frozen stiff power cords

[the_tc_life]

so for the few other brave souls (or crazy, you decide) who venture out in the winter with the camper...

what do you do about your power cord being frozen stiff when you are out with power? mainly, im talking about campers with power cords that do not disconnect from the camper. it is a pain in the butt to get the darn thing back in its storage.
the only thing I can come up with is to use a different cord, connecting it to the end of the camper cord while in the "box" and run the extension to the power post. then I can just throw the cord in the camper regardless of being able to roll it up or not.
so, besides just doing that...has anyone else come up with a nifty trick? no, not going out during winter is not a nifty trick either.

[okan-star]

Most of the time I `m not useing power that requires a 30 amp cord
I have removed the onan gen and sold it and use a Honda on a platform on the rear ,in front of the gen compartment, so to power with the honda I put a short piece of 20 amp cord on the existing gen junction box in the compartment to plug into the honda , the 30 amp cord in the power comp remains pluged into the receptical that goes to the junction box
Aside from a little line voltage drop it works good
If I was in a park and useing the AC I would use the 30 amp cord , but most times I`m useing the honda , or at home just pluged in for battery maintance so I use a household 20 amp cord and throw it into a compartment when I travel
Havent unpluged the 30 amp from the receptical in a long time

[whizbang]

I just pull out 4 to 6 inches and then hook up with an extension cord.

[the_tc_life]

I stopped at wally world before I left and bought a 30 foot 30 amp extension cord to use. Worked great last night.
Now if only my truck battery would have held up that would have been fantastic. Local Napa in town...new battery...but more about that in my trip report later.

[Moose10]

tc life, your suggestion is exactly what I do. Living up here in the Interior of AK, we all carry arctic rated extension cords to plug our vehicles in anyway, so I do the same with the truck camper.
Arctic extension cords are sold everywhere here so if anyone is interested in onw, let me know and we can work something out.

[the_tc_life]

yes some great ideas indeed. thank you all for your insight.

this is why I brought it up...



keep in mind...we are usually on average around here...mid 30's for highs and lows mid 20's during this time of year.

so watch out for those in the central states and then towards the east...its coming your way. we are in it today here in my area. now, more hot coffee please.

thanks again for your insight.

[camperpaul]

The shore power cords on my TC and my first TT both had Neoprene insulation which is still flexible at -40°.

Subsequent TTs were equipped with vinyl insulated cords which I immediately replaced with Neoprene cords.

[noteven]

Our cord is like handling a piece of copper tubing when it is cold. I mumble swears at the manufacturer and hope they didn't spend the $3 they saved all in one place.

There are some nice ideas here.

[bb_94401]

A generic twistlock NEMA L5-30 receptacle, plug or connector body for the cord can be found at most good building supply and hardware stores. Finding a water tight version usually means going to a good electrical supply store or using the net.

Marinco makes marine NEMA L5-30 receptacles and the result is a somewhat water proof connection when used with a standard connector body. It just requires more pieces to setup a receptacle. My sailboat connection was corrided after a couple of years in a salt water environment, so they aren't the best.

We used lots of Hubbell twistlock, watertight connectors at work, up to 480 VAC three phase, thus my preference for them since they functioned so well in a wet environment. They can be found at Newark Electric, Allied Electric or other suppliers on the Net if you do a search.


btggraphix - I took your advice on my original post and sealed the edges of the insulation. You should still make the change when it gets warmer 😉

[pianotuna]

Hi btggraphix,

The twist lock is a great system. It costs more. It is harder to find (try Walmart for a twist lock and it will be in vane.)

[btggraphix]

bb_94401 wrote:
Remove the Cord. Install a twist lock connector in the door opening and on the end of the cord.

I completely removed the interior uninsulated, sheetmetal cord box. More inside storage and warmer.

......

Hey BB - thanks for the additional pictures! I still have your comments from when I bought those parts and your description linked and printed. In fact, maybe I can blame you :B for my delay because you did make me "think bigger" and I didn't do the cord because I have 'designs' on that whole box. So instead I procrastinated. 🙂

Isn't that the same "twist lock" style that pianotuna thinks are too rare to use? It seems like I see them on many C's and other RV's, plus at Camping World, so I thought it was relatively 'standard' out there.

[hermy]

Randu- that cracks me up! I definetly understand exactly what that battle looks like!

[the_tc_life]

Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:

deltabravo wrote:
My solution is to leave the cord mostly in the storage box and connect a 30amp to 15 amp adapter, then use a short 12 AWG power cord to go from the adapter to the power receptacle.

You beat me to it. This is what I do too. I always have a heavy 12 gauge extension cord and adaptor to 120 volt 30 amp for when there is mud, cold, and other reasons that pop up. Nearly all if not all RV hookups have a 20 amp GFCI on the post. The extension cord comes in handy for lots of things. One of my favorites is a box fan off the inverter at night to blow the bugs away or through the campsite so they don't land and well bug you.
We may still be able to go this weekend if things get done in time. Don't know if there's a spot near or anywhere in the KOA though.

Extension setup is the way to go though.

yeah, using the extension cord was my only thought when I posted this topic but im glad I did post it. there has been a couple great ideas for a set up that I did not think of or thought I could do.

Leavenworth...I would give them a call. that hard part is the staff are there only once in a while during the week but there on Friday and Saturday. from last I heard there are a few sites still open. that was 2 weeks ago. we have sites 55,53,51,49. hope you can make it.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

deltabravo wrote:
My solution is to leave the cord mostly in the storage box and connect a 30amp to 15 amp adapter, then use a short 12 AWG power cord to go from the adapter to the power receptacle.

You beat me to it. This is what I do too. I always have a heavy 12 gauge extension cord and adaptor to 120 volt 30 amp for when there is mud, cold, and other reasons that pop up. Nearly all if not all RV hookups have a 20 amp GFCI on the post. The extension cord comes in handy for lots of things. One of my favorites is a box fan off the inverter at night to blow the bugs away or through the campsite so they don't land and well bug you.
We may still be able to go this weekend if things get done in time. Don't know if there's a spot near or anywhere in the KOA though.

Extension setup is the way to go though.

[deltabravo]

My solution is to leave the cord mostly in the storage box and connect a 30amp to 15 amp adapter, then use a short 12 AWG power cord to go from the adapter to the power receptacle.