Power Problems at Campground

[pbastedo]

This past weekend my power cut out several times. It is a 30amp hookup and I used a Camco 30 amp surge protector. When the power cut out it did not restart. I had to go to the campground box and switch the power off and on again. This could last 3 hours before it would happen again. The campground found a faulty breaker and replaced it but it happen d again after 6 hours. Could the problem be with my 2 year old travel trailer or is it most likely a problem with the campground electrical. I did not run any heavy water electrical. Should I have my rig checked out? Thanks for any input.

[Bill_Satellite]

Hum, I wish I had said that!

[4x4van]

First, some of you are suggesting that he overloaded the circuit, tripping the power pedestal. Go back and reread his original post. The power pedestal breaker did NOT trip. His surge protector tripped and disconnected (as it's supposed to when it senses either high or low voltage), but it did not automatically reconnect UNTIL he turned the power pedestal off and then back on.

Second, it is wrong to suggest that he "made a mistake" by purchasing the Camco unit because it does not have a digital display. That's like saying that if you have an older vehicle that has ONLY lap belts, you may as well not even bother wearing them since they are significantly less protection than lap/shoulder belts. Would the more expensive display units be a step up? You bet. Is his Camco unit a significant step up from MOST RVers who use nothing? Yes indeed.

3rd, if he goes to another campground and the problem does not recur, then he CAN indeed be fairly comfortable that his rig was not the problem.

Yes, even a cheap plug-in voltage display is a great thing to have, but unless he is watching it 24-7 and just happens to see the exact moment that the voltage spikes or drops, he will still not know what exactly caused the surge protector to trigger; high voltage or low.

[SoundGuy]

Ralph Cramden wrote:
Even an EMS won't always save you. A few years back two bozos decided to rewire a 50 amp RV into a 30 amp pedestal, in the box itself, at a state park. They blew the main at the distribution panel killing power to around 30 sites for an hour and a half. That ended up costing me a microwave and fridge element and I was not the only person to lose something. I assume the PI EMS just was not fast enough to catch it.

EMS surge trip is usually < 1 nanosecond so it's unlikely a surge was the cause. Most EMS units are programmed with a low / high voltage trip delay that may vary from 6" to 10" to help avoid nuisance trips when incoming source voltage hovers just slightly above & below threshold trip voltages so perhaps these BOZOS created an abnormal situation the EMS didn't recognize. I too lost a microwave oven but before I started using an EMS, since then I typically see at least a dozen trips each season, most often because of low voltage, but so far no damage to the trailer itself so while perhaps not a 100% guarantee an EMS is still certainly worth using. :B

[SoundGuy]

pbastedo wrote:
I have order a surge guard with a digital meter.

Which model? :h There are differences. 😉

[Ralph_Cramden]

SoundGuy wrote:

pbastedo wrote:
Thanks for all the insight. Initially I will go to another campground and see if it happens again. If not I can rule out my rig.

SoundGuy wrote:
Doesn't matter where you go, if you're not measuring the incoming source voltage and monitoring how it may vary over your stay you're flying blind and are just guessing.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
I suppose there is some truth in the fact that you need to be able to monitor your voltage. However, saying going to another campground doesn't matter is pretty far off base.

"Some truth? Off base?" ... hardly. :R If the OP goes to another campground but continues to ignore incoming source voltage (which varies constantly by load, his and everyone else's) he still will have no idea what he's dealing with or how frequently low voltage may be an issue and he'll be right back here again asking why he's still having problems. He's already made the mistake of buying an EMS which doesn't display voltage so his best recourse is to invest in a DVM or even an energy meter like the Kill-a-Watt that does.

Although I agree with that, and have and had PI EMS hardwired units on everything we have owned, the plug and play what me worry Alfred E Neuman method seems to work for about 8,999,000 of the estimated 9,000,000 registered RV's in North America.

Even an EMS won't always save you. A few years back two bozos decided to rewire a 50 amp RV into a 30 amp pedestal, in the box itself, at a state park. They blew the main at the distribution panel killing power to around 30 sites for an hour and a half. That ended up costing me a microwave and fridge element and I was not the only person to lose something. I assume the PI EMS just was not fast enough to catch it.

