So the plug that came with camper I noticed a few trips ago was burnt , black , and melted. It happened on the right prong it seemed . So we bought a new chord. It was just around 100 bucks . That's alot of money for us. We camped once and no problems. Now our second time out , upon packing up I noticed the right prong on our brand new chord turned black and a little melting. Is their anything I can try before I bring it in to get serviced

I'm far from an expert but it strikes me you are pulling too much power. I'd have someone in the know take a look at your power draw and try to work out what is pulling so much because it probably is malfunctioning or is something you can't realistically use in conjunction with other devices.

The most common cause is a bad connection at the plug. Where are you plugging it in? Do you plug in at home, or only at campgrounds?The receptacles can wear out, and become a loose fit, which leads to heat and or arcing... The evidence is what you are seeing on your plug.... Also, adaptors are notorious for causing these problems. A lot of people skimp on the adaptor... Big mistake.

Check and make sure the receptacle at the campsite pedestal is in good condition. If it is loose it will cause arching and heat up and burn and melt your cord end.

The receptacle was worn and damaged your new cord/plug. There isn't much you can do about this but here are a few thoughts:If you have a 30A RV and can plug into 50A, use a "dog bone" adapter and do so. The 30A receptacles in many parks are worn out while the 50A receptacles are generally tighter and over built for only a 30A rig. If you have a 50A RV there's not a lot you can do. When either a 30A or 50A plug (male side) is damaged, just replace the end, not the whole cord. Much cheaper and you may actually get a better connection than off-shore factories employ on the plug that came with your new cord.Camco replacement plugs have very good internal connections and are relatively cheap.

Huntindog wrote:The most common cause is a bad connection at the plug. Where are you plugging it in? Do you plug in at home, or only at campgrounds?The receptacles can wear out, and become a loose fit, which leads to heat and or arcing... The evidence is what you are seeing on your plug.... Also, adaptors are notorious for causing these problems. A lot of people skimp on the adaptor... Big mistake.I plug in at both. Only at home firb2!days before we leave for the fridge to get going . I USe an adapter so I can plug into wall. The problem is definitely at the campground. There's no adapter I should be using when plugging into campground correct ?

Electric advice needed | Good Sam Community

bob213
Explorer
Aug 06, 2018
Keep your plug ends clean and bright with emory cloth or similar and coat with a conductive grease like "no-ox-id" may help. Just for the record..di-electric grease is non conductive and won't do what you need.
I like DeoxITLiquid the best. It's a cleaner and lube.
time2roll
Nomad
Aug 06, 2018
Typical of a cheep end crimped on. Get a premium 30 amp plug replacement.

http://www.progressiveindustries.net/tt-30p
valhalla360
Navigator
Aug 06, 2018
A few questions:
- What are you running? If you are running the air/con along with electric hot water heater (or similar high draw devices), you are probably overloading the plug.
- Was it at the same campground or more importantly the same site?
- At home what are you running? If it's just the fridge, it's highly unlikely to be the issue as that is a draw of at most 2 amps...well below what a 15/20amp outlet can provide.

There is the off chance that you just got two faulty cords but I'm betting you are running too much power as the most likely. As others have mentioned, far cheaper to replace the end rather than the whole cord.
Lynnmor
Explorer
Aug 06, 2018
valhalla360 wrote:
A few questions:
- What are you running? If you are running the air/con along with electric hot water heater (or similar high draw devices), you are probably overloading the plug.

With a 30 amp breaker protecting the outlet and a 30 amp breaker in the trailer, it would be impossible to overload the plug.

There was a high resistance connection that caused the heat, plain and simple.
Lemonhead78
Explorer
Aug 06, 2018
Lynnmor wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
A few questions:
- What are you running? If you are running the air/con along with electric hot water heater (or similar high draw devices), you are probably overloading the plug.

With a 30 amp breaker protecting the outlet and a 30 amp breaker in the trailer, it would be impossible to overload the plug.

There was a high resistance connection that caused the heat, plain and simple.

What does this mean exactly. I'm very simple lol
Lemonhead78
Explorer
Aug 06, 2018
So.... if you guys were to take a guess. Is it my trailer causing this to happen ? I thought the breaker would just trip if too much draw. I do run everything on electric. Fridge , hot water , and air conditioner. I thought it's meant to be able to handle all that. In your guys opinion is it the camper or campground receptor.?
valhalla360
Navigator
Aug 06, 2018
Lynnmor wrote:

With a 30 amp breaker protecting the outlet and a 30 amp breaker in the trailer, it would be impossible to overload the plug.

There was a high resistance connection that caused the heat, plain and simple.

Funny thing is a 30 amp plug is only rated for 24 amp continuous load.

The breaker is also limited but it's variable exactly when it will pop if you are hovering right around the limit. An old weak breaker might pop at 27amps. A new breaker might do 32amps for a couple of minutes before popping (I would have to look up the specs but they do allow for a range).

Higher resistance does play into it but at 2amps just running the fridge, the resistance isn't going to create much heat or do any damage. At 28amps, the breaker might not pop but that same resistance, you get a lot more heat.

Keep in mind, you will also get variability depending on the ambient temperature as that will affect the amperage before it trips (colder will generally allow more amperage)
Lynnmor
Explorer
Aug 06, 2018
Lemonhead78 wrote:
Lynnmor wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
A few questions:
- What are you running? If you are running the air/con along with electric hot water heater (or similar high draw devices), you are probably overloading the plug.

With a 30 amp breaker protecting the outlet and a 30 amp breaker in the trailer, it would be impossible to overload the plug.

There was a high resistance connection that caused the heat, plain and simple.

What does this mean exactly. I'm very simple lol

The plug or the outlet is dirty, worn or defective and will get hot because it cannot pass the required current. The fix is a new plug or a new outlet or both. With folks plugging in and pulling plugs without first turning off the breaker, most outlets have some damage.
Lemonhead78
Explorer
Aug 06, 2018
Would the electric protector have prevented this from happening? I don't have one
Lynnmor
Explorer
Aug 06, 2018
Lemonhead78 wrote:
Would the electric protector have prevented this from happening? I don't have one

No, only the expensive kind that will disconnect when voltage drops bellow its minimum might help a bit. By that time it will be too late and the "electric protector" plug will have sustained damage, but the damage might be not as great.

I intend to make up a sacrificial 30 to 30 dog bone and let it take the damage from the bad outlets.

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