30 vs 50 amp electrical issue help

[ODG255]

Hello,

I recently purchased a 2023 heartland mallard 32ft travel trailer. When I bought it at dealer they assured me it was a 50 amp service during purchase and during walk through. During walk through it was already hooked up via 50 amp cord and that is the cord I was given.

We camped two nights and lost all power during the night, come to find out we were running solely on solar despite the cord being plugged into appropriate 50 amp outlet at the camping ground.

Turns out the trailer is 30 amp! Above power receptacle on trailer it states 30 amp only. This is all confusing but I figured I would ask if anyone has had similar experiences… my concern is that at some point 50 amp power went into the trailer rated for 30 amp and fried it all. Thank you for input.

[Grit_dog]

I feel bad for the OP who seems to be getting a total runaround by the dealer and at the same time isn’t able for whatever reasons to use the help he’s been given here to figure out this not so difficult conundrum.

[StirCrazy]

.

[StirCrazy]

dougrainer wrote:

StirCrazy wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

Cptnvideo wrote:
Doug, Keystone offers this as an option when ordering a RV.

SOLARFLEX™ 1200I-L
The gold standard for solar power performance. With 1,200 watts of solar collection and two powerful Dragonfly® 270 Ah lithium energy storage batteries, SolarFlex 1200i-L is the ideal setup for power users looking for extended boondocking adventures.

WHERE does that state it will run a AC on 120 volt? Doug

COMPONENTS
2, 30A solar roof ports w/ MC4 connectors & 10 AWG MPPT solar charging circuits
4, Future Solutions 300-watt solar panels & CS2 splitters
2, 50A Victron SmartSolar MPPT charge controllers w/Bluetooth app
3000-watt inverter/charger w/ built-in transfer switch (all outlets inverted)
2, soft start air conditioners
Zamp Solar portable solar charge port
Victron SmartShunt battery monitor w/Bluetooth app
Victron Cerbo GX
Battery Guardian
2, 270 Ah Dragonfly Energy heated Lithium-ion batteries
Precision Circuits power control system

that system will run the AC, for how long is the question

I would guess though about 8 to 12 hours before the batteries are close to dead during the day, assuming the AC never shuts off and that's all that is running. Although with 1200watts of solar you're getting close to that daytime sustainable AC depending on the AC size and the type of solar day, but still a little low in my mind.

It does NOT state that the roof AC 120 circuit is part of the Inverter. Just, ALL receptacles. You could rewire to connect the roof AC, but there is NO WAY 2 Lithium Batteries will run a roof AC more than a few hours. Remember, Diesel and some Gas Motorhomes have up to 6 batteries and a 3000 watt Inverter and they do NOT wire the Roof AC's thru the Inverter. Just not effective to do so. Doug

really Doug? When they install inverters now days and they tie them with the auto transfer switch like it says it has, everything in the coach has power. Why would they specifically mention soft start ac if it wasn't meant to run? heck my 2000-watt inverter was even done this way. I don't know what kind of backwoods job you would have to do to use an auto transfer switch and take the AC out of the loop as it wouldn't work on shore power either then. We are not talking about generator tie into the auto transfer when you get this kit as it is a replacement for generators for folks who care about their neighbors haha. So you have the shore power and the inverter as inlets to the transfer switch and just the original feed out to power the whole fuse panel.

[CA_Traveler]

Any Jayco electrical engineer should know that a 50A 120/240V circuit can supply 240V or 2x 120V or combinations of the 2 voltages and 3 A/Cs is common on larger rigs. This is the same circuit as every house except houses are 100A or larger.

A friend has a high end RV with 4 ACs that will all run on a 50A pedestal. But if not due to total loads the 20KW gen will kick in...:B

[wapiticountry]

dougrainer wrote:

ODG255 wrote:
Well, the plot thickens. I just got off of the phone with Heart land I asked them to look up my build based on VIN.

