travel trailer electric power
not real confident about electric power for my travel trailer, however I am confused as to why my breaker goes off when I have a coffee maker and toaster plugged in and in use. How can I improve this...
Forum Discussion
As others point out, you just can't run everything in the trailer at the same time, and some of the bigger loads are not obvious like the water heater. We have to shut off the A/C to cook breakfast. Our stand-alone fault detector at the pedestal has a digital amp meter, and it is fascinating to watch that thing as things are turned on and off.
However, a public utility electrician showed me a trick a few years ago that I have added to my trailer to help the situation. He used an extension cord from the 15 amp pedestal thru the seal of his slide to run single larger loads.
I took this a step further and found a way to establish a permanent connection on the outside, with permanent wiring to two outlets, one in the bathroom and one near the dinette. These two outlets only work on this supplemental power from the pedestal, but sufficient to run a hairdryer or the coffee pot without having to turn off the A/C.
I've tried running the hot water heater on gas, but that thing is scary - Sounds like a blast furnace when you stand next to it. no way could I sleep with that thing energized. Sometimes we just have to wait for the water to heat up when we need it.
However, a public utility electrician showed me a trick a few years ago that I have added to my trailer to help the situation. He used an extension cord from the 15 amp pedestal thru the seal of his slide to run single larger loads.
I took this a step further and found a way to establish a permanent connection on the outside, with permanent wiring to two outlets, one in the bathroom and one near the dinette. These two outlets only work on this supplemental power from the pedestal, but sufficient to run a hairdryer or the coffee pot without having to turn off the A/C.
I've tried running the hot water heater on gas, but that thing is scary - Sounds like a blast furnace when you stand next to it. no way could I sleep with that thing energized. Sometimes we just have to wait for the water to heat up when we need it.
