50A RV with 30A plug?

[BurbMan]

Our new-to-us 5er is wired for 2 a/c's but only has one installed. The factory installed a ceiling vent in the bedroom, and when you remove the inside trim around the fan you can see the #12 120v wire in the ceiling and there is a 20a breaker in the panel labeled "bedroom a/c". So it looks pretty easy to take out the roof vent and replace with a 2nd a/c unit in the bedroom.

The panel has a 50a main breaker, but the shore cord has a 30a plug on it...is there such a thing as an "adapter cord" that doesn't require a dogbone? Am I correct that all I need to do is replace the shore cord to get 50a to the rig?

Here's the RV end of the shore power cord:

Now here's the plug end of the shore cord:

This is connection on the outside of the rig:

The inside breaker panel:


On a related note, I'm not sure I want to add a 2nd a/c in the bedroom...we dry camp a fair amount and at least I'll get some air movement with the vent, the a/c blocks that vent spot and the only way to get cold air is to plug in. Thoughts?

[Cummins12V98]

Build your own cord to the length you want with SO cord and a Camco 50A male cord cap. Reuse the 50A twist lock.

[toedtoes]

BurbMan wrote:
Exactly! This is the cord I have today.

Amazingly I got 2 large folders of paperwork with this RV with things like the previous owner's insurance docs, registration renewals and of course the pile of appliance owners manuals that you get with an RV, and nowhere does it mention if the rig is 50a or 30a.

I actually converted our previous Terry TT from hardwired to a 30a Marinco shore cord setup, so I was familiar with that part, but I had never seen a 50-30a adapter cord like this. Live and learn and appreciate comments from folks here!

I converted both my campers to the Marinco 30 amp, but originally only had a 20amp outlet at home, so I got myself a 30-20amp marinco cord. It was easier than dealing with a dogbone.

I would guess that the previous owner of your rig kept their 50-50amp cord and gave you the 50-30amp cord because the 50-30 was the cheaper cord to replace for another rig.

[BurbMan]

Exactly! This is the cord I have today.

Amazingly I got 2 large folders of paperwork with this RV with things like the previous owner's insurance docs, registration renewals and of course the pile of appliance owners manuals that you get with an RV, and nowhere does it mention if the rig is 50a or 30a.

I actually converted our previous Terry TT from hardwired to a 30a Marinco shore cord setup, so I was familiar with that part, but I had never seen a 50-30a adapter cord like this. Live and learn and appreciate comments from folks here!

[toedtoes]

Dusty R wrote:
Google 50 amp RV cord. They are different than what you have. I would guess that some previous owner made some changes, perhaps from RV 30A to 50A.

A google search for "50 amp cord" shows various styles. The one most common to folks is the 50 amp extension cord which has a standard 50amp male end and a standard 50amp female end.

On most RVs, the shore power cord is wired directly into the RV converter and you simply push the cord into an opening on the RV side to store it. If you need more length, you use this extenstion cord.

However, some RVs come with a marine-style detachable shore power cord. When the RV is to be hooked up to shore power, the power cord is plugged into a Power inlet that is wired directly into the RV converter. This inlet has a different plug pattern than the standard 50amp pedestal. This pattern allows the plug to be twisted slightly when plugged in so that it does not fall loose. When the RV is not hooked up to shore power, the cord is detached from both the pedestal and the RV and stored.

That the RV is set up to have two ACs suggests it has always been 50amps. And the label next to the power inlet suggests the power inlet was installed by the manufacturer or dealer (a do it yourself job wouldn't add the label and the label wouldn't be necessary for a standard directly wired power cord).


This RV is simply set up with a marine-style 50amp detachable power cord.

The power cord provided to the OP is a 50amp marine-style female end to a 30amp standard male end.

If the OP wants full 50amp power, they will need a 50amp marine-style female end to a 50amp standard male end cord like this.

[Dusty_R]

Google 50 amp RV cord. They are different than what you have. I would guess that some previous owner made some changes, perhaps from RV 30A to 50A.

[BurbMan]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
What does your cord say on the outside jacket?????? It may be 50A 4 wire 6/3 8/1 with a 30A on it's end that plugs into the pedestal.

Now I see the 30A male end on the cord is moulded on so I will assume it's a 30A cord.