They told me that my trailer was supposed to be shipped with the 50 amp cord that I have but that there is supposed to be an “adapter” between cord and trailer. He stated that the trailer itself is 30 amp but when I told him that I want to run a second AC he said that will be no problem at all.

I asked if this is some kind of hybrid between 50 and 30 and he said yes exactly.
So everything in my trailer is 120v…. And it’s 30 amp but supposedly I can run 2 ACs?

I was hoping for clarification but this makes the whole thing even more convoluted.

I talked to my sales guy and he said that was the craziest thing he’d ever heard, I don’t know much but I have to agree with him!

Well, it appears that both Heartland AND the Dealer will lie to fix this problem. What Heartland told you is NONSENSE. YOU CANNOT RUN 2 RV AC UNITS ON 30 AMP SERVICE. PERIOD. You stated MY link is the wall connection to your trailer. That is 50 amp. Period. You need to go to the trailer and open the 120 breaker box access lid. Until YOU do this, there can be no good resolution to this thread. IF your breaker box has (2) 50 amp breakers, your RV IS 50 amp. Doug

PS, I had a Jayco electrical engineer tell me that I could NOT add a 3rd AC to a customers 39 foot Jayco with 50 amp service, because 3 AC's would draw about 42 amps and that would leave only 8 amps for the rest of the RV. I e mailed his boss and told him that person needed to be FIRED. 50 amp RV service is a TOTAL of 100 amp service.

Wow, a guy makes a mistake and you email his boss telling him the guy should be fired. How many hours would you last at your job if one mistake and you are out was the standard.
And the guy wasn’t totally incorrect. 50 amp service is not referred to as having 100 amps available. Care would have be be taken in wiring the third AC to assure it was not on the same leg as the other two units, or that leg would draw 42 amps which overloads a fifty amp circuit since continuous duty rating is 80% of the maximum rating. Load balancing would be critical and depending on how many other high amperage items (hot water heater, electric cooktop, microwave, other electric appliances etc.) it may indeed be problematic adding a third AC unit especially if there is no load management system. Actually there is nothing in the electrical codes that would prevent adding 20 AC units since the lines are protected by the 50 amp breakers. Of course such a system would be useless because you would be tripping breakers constantly, but it wouldn’t be a code violation. . It is reasonable the engineer was talking in practical, not theoretical terms, and he very well may have been correct that adding a third AC unit to that specific rig, would be a problem due to power management.

[Cummins12V98]

MFL wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Pictures, pictures, pictures would end this eternal "Circle Jerk".

Like

:B

[stevenal]

Adapter

Here is an adapter as described. Internally, the ground, neutral, and one of the legs connect straight through. The remaining leg remains unconnected. Note that it carries no UL mark. This same sort of adaptation might simply be wired into the RV, and would likely be in violation of RVIA standards. If so, the 12000 W expected from the 50 A service is only 3600.

As others have indicated, find your main breaker. It will be a single pole 30 or a double pole 50.

[wa8yxm]

Why would they put a 50 amp cord on a 30 amp trailer?

Some parks charge based on which outlet you plug into so you'd be over charged every time you plugged into 50 amps.

[Grit_dog]

Oh boy.
OP if you’re tuning in, Doug is right and telling you the right thing. Nevermind the rest of the bickering and misunderstanding

[Cptnvideo]

Correct, Doug. And I would like to know what the "adapter" consisted of that Mallard said needed to be installed between the 50 amp cord and the RV.
I assume the wire gauge is slightly larger in a 50 amp cord, resulting in slightly less voltage drop therefore slightly less current - but it would be negligible.

As an aside, I once stayed at a RV Park that claimed to have 50 amp service. But it was the same 120 VAC going to both legs. My previous DP MH shed loads down to 30 amps because it didn't see 240 VAC across the 2 legs.

[toedtoes]

As I see it, you have a 30 amp trailer. You were sold a 50 amp trailer that could support two AC units. You know you need two AC units for the summer.

