GFCI at shore power tripping

Land Yachters wrote:
I had an almost identical issue a few months back but without the water heater element. For no reason that I know of, the GFCI I had been using for almost a year, popped as soon as I plugged in. I was using a 50 A to 30 A to 20 A dogbones. I finally plugged it in to another outlet, (non GFCI) and there was no problem.

It is not that there is no problem, it is that the problem is no longer being detected.

Land Yachters wrote:
Never figured out why, but I was told RV's and GFCI's typically do not play well together and to avoid using one if possible.

Not true. Finding the problem and correcting it will let the RV play well with the GFCI.

Land Yachters wrote:
I have been on the road since this episode, but expect I will have to replace outlet when I return.

While that may be the problem, it also may not. It takes some serious diagnosing to find GFCI problems sometimes.

1. Turn off all breakers in the RV. If the problem goes away, it is one of the hot wires leaking to ground. Turn the breakers on one at a time to identify the wire, then trace it. If the problem persists with all breakers off, it is not a hot wire leaking to ground.

2. Disconnect all neutral wires in RV breaker box. If the problem goes away, one of the neutral wires is touching ground. Reconnect each neutral one at a time to identify the wire, then trace it. If the problem persists with all neutral wires disconnected, it is not a neutral touching ground.

3. If the problem persists after #1 and #2, the problem is either the outlet, or between the outlet and the breaker box. That means one of the adapters, the plug on the RV, the point where the RV power cord is connected to the RV, or the ATS (if you have one).

It should go without saying, but I will say it anyway, UNPLUG THE RV BEFORE WORKING IN THE BREAKER BOX!