Yes, it's a #10 30a cord, and the RV-side receptacle is a standard 50a. What I didn't know is a) that's what a standard 50a RV-side recpt looks like and b) that they made adapter cords!

All I need is a full 50a cord to get 50a to the trailer. As was noted that #6 4-conductor wire is like a garden hose, so until I add that 2nd a/c, i don't have a strong need for it. Plus, I have a 20a outlet at home so I already need a dogbone on the adapter cord to plug in 🙂

[Cummins12V98]

What does your cord say on the outside jacket?????? It may be 50A 4 wire 6/3 8/1 with a 30A on it's end that plugs into the pedestal.

Now I see the 30A male end on the cord is moulded on so I will assume it's a 30A cord.

[Cummins12V98]

Delete

[toedtoes]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
Looks to me like you could cut off that 30 amp plug and replace it with a 50 amp plug. There should be 4 wires in there, not 3. You should have NEUTRAL, GROUND, L1, and L2.

Not necessarily !

That appears to be an L7-50P on the RV or possibly something else. Based on the label on the RV, I am betting that is not the original plug. I would have an electrician change it to the standard RV plug which is NEMA 14-50P. Note this is non-locking plug. If you want a locking plug, it would be an L14-50P but you would likely have to use an adapter (dog bone) to plug in at any RV park.

There is no need to change out the RV plug. The OP can simply get a 50amp cord like this

[toedtoes]

wa8yxm wrote:
Ok the Marinco outlety on that cord is a 50 amp (4 contcts. you don't see the 4th but I do. it's on the outside of the outlet. it's the safety ground.

Yes they do make 30 amp detachble cords for 50 amp RVs.. I have one

Recommend you get a 50 amp detachable cord

Oh that 50 amp "main" breaker.. it's a double ganged right?

(I used the 30 amp cord when on 30 amp sites.. way easier to wrangle than the 50 amp one. those suckers are HEAVY).

Yes, the RV side of the cord is a 50amp marinco. But the pedestal side plug is 30amp.

[theoldwizard1]

Bobbo wrote:
Looks to me like you could cut off that 30 amp plug and replace it with a 50 amp plug. There should be 4 wires in there, not 3. You should have NEUTRAL, GROUND, L1, and L2.

Not necessarily !

That appears to be an L7-50P on the RV or possibly something else. Based on the label on the RV, I am betting that is not the original plug. I would have an electrician change it to the standard RV plug which is NEMA 14-50P. Note this is non-locking plug. If you want a locking plug, it would be an L14-50P but you would likely have to use an adapter (dog bone) to plug in at any RV park.

[BurbMan]

Thanks for the info guys, I was unaware that they made adapter cords! This is our first 50a rig, so I'm not familiar with the setup. I assumed that the female side on the RV would have 4 prongs like the plug, not 3 with that ground plate on the circumference of the plug.

The breaker panel is a Progressive Dynamics, and has the staggered buss bars like you would see in a residential panel. I should have snapped a pic when I had the cover off, but it's wired so neatly, it looks like a residential panel set up by a pro electrician. The 12v panel is separate and installed next to it, and the PD9260 converter sits by itself in the basement. Our old Terry TT had a WFCO setup where the 120v, 12v, and converter/charger were all sandwiched into one partitioned box.

The trailer is set up for a W/D but there isn't one currently installed, and although pre-wired for a 2nd a/c, that was never installed either. This was the only shore cord we got with the rig.

Still debating about adding the 2nd a/c...One one hand, the main unit sends very little cold air up to the one duct in the bedroom, so adding a bedroom unit is a must for air conditioned comfort. However, the bedroom unit would install in place of the roof vent that that's there now, so we would lose that source of air circulation when boondocking.

[ford_truck_guy]

I agree with all the above.... that RV IS wired for 50 amp, just go out and buy a new 50 amp detachable cord and good to go..

Keep the existing 30 amp cord as a spare in case you camp at a park that only offers 30 amp

[wa8yxm]

Ok the Marinco outlety on that cord is a 50 amp (4 contcts. you don't see the 4th but I do. it's on the outside of the outlet. it's the safety ground.

Yes they do make 30 amp detachble cords for 50 amp RVs.. I have one

Recommend you get a 50 amp detachable cord

Oh that 50 amp "main" breaker.. it's a double ganged right?

(I used the 30 amp cord when on 30 amp sites.. way easier to wrangle than the 50 amp one. those suckers are HEAVY).