Electrical connections

[fuzzbutt]

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!!!

[M_GO_BLUE1]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

You can also do a review at Tripadvisor.com to reach an even wider audience. Campgrounds are reviewed under "Accommodations".

[Allworth]

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]

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]

To boost voltage consider a Power Master Booster.
Best to have 30a power to run the air conditioner.

[beemerphile1]

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.

[fuzzbutt]

beemerphile1 wrote:

fuzzbutt wrote:

...Do they still have Good Sam parks? If so, would they have minimal standards? Years ago there were Good Sam members and also parks.

Yes, there are still Good Sam parks. You are even posting on a forum owned by Good Sam.

Good Sam is a thriving enterprise and growing rapidly. They review parks, they have state groups and local chapters. They also own Camping World in case you didn't know.

Thanks. lad to hear they are doing well.I will look over the weekend to see what info they have on their website and see if there is anything in western pa. I am also going to email the manager of the place I stayed at last weekend. I spoke to a friend thats an electrician and he said I would have have been drawing no more than 20 amps at max load and should not have been tripping a 30 amp breaker. Since I had just installed a new A/C i thought maybe it was a problem in my wiring, but thats not the case. The new A/C functions fine. Maybe the CG will fix the breaker for the next customer.

[beemerphile1]

fuzzbutt wrote:

...Do they still have Good Sam parks? If so, would they have minimal standards? Years ago there were Good Sam members and also parks.

Yes, there are still Good Sam parks. You are even posting on a forum owned by Good Sam.

Good Sam is a thriving enterprise and growing rapidly. They review parks, they have state groups and local chapters. They also own Camping World in case you didn't know.

[fuzzbutt]

You guys all hit the nail on the head. Around here, they are all seasonal campgrounds, workers, etc. They are also about 90% permanant sites now and they cater to them. Us weekend warriors are an annoyance to them.

One of the campgrounds was a Morgan RV property. I have been told that their southern properties are very nice and that the northern ones get neglected.

Personally, I would gladly pay more for a fully functional campsite. When I was a kid we were in a trailer club and we would camp together as a group of 20 rigs or so with no problems. With so many permanant sites now, its hard to get 2 sites together.

2 of the 3 problem places know that they have issues and yet they are filled so there is no real reason for them to address the issue. Only when it starts costing them business or they have to start paying for peoples appliances will things get addressed.

Do they still have Good Sam parks? If so, would they have minimal standards? Years ago there were Good Sam members and also parks.

[Jim_Shoe]

My RV runs on 30A, but I carry a 30A-20A dogbone and a 30A-50A dogbone with me. If I have to use one or the other, it gets me through the night. Sometimes the 30A receptacle is just worn. The next morning, the CG owner/operator gets a chance to fix it or I'm gone. They may not know that there's a problem so they get the one chance. Its only happened twice in over 10 years, and both times I was moved to a different site.
But if you're in a local county/state CG, you may be dealing with folks hired for the season, so its just a job and doesn't pay enough for them to care. Finding somebody that does care may be a long distance call.