Electrical

[Sundee64]

Hi, I moved into a permanent site about two years ago. The site had a very old trailer on it as in a 1979 and I was told my site has 45amps. I took the old trailer out in Oct and put in a much larger one. My trailer is 50 amp, when I plugged the 50 amp into a 30 amp connector, and then tried to plug into the park..it only had a 15 amp plug in. I told the office, nothing was done for quite a while, eventually I could smell burning and I told the office. Shortly after, a handy man of the park put in a 30 amp and that very day, all my wiring burnt. How coincidental is that? The wonderful RV repair man fixed it, but he claims, the problem was from the park as there were three receptacles (I think that is what they are called) running power and there is only suppose to be one. There was also something to do with a hot wire. I went to the Park Manager to ask to be reimubursed and he said, I need proof it is the park;s fault. I gave him the report from the RV man who fixed it and was still denied being reimbursed. I have spoken to the man who I purchased the trailer from. He said there was only ever 15 amps in this site. Said, he lived here for over 15 years and no one has ever checked or maintained the electrical. My Microwave also caught on fire. Shouldnt a park have to check and maintain their electric every now and then? Shouldnt a park check the electrical when a new trailer is brought in? If I have been paying for a 45 amp spot and only getting 15 the fisrt year and plugging in a 30 amp to a 15, which the park was aware of...shouldnt the park be responsible for footing the bill? They supply the electricity, they make you pay for it, they make you pay more the higher the ampage, so shouldnt it be up to the park to maintain their own electrical outlets? Any advise would be welcome as I have written to the Better Business Bureau. Thank you.

[westernrvparkow]

Since this is an electrical thread, it is going to fill with all sorts of bad information. I am reasonably sure that two years ago when the park first told them about their electrical connections they told the OP there was a 30 amp plug and a 15 amp plug. Someone without any knowledge of electrical systems then decided you add those together and get yourself a 45 amp service, which, as has been pointed out doesn't really exist in the real world.
As for the damage to the rig, it could be most anything. With really old RV pedestals, they generally were not wired with both legs of a 240 volt circuit entering the box. So it would most likely be improbable, if not impossible for the handyman to have wired it for 240 volts. If it was improperly wired, it will be real easy for an electrician to find it out with a simple multimeter.
What I kind of think happened was the OP got an older RV and this was the first time he had plugged it in. Most likely the wires inside the rig had either worked their way loose, the connections corroded, or vermin had chewed some wires. This would cause the burning of the wires, as opposed to appliances being damaged as would happen if the pedestal's 30 amp plug was accidentally wired to 240 volts.

[enblethen]

It is possible to have a 45 amp breaker feeding the circuit. Yes, it is a standard size breaker(NEC art 240-6). Is it common? no

[rockportrocket]

New member. Where has the OP been for the last year that they owned the rv. Certainly not here where you learn about rving.

[NanciL]

rockportrocket wrote:
I am going to play the other side of this . You state you bought or moved into a site with an older rv on it. Do you have any clue as to rving? Did you use an amp meter to check BEFORE you even tried plugging in? Do you KNOW what it takes to operate your own personal rv?

Why is it always someone else's fault that YOU did not know or do before you did it?

I agree with you.

Also, there is no such thing as a 45Amp circuit.

Jack L

[D___M]

The only proof you can get is having a competent electrician check the campground wiring. I may be wrong, but I have never heard of a 45 amp circuit.

You may wish to look at this website (clicky). It explains RV electric circuitry.

Stepping down a 50 amp circuit to a 15 amp circuit is common. I do it in my driveway to keep the refrigerator cold and the batteries charged. As long as you don't use appliances that total over 15 amps all is well. If you go over 15 amps the breaker should take care of the problem.

[rockportrocket]

I am going to play the other side of this . You state you bought or moved into a site with an older rv on it. Do you have any clue as to rving? Did you use an amp meter to check BEFORE you even tried plugging in? Do you KNOW what it takes to operate your own personal rv?

Why is it always someone else's fault that YOU did not know or do before you did it?

[MPI_Mallard]

Seeing as your in Canada I would call my local building department and speak to the head electrical inspector,he should send an inspector to look into your site as it's a flat out fire hazard. I was seasonal at a "campground" in "Windsor" where I was supposed to have 30 amps,one morning my neighbour was banging on my door telling me the post where I plugged into right next to my fiver was a-blaze,i yanked the chord off the plug (which was almost burned off) and the main 30 amp breaker didn't even shut off,the guy who owned the park response was "If I fix yours site i'd have to fix every one elses" needless to say I got a refund and left the next day! A lot of these rv capgrounds were built so long ago and at least here the owners simply don't want to spend the money to upgrade to accommodate these big units that are common-place now. Find out weather his wiring is hinkey the is he doesn't want to cover your losses haul his can into court!

Good luck!

[1492]

Moved from Forum Technical Support

[RoyB]

Hopefully you can get the pedestal inspected by some authority before they change to being right...

[enblethen]

I would say the handy man wired the 30 amp receptacle to 240 volts rather then 120.
Yes, your local inspection authority could be of some help.