[pbastedo]

I have order a surge guard with a digital meter. Thanks.

[SDcampowneroper]

If you have reasonable doubt that the power issue is not yours, ask the camp to verify theirs . Safety is number one.

[imgoin4it]

The unit surge protection can only look at incoming power, looks at incoming voltage, it probably detects faults, or voltage on neutral or grounds where it should not be. It cannot detect any problem internal to the RV. As for going to another campground one only needs to go to another pedestal that is on a different circuit. If works on one but not the other one knows where the fault is but unless you have a read out capability you will not know what it is.

[SoundGuy]

pbastedo wrote:
Thanks for all the insight. Initially I will go to another campground and see if it happens again. If not I can rule out my rig.

SoundGuy wrote:
Doesn't matter where you go, if you're not measuring the incoming source voltage and monitoring how it may vary over your stay you're flying blind and are just guessing.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
I suppose there is some truth in the fact that you need to be able to monitor your voltage. However, saying going to another campground doesn't matter is pretty far off base.

"Some truth? Off base?" ... hardly. :R If the OP goes to another campground but continues to ignore incoming source voltage (which varies constantly by load, his and everyone else's) he still will have no idea what he's dealing with or how frequently low voltage may be an issue and he'll be right back here again asking why he's still having problems. He's already made the mistake of buying an EMS which doesn't display voltage so his best recourse is to invest in a DVM or even an energy meter like the Kill-a-Watt that does.

[Bill_Satellite]

SoundGuy wrote:

pbastedo wrote:
Thanks for all the insight. Initially I will go to another campground and see if it happens again. If not I can rule out my rig.

Doesn't matter where you go, if you're not measuring the incoming source voltage and monitoring how it may vary over your stay you're flying blind and are just guessing. Since this Camco EMS you have doesn't have a voltage display the solution is obvious - invest in a DVM you can use to check the voltage, don't do that and you're wasting everyone's time, yours included. :R

I suppose there is some truth in the fact that you need to be able to monitor your voltage. However, saying going to another campground doesn't matter is pretty far off base.
If you move to another campground and you have no issues it's a pretty good bet that the problem was external to your coach. However, no mater what you are or what you are not monitoring, if you have the same kind of problems at a different campground it's a pretty good bet that the problem is local to your RV and you are going to have to start tracing down some wiring issues!

[Dave_H_M]

tagretired wrote:
Sounds just like a problem I had in February 2018 when were staying a couple of days near Epcot. It was unseaonably hot and humid in Florida for February. We had the 1 A/C running in the late afternoon after got settled in. The CG 30 amp breaker kept tripping when we would run the microwave or TV. I was pretty sure all was ok with my 2017 Class C as we had been out to NM, AZ and NV and never had a problem with the A/C. Since we were going to be at Epcot all day the next day and leave our dog in side, I wanted to be sure the A/C stayed on. I used my 50amp-30amp adapter and switched to the 50 amp outlet on the post. Problem solved. I called the CG office and reported to them the issue the 30 amp breaker.

I use my 50 to 30 dog bone any time the opportunity is there. Don't see any need in testing (giving it a try) with the 30 outlet first. 😉

[SoundGuy]

pbastedo wrote:
Thanks for all the insight. Initially I will go to another campground and see if it happens again. If not I can rule out my rig.

Doesn't matter where you go, if you're not measuring the incoming source voltage and monitoring how it may vary over your stay you're flying blind and are just guessing. Since this Camco EMS you have doesn't have a voltage display the solution is obvious - invest in a DVM you can use to check the voltage, don't do that and you're wasting everyone's time, yours included. :R

[valhalla360]

Get yourself a $10 voltage monitor you can plug in and keep an eye on it.

If you get low voltage, the amperage goes up proportionally so you may be going along fine until 3 or 4 rigs on the circuit turn on heavy loads and your voltage sags resulting in a higher draw and you trip the breaker.

[pbastedo]

Thanks for all the insight. Initially I will go to another campground and see if it happens again. If not I can rule out my rig.