Replace a 30 Amp Receptacle Inlet

[milo]

My 30 amp setup is to say the least is "crapola". The Jbox is housed in a little 10"W x 10"H x 13"D cubbie hole on the back street side of the 5er and under it is the water pump (same size cubbie hole) and the cobweb of hoses (that's another story). Any way, I replaced the Jbox with the Progressive 30amp EMS system I took out of our former TT. Trying to get the last 8 to 10 inches of the cord back in the hole is a real job cuz the small size of the cubbie hole it's housed in. My question to you electrical experts. I would like to remove the inlet fitting where the cable slides into the 5er and replace it with a 30 amp outlet fitting so I can plug the cord into it and then unplug it and store it in the storage bin. What I'm looking for is one that is round & hopefully the same diameter (5 & 1/8) so it would fit in the same hole. Our RV stores here have nothing even close & I've been searching the internet but have not found anything yet. Have any of you done this mod and/or know of any outlets (stores) that might have anything close to what is in the side of the 5er. Any and all ideas welcomed.

Thanks
Milo

[milo]

wa8yxm wrote:
NEVER, EVER, use an outlet as an inlet.. Even if it is dedicated NEVER do it.

The Marinco inlet is a good choice (But expensive).

Another posibility is to replace the electrical "hatch" with a slightly larger one and use a 30 amp pigtail just long enough to pull it out and then use a standard shore-power extension cord.

BUT NEVER use an outlet as an inlet. Very dangerous.

No not making a suicide cord, there is not a female receptacle mounted outside....I think you miss interrupted what my intentions are. We now have a pass thru hatch where we have to pull the cord out of the hole in the side of the 5er. The holding area for the cord is not large enough to hold the cord after I put the hardwired Progressive Industries EMS box in there, so I am wanting to cut the 30 amp cord, add a female plug and make it just long enough to be able stick out of the side and then add a male plug to the cut end of the rest of the 25' shore cord so we can plug them together.

Milo

[BFL13]

What do you mean by "outlet" and "inlet" above?

ISTR "outlet" is the new word for "receptacle" which is also called an "inlet"

I don't think we are making a "suicide cord" here, but if so, please explain just how. Obviously nobody wants to do that.

Thanks.

[wa8yxm]

NEVER, EVER, use an outlet as an inlet.. Even if it is dedicated NEVER do it.

The Marinco inlet is a good choice (But expensive).

Another posibility is to replace the electrical "hatch" with a slightly larger one and use a 30 amp pigtail just long enough to pull it out and then use a standard shore-power extension cord.

BUT NEVER use an outlet as an inlet. Very dangerous.

[BFL13]

That is sort of what I did except I used the ends of the chopped surge guard for my "ends" Without the surge guard you can buy those 30a plugs and receptacles and stick them on as your "ends."

Our trailer does not have a mouse hole the shore cable disappears into, like I have seen on say a Cougar. Ours has a lockable door and inside is a box big enough to shove the cord into with a Jbox in there for the bitter end of the cable to go onto.

[Bob_Landry]

You can do that, but you are going to find yourself fishing for the plug in the mouse hole. I would cut the cord coming from the EMS at a length that will reach the power inlet on the trailer, add a female plug on the cord and you have a detachable cord.

[milo]

Bob I like what you did.
BFL13, the shore line is already hard wired into the EMS system. But you give me an idea. What if I leave the original inlet receptacle there (pass thru) and cut the cord and put a female plug on the part that comes from the 5er and a male plug on the shore cord or vise versa and plug em together and just push the female plug back in the inlet and close the door when not in use or in motion. You think that would work. When both are hooked together it could be just inside the door to keep it from getting wet. Hope I explained it right.

[BFL13]

Not sure if applies, but I took the $200 portable surge guard I didn't like leaving out at the pedestal, and put it inside the cable box where the door can be locked on it.

This involved chopping up the surge guard, undoing the shore cable bitter end in the J box, splicing the surge guard to the J box inside the cable box, and splicing one end of the surge guard to the bitter end of the shore cable. The other end of the surge guard and the bitter end of the shore cable now plug into each other inside the cable box.

All that is strapped down inside the cable box as a "strain relief" for pulling on it, and now the shore cable still comes out from its cable hatch door as before, but now the surge guard is inside the lockable box.

So you could do the same thing by undoing the bitter end of the shore cable and inserting an adapter with a 30a RV receptacle on the outer end to hard wire on the J box where the shore cable was, with a 30a RV receptacle on the outer end of the adapter.

Add a 30a RV plug to the bitter end of the shore cable so now you can just plug it in to the adapter where it used to be hardwired (surge guard optional)

[Bob_Landry]

A lot of people have complained that the kit does not always completely cover the existing hole. All you need is the inlet, square or round, a cheap white cutting board from WalMart to mount it on and a plug for the end of your power cord. Attach the mounting board to the trailer wall with SS screws and run a bead of silicon around the board for a seal.

[enblethen]

This should provide you with what you want to do.
Conversion kit