Open Ground question

ktmrfs wrote:
If you have access to an DVM, measure the resistance between the neutral and ground on your trailer plug. It should read in the megohms. If it reads a few ohms, say 10 or less you have a ground neutral bond in the trailer. this is a NO NO. it is against NEC code, and it WILL trip an upstream GFI even if ALL the breakers in the trailer are turned off.

If it reads in the Kohms, but less than about 1 Megohm, you likely have some circuit with leakage to ground. again that can likely trip the GFI and you need to find the source of the leakage.

Since you said the OP installed the surge protector I would carefully check the surge protector wiring and any wiring in the trailer panel for any ground/neutral connection.

If resistance is in the meghom range, do as I previously suggested. turn off all breakers, plug into a GFI outlet, then turn on the 30A. if no trip, then turn on the other breakers one at a time till you trip. only have the 30A and ONE breaker on at a time.

And BTW, the electrician at the storage place is not much of an electrician. If he was he would know that an open ground will NOT trip a GFI. GFI's work just fine on circuits with NO ground. they still protect you and will not trip on an open ground.

In fact,other than checking for a ground/neutral short, a GFI does not even look at current in the ground lead. It looks for a difference between hot and neutral current. If there is a difference, that means there is current flowing in another circuit, like through your body, back to the voltage source.