Is this doable or am I overlooking something??

[DD716TED]

We use our trailer a lot during the winter and in COLD weather.. Normally we use the propane furnace but it gobbles propane. The trailer is connected to the 30 amp outlet on the park post BUT when we try to use an electric space heater to help, the post breaker often trips when the microwave or other appliance is used.. Any thoughts about connecting a separate power cord from the park 15 amp pedestal outlet/breaker then routing it into the trailer to power the electric space heater??? had to ask

[Lantley]

ajriding wrote:
Lantley, what does that plug accomplish exactly? look like it is just a exterior mounted male plug that has a female extension cord on it

You could get a 240 plug pigtail that seperates into two phases, run your camper 120 volt on one phase, and the heater on another phase by using the extension cord you mentioned.

Or, as mentioned, just turn off heater when you run microwave.

NASA spent huge amounts of money inventing a ball point pen that will write in the zero-gravity of outer space. Russia just uses pencils. Don't over-think stuff.

Mr Wizard hit the nail on the head. It creates a connection directly to the exterior. No snaking/sneaking the cord into the interior from the pedestal. The connection keeps it all nice and neat.

[MrWizard]

Gives you a weather tight seal for extra power input, with 120v pigtail inside the RV to plug in your space heater, hair dryer, portable A/C
you don't have to snake the extension cord thru window, slide out, storage bay, just drill hole mount in convenient place, floor over storage bay, wall under dining booth or ?? table, etc.

[ajriding]

Lantley, what does that plug accomplish exactly? look like it is just a exterior mounted male plug that has a female extension cord on it

You could get a 240 plug pigtail that seperates into two phases, run your camper 120 volt on one phase, and the heater on another phase by using the extension cord you mentioned.

Or, as mentioned, just turn off heater when you run microwave.

NASA spent huge amounts of money inventing a ball point pen that will write in the zero-gravity of outer space. Russia just uses pencils. Don't over-think stuff.

[Lantley]

This is really neat item. It is linked on first page of this bost
Never quite seen one set up quite like this. Simple to install.
Once upon a time a made up something similar because I did not realize this connection existed.


Available on Amazon

[Dave_H_M]

Tis the way I do it.

I have a separate outlet inside the RV hoked to a plug on the outside.

Lets not pole vault over mouse droppings here. 😉

[wa8yxm]

Just one thought... Done it.. Worked

USE a 12 ga Cord though not a cheap one But a good quality 12 ga cord. the Big Box Home Improvement have 'em.. Lowe's< home Depot, Mennards... Some smaller chain hardwares may have 'em. and K-Mart (The old Sears one with a push button on the outlet end)

[Chum_lee]

wapiticountry wrote:

Chum lee wrote:

DD716TED wrote:
We use our trailer a lot during the winter and in COLD weather. Normally we use the propane furnace but it gobbles propane. The trailer is connected to the 30 amp outlet on the park post BUT when we try to use an electric space heater to help, the post breaker often trips when the microwave or other appliance is used. Any thoughts about connecting a separate power cord from the park 15 amp pedestal outlet/breaker then routing it into the trailer to power the electric space heater??? had to ask

.

If you pay for a 20, 30, or 50 amp unmetered space, (electricity is included in the daily/weekly rate) IMO, you can use all the plugs available at the pedestal in YOUR campsite. You can add additional extension cords, if needed. If the campground owner/manager complains, have them move you to (or charge you for) a larger service/space. (which will, most likely, be more expensive) Do not attempt to argue with with people who do not understand how electricity works. Simply move to another campground.

Chum lee

Two things: One, it is not YOUR campsite. It is the park's. They have an absolute right to set any rules and conditions they deem fit as long as they do not violate the law. If the park wants to limit pedestal usage to one connection, then one connection is all you are entitled to use.
Second, it has nothing to do with understanding electricity. There may be many reasons to not allow additional connections. It may very well be an economic decision or it might be a wiring or capacity issue. Regardless, it is the park's decision to set policies. You do have the right solution, if you don't like the policies, move on.

So . . . . where do we disagree? (a distinction without a difference) Do you HAVE something (anything really) valuable to say . . . . BECAUSE YOU CAN? This is why I HATE social media.

Chum lee

[wapiticountry]

Chum lee wrote:

DD716TED wrote:
We use our trailer a lot during the winter and in COLD weather. Normally we use the propane furnace but it gobbles propane. The trailer is connected to the 30 amp outlet on the park post BUT when we try to use an electric space heater to help, the post breaker often trips when the microwave or other appliance is used. Any thoughts about connecting a separate power cord from the park 15 amp pedestal outlet/breaker then routing it into the trailer to power the electric space heater??? had to ask

.

If you pay for a 20, 30, or 50 amp unmetered space, (electricity is included in the daily/weekly rate) IMO, you can use all the plugs available at the pedestal in YOUR campsite. You can add additional extension cords, if needed. If the campground owner/manager complains, have them move you to (or charge you for) a larger service/space. (which will, most likely, be more expensive) Do not attempt to argue with with people who do not understand how electricity works. Simply move to another campground.

