Using Dryer's NEMA 14-30 outlet for RV shore power

audiodane wrote:
Hey folks,

I've been reading lots of posts about using dryer hookups for RV shore power at home and lots of them are outdated (using the older NEMA 10-30 outlets). This question is about the newer NEMA 14-30 hookups.

For reference..

OLD style:
Link: Wikipedia NEMA 10 Style
Example:


NEW style:
Link: Wikipedia NEMA 14 Style
Example:


My house (build circa 2007) has the newer style NEMA 14-30 connector. When I put a multi-meter on it, it measures like this:



That seems to me equivalent to the necessary 50A hookup on an RV (albeit with only 30A's "actual"):



It also seems to me that I could use a 2-phase (DPDT) 30A switch to switch between my dryer outlet (inside) and a RV outlet (garage), using a switch such as the Leviton 1288 to switch power between the dryer and the garage outlets.

Leviton 1288:


However, I read over and over about people frying their RV trying to hook up shore power various ways from their house. SO I wanted to try and clarify what I think would work and get feedback.

It seems to me that I can use my dryer dual-30A hookup to power a 50A RV hookup with the stipulation that it will be limited to 30A per leg at the breaker box.

To be clear, our goals would be:

• Park the RV in front of the house before/after trip for loading/unloading
  
• Have Lights, A/C, and fridge running while loading/unloading
  
• *NOT* planning on daily living use (microwave, etc)
  

It would seem to me that this circuit would be able to do the job.

My plan currently is:

• Turn off dryer circuit breaker (safety first!)
  
• Disconnect existing circuit from dryer outlet
  
• Connect circuit from breaker to a DPDT switch such as the Leviton 1288 (linked above)
  
• Connect one set of switch outputs to Dryer outlet
  
• Connect second set of switch outputs to Garage RV outlet
  

Lastly, I want to again point out that this scenario would only supply 30A to each 120V leg even though we would be using a 14-50 style 50A RV hookup plug. This limitation comes from the breaker box itself. I cannot replace the breaker with a 50A because it would involve pulling new 50A wiring, and might violate dryer safety.

So, ..... thoughts?

cheers,
..dane