I have a 2011 Infinity 5th Wheel and the dealer tells me I have a bad GFI plug (master) they have ordered one, but it has been over a week and still not received. Why couldn't I use one from Home Depot? Is there something special about the RV GFI Circuit?

I replaced mine with one from Home Depot or Lowes. It Worked:?

They are just common household GFCI's - nothing special about them and certainly not RV specific. Your dealer should have gotten one at home depot for $12.

Ditto. I replaced mine with one from Lowes and it works fine.

Some are different in that they are a sealed self contained unit for RVs. If you pull the plug out of the wall and it is in an electrical box you are good to go for a Household replacement. If it isn't in an electrical box I would be very cautious about installing one that is not sealed w/o a box.

GFI Circuit Plug | Good Sam Community

4aSong
Explorer
May 28, 2015
None that I am aware of.
WE-C-USA
Explorer
May 28, 2015
I replaced mine with one from Home Depot or Lowes. It Worked:?
ScottG
Nomad
May 28, 2015
They are just common household GFCI's - nothing special about them and certainly not RV specific.
Your dealer should have gotten one at home depot for $12.
mabynack
Explorer II
May 28, 2015
Ditto. I replaced mine with one from Lowes and it works fine.
momentum_rv
Explorer
May 28, 2015
Some are different in that they are a sealed self contained unit for RVs. If you pull the plug out of the wall and it is in an electrical box you are good to go for a Household replacement. If it isn't in an electrical box I would be very cautious about installing one that is not sealed w/o a box.
Roger10378
Explorer II
May 28, 2015
X2
Hondavalk
Explorer II
May 28, 2015
X3
Executive45
Explorer III
May 28, 2015
There are several reasons why a dealer wouldn't want to use one from Home Depot...

1. It's cheaper and you wouldn't feel you're getting your money's worth.
2. It's readily available and you wouldn't have to wait a week or more for your rig.
3. Since it's such an easy fix you would want to do it yourself.

By puffing up the repair it makes it easier to charge you the big bucks without you making a fuss.

Tell the dealer, you'll live with it, pay him for his diagnostic time, (one hour tops) and replace it yourself. Easy fix, 15 minutes maybe. Just make sure the power is off at the receptacle before proceeding. Notice I called it a RECEPTACLE...a PLUG is what you "plug into" a receptacle....Dennis

GFCI Receptacle
ScottG
Nomad
May 28, 2015
momentum rv wrote:
Some are different in that they are a sealed self contained unit for RVs. If you pull the plug out of the wall and it is in an electrical box you are good to go for a Household replacement. If it isn't in an electrical box I would be very cautious about installing one that is not sealed w/o a box.

I've never seen one of that style in a GFCI. They've all been standard GFCI's.
Do you by chance have a link to one of these?
Dayle1
Explorer II
May 28, 2015
When I had one fail, I used a standard residential GFI. Actually, the replacement looked more substantial than the original RV unit. And when you are camped for weeks and 40 miles from the nearest RV dealer, waiting makes zero sense for a 15 min. task.