I hope I am posting this in the right area. We have had electrical problems at 3 different local (within 2 hours) campgrounds. One of them still has a lot of old 15 amp boxes connected to circuit breaker panels that were there when I was a kid 35 years ago. Another has low voltage issues when it's hot and all the AC's are running. Last weekend, I had a 30 amp box and breaker but the breaker tripped any time i put any kind of load on it. My new AC unit draws 16 amps max at full load. I can run it on a 15 amp line at home if thats the only thing running. My question is, am i wrong for expecting a properly functioning electrical hookup at these places? The low voltage is a known problem at the one place. I figured it out when my A/C tried to come on and only growled. I was getting a voltage reading around 102 or so at the post. I had just installed a new AC unit so I thought maybe my new AC wasn't functioning right and that is what was tripping the breaker all weakend. What do the people in the newer rigs do that have 50 amp connections? If I would have complained, do you think they might have been able to fix my breaker? Moving to another site wasn't an option. They were all sold out for the holiday weekend.THANKS!!!

Since you are running your 30AMP Shore Power Cable connected to your garage 15AMP Receptacle using an RV30A-15A adapter you might want to take a look at your 30AMP Male SHORE POWER Plug and make sure it hasn't took on any burn marks due to a poor 15AMP connection at homeThis IS NOT what you want to see...We have one of these RV120VAC VOLTMETERs plugged into a receptacple inside the trailer we can see easy. This has the SAFE ZONE marked in GREEN and if the AC VOLTAGE is not within the safe zone we definitely don't turn on our air conditioner or high wattage microwave. Low voltage can do damage to these unit drawing alot of AC current.

"What do the people in the newer rigs do that have 50 amp connections?"We stay at newer RV Resorts.....just kiddingI've never run into a problem at any of the RV Parks we have stayed at.However I do remember being in my Dad's MH with dim lights due to low voltage on the campground power line.We have four batteries and an inverter to run off of so I would probably unplug from the campground power and run off of batteries or generator (if A/C is needed) until late at night and then plug back in to recharge the batteries.

Yes we have run into problems with the electrical hookups/low voltage etc.I'm paying for a full hook up site (usually 50A) and the electrical should function properly....if it doesn't I let staff knowOne receptacle was broken/exposed/loose.......told office staff. Maintenance guy came and changed it out.Another was wired wrong......maint. guy fixedLow voltage.....don't have an 'autoformer' (portable transformer to boost low voltage...Franks' is one brand) but I do have a generator so when the AC Voltage drops below 108V (I don't run motors below that voltage) I fire generator up and use it. And if any complaints I ignore. Call the power company/CG staff and complain to them..I'm not burning up my equipment due to low voltage!!

My plug is good. I replaced it a couple years ago and clean it at the start of every season. What I seem to find around us is that it's very expensive to upgrade old electrical systems so they just don't and all the campers suffer. In one of the places, all the breakers pop on these old service panels when its hot out. The maintenance guys get run ragged resetting them. When we stay in Myrtle Beach, we never have any issues and everyones A/C's run constantly. I will pick up the plug in voltmeter at the shack next time I am in there. I keep a multi meter in the camper but that plug in one is a great visual check.There should be a minimum standard that these older campgrounds have to meet. The one place told me they know that have a low voltage issue however they didn't warn me when we checked in. Luckily i knew enough to check it and shut down everything but the lights.

Since you know about this problem, apparently, but continue to stay there I don't know why they would fix it. Only when people complain and/or stop paying to camp there would they likely make a change.

Electrical connections | Good Sam Community

M_GO_BLUE1
Explorer
Jul 03, 2014
A voltmeter is only good if you watch it on a 24/7 basis...even then if you see low voltage you think you can get ouside fast enough and unplug before the low volate starts affecting you electical appliances?
fuzzbutt
Explorer
Jul 03, 2014
Ron8877 wrote:
Also campgrounds usually don't put a load on the power post so they don't know if the circuit breaker is bad unless you tell them. Our posts all have 20, 30 and 50 amp receptacles. If there is a problem with a 30 amp one we have an adapter to plug into the 50 amp one.
Ron

ROn, we were just camping at MBTP in Myrtle Beach and I was chatting with a maintenance guy. He said they check their breakers during the winter and replace a bunch every year. He gave me a little tip. He said, whenever there is a 50 amp plug, I should use my dogbone adapter and plus into the 50 amp plug, even when there is a 30 amp one available. he said i will still only get 30 amps to my camper but that the breaker will be less likely to trip since its a 50 amp one. My breakers inside the motorhome will protect my internal wiring.
Sounded pretty legit to me.
Ron8877
Explorer
Jun 15, 2014
Also campgrounds usually don't put a load on the power post so they don't know if the circuit breaker is bad unless you tell them. Our posts all have 20, 30 and 50 amp receptacles. If there is a problem with a 30 amp one we have an adapter to plug into the 50 amp one.
Ron
fuzzbutt
Explorer
Jun 12, 2014
Able Dog, I e-mailed them and they replied back that they had changed the breaker the week after i was there. They wanted to know if I reported it and I said no because I thought it might be a problem on my end. I'm guessing most campgrounds have someone on staff that is capable of those types of things. I was glad to hear that they took care of it.
Able_Dog
Explorer
May 31, 2014
fuzzbutt wrote:
beemerphile1 wrote:
fuzzbutt wrote:

I am also going to email the manager of the place I stayed at last weekend.

An email will just get deleted, may I suggest you approach him/her in person?
magnusfide
Explorer II
May 31, 2014
You can also do a review at Tripadvisor.com to reach an even wider audience. Campgrounds are reviewed under "Accommodations".
Allworth
Explorer II
May 31, 2014
Go to RVParkReviews.Com and post a review including information on the electrical problems. Do it each time you encounter the problem. People vote with their Dollars and a lot of them look at RVPR before deciding where to spend them. (Park owners look at the reviews, too, and will see the mention of the issues. Bad press is not their friend.)

If you get one of the little plug-in voltage display meters, check it as soon as you get it home with a multimeter plugged into the same outlet. Mine was reading 9 Volts high from the factory. Not exactly a precision instrument, but good for the intended purpose once it is adjusted.
mosseater
Explorer II
May 31, 2014
I've seen power posts with terrible recpticles, worn beyond usable life. I've also had low volatge issues in certain parks, where my Surgeguard kicks out for unknown reason when running the AC. That's why I use the Surgeguard. I don't want to be checking voltages all the time. Plug it in and go about your camping. I'll let you know if something happens.
time2roll
Nomad
May 30, 2014
To boost voltage consider a Power Master Booster.
Best to have 30a power to run the air conditioner.
beemerphile1
Explorer
May 30, 2014
Here is the Pennsylvania Good Sam page;
http://pagoodsam.com/

I see there is a Samboree (rally) coming in July at Centre Hall, PA and in September at Lebanon, PA.

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