grounding

[costa33]

hello
do i have to ground trailer with a spike in the ground ??

[ol_Bombero-JC]

For boondocking and lightning "protection"..

Your RV is *not* a Faraday Cage - unless it has a metal skin,
which is pretty doubtful these days (maybe an Airstream TT?).

So you have a choice of staying in the RV - or sitting it out
in your tow vehicle (or toad) which *is* a Faraday Cage.

Lots and lots of excellent lightning discussions and links.
But that's another thread for another time - or use search for "lightning".

~

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Bipeflier wrote:
If lightning is your concern, think about this:

Rubber tires or wood/plastic blocks seperating the camper from earth is worthless. Lightning is millions of volts and traveles lots of miles to get to ground (cloud to ground lightning). 5" or 6" of insulation sure isn't going to stop it!

Excellent (off-topic) reply, in re: lightning protection.

Back on-topic, a proper ground needs to be driven into the ground at least eight (8) feet.
If your name is John Henry - and you're not parked on a concrete pad, there might be a remote possibility of success..;)

(Earth) grounding comes up from time to time.

This thread provides entertainment and good info - especially the post by "batman99" on page three..:C

"RVs and ground rods"


~

[dieseltruckdriv]

Bipeflier wrote:
If lightning is your concern, think about this:

Rubber tires or wood/plastic blocks seperating the camper from earth is worthless. Lightning is millions of volts and traveles lots of miles to get to ground (cloud to ground lightning). 5" or 6" of insulation sure isn't going to stop it!

+1!!!!!

Someone else gets it!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bipeflier]

If lightning is your concern, think about this:

Rubber tires or wood/plastic blocks seperating the camper from earth is worthless. Lightning is millions of volts and traveles lots of miles to get to ground (cloud to ground lightning). 5" or 6" of insulation sure isn't going to stop it!

[kellertx5er]

There is NO guaranteed protection from a direct lightning strike. This applies to structures, vehicles, people, pets ...
Even manufacturers of surge protective devices admit this.

[butchfuzion]

My uncle unhooked his FW at his house and left the truck sitting close with the power cable dropped down into the bed of the truck (just laying there not plugged in). Lighting hit it, fryed everything in the trailer and the truck.

[hbensley]

gkainz wrote:
mine just needs a stern warning ...

"You're grounded!"

and stays there until I hitch it up again. 🙂

This is funny. Reminds me of my childhood.
We lived across the street from an elementary school. It was torture to see the kids play ball and we couldn't go join them.

[costa33]

thanks everybody

[AUWing]

allen8106 wrote:

trailerbikecamper wrote:

diazr2 wrote:
You can see how the trailer is grounded to earth ground using the typical camp ground pedestal wiring in this diagram. The earth ground wiring is shown in GREEN. All you need to do to ground the chassis of the RV Trailer is connect your 50A or 30A shore power cable to the camp ground pedestal.


So with that said what if your not hooked up to electricity? Say your dry camping?

The short answer is yes.

The technical answer is maybe. The maybe comes from a variety of reasons. Do you have wood blocking under your landing gear? If yes, then most likely not grounded. Dry wood is an insulator, wet wood can conduct electricity. What type of ground are you on? Dry sandy soil= not grounded; moist clay type of soil= grounded

This is all done through your landing gear. It also depends on your landing gear, how is it mounted to your unit? Bolts threaded into the frame mean a better ground connection,than nuts and bolts through a painted frame member.

Not true, the rig gets it's ground from the connector plug, not the wheels or the landing gear.

Except the OP clarified his question to ask about dry camping (boondocking). The 12v system would be grounded to frame same as your car.

You are free to move about

[allen8106]

trailerbikecamper wrote:

diazr2 wrote:
You can see how the trailer is grounded to earth ground using the typical camp ground pedestal wiring in this diagram. The earth ground wiring is shown in GREEN. All you need to do to ground the chassis of the RV Trailer is connect your 50A or 30A shore power cable to the camp ground pedestal.


So with that said what if your not hooked up to electricity? Say your dry camping?

The short answer is yes.

The technical answer is maybe. The maybe comes from a variety of reasons. Do you have wood blocking under your landing gear? If yes, then most likely not grounded. Dry wood is an insulator, wet wood can conduct electricity. What type of ground are you on? Dry sandy soil= not grounded; moist clay type of soil= grounded

This is all done through your landing gear. It also depends on your landing gear, how is it mounted to your unit? Bolts threaded into the frame mean a better ground connection,than nuts and bolts through a painted frame member.

Not true, the rig gets it's ground from the connector plug, not the wheels or the landing gear.

[allen8106]

The key is to make sure the ground is in tact. In many cases if you hook you to a simple 120 volt at home and the ground pin is broken off your extension cord you will get shocked when you touch metal while touching the ground. I know this from experience. Make sure the ground on the cord is in tact whether at home or at the camp site.

[jesse_m_jm]

WARNING - NON-SCIENTIFIC ANSWER FOLLOWS:

I have never seen anyone ground their rig via a wire/spike. Not in my campground, not where I boondock, and not at any primitive campground I have been to. My Owners manual does not mention grounding either.

[larry_cad]

BB_TX wrote:
The green wire ground is a safety ground to prevent possible electrical shock when connected to electrical power. If you are dry camping with no power then you do not need any grounding.
If you are using a generator, then the grounding is via the cord to the generator just as it would be to a power pedastal.

This statement is true ONLY if the neutral and ground connections on the generator are connected together at the generator. Not all generators are thus connected. If a specific generator does not have the neutral and ground connected together, then the RV connected to the generator is not properly grounded.

[gkainz]

mine just needs a stern warning ...

"You're grounded!"

and stays there until I hitch it up again. 🙂