Either the manufacturer or the dealer screwed up the wiring. That the connector on the trailer for the cord is a 50 amp connector and not the appropriate 30 amp connector. There is no adapter that would go between the 50 amp connector on the trailer and the 50 amp cord that would do anything to the 30 amp system IN the trailer.

The 30 amp system IN the trailer is the limiting factor. All they've done is changed the plug to fit in a 50 amp outlet. But you still only get 30 amps to power your trailer.

I would add that I would not trust the wiring of this trailer. Someone has obviously messed up the wiring to the power cord.

Since you know you need two ACs, I would demand they take back this trailer and replace it with one that actually has a 50 amp system and is wired for the second AC (or better has the second AC installed already).

With 30 amps and living in the trailer for the summer in Arizona, you are going to use too much power for a 30 amp system - period.

Get the right trailer and power system now. Don't let them try to make this trailer work. If you do, you're going to find yourself living in a hotel during your Arizona stay while your trailer sits at a dealership waiting for warranty work.

[dougrainer]

ODG255 wrote:
Well, the plot thickens. I just got off of the phone with Heart land I asked them to look up my build based on VIN.

They told me that my trailer was supposed to be shipped with the 50 amp cord that I have but that there is supposed to be an “adapter” between cord and trailer. He stated that the trailer itself is 30 amp but when I told him that I want to run a second AC he said that will be no problem at all.

I asked if this is some kind of hybrid between 50 and 30 and he said yes exactly.
So everything in my trailer is 120v…. And it’s 30 amp but supposedly I can run 2 ACs?

I was hoping for clarification but this makes the whole thing even more convoluted.

I talked to my sales guy and he said that was the craziest thing he’d ever heard, I don’t know much but I have to agree with him!

Well, it appears that both Heartland AND the Dealer will lie to fix this problem. What Heartland told you is NONSENSE. YOU CANNOT RUN 2 RV AC UNITS ON 30 AMP SERVICE. PERIOD. You stated MY link is the wall connection to your trailer. That is 50 amp. Period. You need to go to the trailer and open the 120 breaker box access lid. Until YOU do this, there can be no good resolution to this thread. IF your breaker box has (2) 50 amp breakers, your RV IS 50 amp. Doug

PS, I had a Jayco electrical engineer tell me that I could NOT add a 3rd AC to a customers 39 foot Jayco with 50 amp service, because 3 AC's would draw about 42 amps and that would leave only 8 amps for the rest of the RV. I e mailed his boss and told him that person needed to be FIRED. 50 amp RV service is a TOTAL of 100 amp service.

[ODG255]

Copy that is the stance I will take. The trailer will be very much lived in with kids and cooking etc so constantly tripping breakers and half ass AC won’t be acceptable. Thank you all for the input.

[CA_Traveler]

Yes you can run 2 A/C's if they are smaller and there is no start up problem. However the recommended sustained draw is 80% or 24A and A/Cs are certainly sustained. And you won't be able to run much else.

2 months in the Arizona summer at 100F+ you are very likely to have low voltage, tripped breakers etc. The dealer didn't know what they were selling - go get your money back and expect a fight.

[ODG255]

Well, the plot thickens. I just got off of the phone with Heart land I asked them to look up my build based on VIN.

They told me that my trailer was supposed to be shipped with the 50 amp cord that I have but that there is supposed to be an “adapter” between cord and trailer. He stated that the trailer itself is 30 amp but when I told him that I want to run a second AC he said that will be no problem at all.

I asked if this is some kind of hybrid between 50 and 30 and he said yes exactly.
So everything in my trailer is 120v…. And it’s 30 amp but supposedly I can run 2 ACs?

I was hoping for clarification but this makes the whole thing even more convoluted.

I talked to my sales guy and he said that was the craziest thing he’d ever heard, I don’t know much but I have to agree with him!