grounding

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".

~

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"


~

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!!!!!!!!!!!

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!

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.

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.

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.

thanks everybody

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

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.