would not be able to leave the fridge running.
Beverley_Ken
Explorer
Mar 25, 2022
Is it the GFCI tripping or the actual circuit breaker that feeds the gfci outlets that is tripping?
Sometimes GFCI outlets don't play well together and will trip the first one one line (my experience several times).
Try turning off the circuit breaker in your MH panel that feeds your GFCI outlet(s) and see if that corrects the problem. No cost, just a little time, probably more time when you forget to turn it back on when using the MH.

Ken
prichardson
Explorer
Mar 25, 2022
Are the loads that you have operating on a GFCI circuit in the RV? Many times multiple GFCIs in series do not play well together, especially when motor bearing loads are involved.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Mar 25, 2022
mikestock wrote:
There are 12 boxes in this storage area with 4 receptacles each.
Not sure what you are saying - Are there 4 RVs on each GFCI or what?

More than 1 RV on a GFCI can be a problem. Each RV could be OK but the combined ground fault leakage could be greater than 5mA and hence trip. Best for 1 RV per GFCI.

My new storage area has 2 RVs per GFCI. It remains to be seen how this works out, the other RV has some charging issue and currently has a large external charger.

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