Forum Discussion

hoytman63's avatar
hoytman63
Explorer
Jan 26, 2015

electric problems?

the last two years on one of the hottest days had air on and it kicked out the breaker on the pole. tried turning off everything that ran on electric and still kicked the breaker right at pole right away. Buddy camping by me hooked to another pole, we switched, his ran great while mine blew the breaker again, so it was not the pole. Took off shroud cover and looks brand new which it should. I brought it to the dealer and they plugged it in a 110 outlet using a regular orange extension cord and ran it on high for 3 days and found nothing. Last year it did the same thing. does anyone know what it could be and why it's kicking off the 30 amp. breaker at pole and not the 15 amp. breaker in the camper?
  • aruba5er's avatar
    aruba5er
    Explorer
    Jan 26, 2015
    Apples and oranges. Buddys AC the same as his ? BTU's, Hi efficiency vs standard
    Lots of variables. Only a meter can confirm. Guessing is just that, a guess. Breaker, bad outlet, too much power being used creating low voltage.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Jan 26, 2015
    ^^ Yup, Op said it was clean.

    Next step is to get an amp draw reading. Need a clamp-on ammeter.
  • bukzin's avatar
    bukzin
    Explorer
    Jan 26, 2015
    smkettner wrote:
    Are you sure the electric side of the water heater was off?

    Any chance you checked the voltage? Still odd for the 30 amp pedestal to trip before the 20 amp branch circuit if was as you said.

    For best performance get the roof shroud off and see if the coils need cleaning.



    By 'roof shroud and coils' do you mean the plastic cover over the air conditioner

    and the cooling fins on it?
  • YC_1's avatar
    YC_1
    Nomad
    Jan 26, 2015
    I suspect the breaker is in the hot sun? If so, put something over the pedestal like a bucket or even a beach towel to get the hot sun off it. Breakers lose a percentage of their value due to the heat build up. They work on heat to begin with. I vented my breaker box inside my RV due to severe heat build up and breakers tripping in extremely hot weather. No more problems. I used to keep a vinyl peace to cover pedestals in hot areas.
  • rseymour21's avatar
    rseymour21
    Explorer
    Jan 26, 2015
    Another option is to use the 50amp pigtail to your 30A. Here in the summer can be pretty tough to keep the trailer cool.
  • jamway's avatar
    jamway
    Explorer
    Jan 26, 2015
    I don't know if you turned off the converter or not but it can draw some serious amp's on a 30 amp if the batteries are low or you have a bad battery.
  • Charlie_D_'s avatar
    Charlie_D_
    Explorer
    Jan 26, 2015
    OP said his buddy was running just fine on his pole. The OP switched to it and had the same problem. Also said the coils looked like brand new.
  • rockhillmanor's avatar
    rockhillmanor
    Explorer II
    Jan 26, 2015
    ScottG wrote:
    When everyone is using a lot of power in the CG, the parks voltage drops and that can cause the current to rise and trip the breaker.
    So it's now your RV's problem, it's the parks - especially if it's an older under wired park.
    You should monitor the incoming voltage and shut you AC off if it's too low as this will kill your AC and some other appliances.


    X2
    I sadly have been at several sporting event CG's and on a real hot day the CG can't take the load and their main breakers are tripping or they can't supply the power needed for everyone which in turn shuts yours off at the shore station.

    We have one CG that when it is really hot they 'insist' that the big coaches use only 'one' of their ac units or they are 'outta the park'!
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Jan 26, 2015
    Are you sure the electric side of the water heater was off?

    Any chance you checked the voltage? Still odd for the 30 amp pedestal to trip before the 20 amp branch circuit if was as you said.

    For best performance get the roof shroud off and see if the coils need cleaning.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Jan 26, 2015
    When everyone is using a lot of power in the CG, the parks voltage drops and that can cause the current to rise and trip the breaker.
    So it's now your RV's problem, it's the parks - especially if it's an older under wired park.
    You should monitor the incoming voltage and shut you AC off if it's too low as this will kill your AC and some other appliances.

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