Chum lee

Two things: One, it is not YOUR campsite. It is the park's. They have an absolute right to set any rules and conditions they deem fit as long as they do not violate the law. If the park wants to limit pedestal usage to one connection, then one connection is all you are entitled to use.
Second, it has nothing to do with understanding electricity. There may be many reasons to not allow additional connections. It may very well be an economic decision or it might be a wiring or capacity issue. Regardless, it is the park's decision to set policies. You do have the right solution, if you don't like the policies, move on.

[Chum_lee]

DD716TED wrote:
We use our trailer a lot during the winter and in COLD weather. Normally we use the propane furnace but it gobbles propane. The trailer is connected to the 30 amp outlet on the park post BUT when we try to use an electric space heater to help, the post breaker often trips when the microwave or other appliance is used. Any thoughts about connecting a separate power cord from the park 15 amp pedestal outlet/breaker then routing it into the trailer to power the electric space heater??? had to ask

You fail to mention the most critical information to answer your question. Is your campground space short term or long term (daily, weekly, monthly, other) AND is the pedestal you plug into metered or not? If it's metered/measured AND you pay long term rates, you will most likely be charged (separately) for every kilowatt of electricity you use. (regardless of the electrical capacity of your trailer) If it's not metered/measured, AND/OR you are paying short term rates, the electricity is most likely included in your short term campground fee.

If you pay for a 20, 30, or 50 amp unmetered space, (electricity is included in the daily/weekly rate) IMO, you can use all the plugs available at the pedestal in YOUR campsite. You can add additional extension cords, if needed. If the campground owner/manager complains, have them move you to (or charge you for) a larger service/space. (which will, most likely, be more expensive) Do not attempt to argue with with people who do not understand how electricity works. Simply move to another campground.

In my 30' Class A MH (30 amp service) I use an additional 25' 12 gauge 3 wire copper extension cord all the time. My 6 gallon gas/electric water heater has a separate 120 volt exterior plug JUST for that purpose. In cold climates I run the extension cord inside and plug it in to a 1500 watt space heater (water heater unplugged) all the time. I'm not interested in hearing from "others" who can't figure this out. Instead, . . . . just do what you're going to do. Hint: In an RV with a 30 amp service, you cannot use ALL the electrical consumers at the same time. You MUST manage your electrical consumption or you'll trip the main breaker at the pedestal or at your load center. (or you'll start a fire) Your choice!

Chum lee

[stallsmi]

We've also been doing this for years. We installed a separate plug (https://www.amazon.com/Marinco-150BBI-Marine-Charger-125-Volt/dp/B000NI38MG/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=15+amp+marine+plug&qid=1610989066&sr=8-16). From the plug we ran romex cable to an interior wall switch. Then we run an extension cord goes from that separate plug to the pedestal 15 amp outlet. We plug our space heater into that wall switch. That puts the heater on a dedicated circuit and runs independently from all appliances in the RV. Never had a problem. If a pedestal doesn't have a 15 amp plug (nearly all do, tho), we use a 30amp to 15amp dogbone to adapt to the extension cord. DW also uses that plug to run her hair dryer as that draws a lot of amperage.

[Terryallan]

One answer would be to get a adapter to reduce the 50 amp plug to 30 amp, and use that to run the trailer. Of course then you may trip the breakers inside the trailer.

BTW. i run my 30 amp TT off the 50 plug via the dog bone every time 5o amp is supplied

[ndrorder]

30 amps should be enough to run two large appliances simultaneously. Might be worth a second to measure the voltage inside. Could be an indication of a failing cord,, plug,, adapter, or dirty contacts in the transfer switch.

[wapiticountry]

There is also the possibility that each individual pedestal has a main breaker in the line that limits the total draw at that pedestal. If that is the case, running a separate line wouldn't make a difference.

[Lwiddis]

I bought and installed the Noco Iamick mentions. Works well. I set my portable electric heater only for 750 watts however.

[Y-Guy]

So if you are old enough you will remember the comedy Green Acres. Oliver assigned every electrical device a number from one to seven, all the devices could up to a total of seven can be plugged in at the same time.

Same thing in your RV. Plugging a 2nd cord into the 15 amp cord may do no good depending on how it's wired as it may well still pop when you exceed your AMP draw.

We have a 30amp RV too, thankfully our power center shows me the AMP draw so we have a good idea of how much we're using. We generally run a couple space heaters, however I set them for the 750watt draw which is the "low" setting, it takes the edge off and the LP heater kicks in if it gets colder.

If we want to use the microwave, coffee maker, etc we shut off or or both space heater(s). That's the easiest way, just know how much you can use and manually turn things off. To give you some idea of the draw here is a list of some common RV devices and their general amp draw amounts.