Pig Tail or or extension adapter?

[kennyd63]

Good day all -

Quick question. My trailer uses a 30amp power cord. Can I use a pig tail/ or adapter from 50amp male to 30amp female, and still use my a/c and everything on my T.T. with out over loading my T.T. do to the fact that I am plug into a 50amp source?:h

[myredracer]

Quick answer: :R

Actually, in many cases you are better off using the 50 amp recept. in a pedestal instead of the 30 anyway. As mentioned, you are protected by the 30 amp breaker in your TT and won't overload anything.

The 30 amp receptacles get a lot more use and abuse compared to 50 amps and can have a poor connection possibly leading to overheating and damage to your power cord. If a 30 amp recept. looks like it's blackened and crispy and has a loose connection, don't hesitate to use the 30/50 adapter.

Also, you have a better chance of having decent voltage at a 30/50 amp pedestal compared to 30 amps only. It's good practice to check the voltage before turning things on. If it is low, try and find a 30/50 pedestal and use the 30/50 adapter. Because the wiring to 30/50 amp pedestals is heavier gauge, the voltage can be much better than a 30 amp only pedestal. Had this happen at a Thousand Trails CG last season where the voltage was 106 before turning anything on - moved to a section with 30/50 amps and was way better.

And, make sure to always turn the breaker off before plugging in your shore power cord. This will prevent pitting and dirt buildup on the plug blades.

And, if in a CG with only 30 amps available and the pedestal recepts. are in bad shape, Camco makes a 30 to 30 amp pigtail adapter which can be used in those situations. If things do end up overheating, hopefully you will only lose the adapter. We were in a CG with all 30 amps and they were in such bad shape, I had to use a stick to stop the plug from falling out - good application for the 30-30 adapter.

[SoundGuy]

kennyd63 wrote:
Can I use a pig tail/ or adapter from 50amp male to 30amp female ...

That "pigtail" you're referring to is commonly referred to as a dogbone, for obvious reasons. ;). I carry several of various configurations so I can plug into virtually any campground source I may ever run into. 🙂

[Dog_Trainer]

Think about it this way. At home you have a service line coming into your breaker panel that will provide far more amps than your home will use. The breaker panel provides overall protection up to the breaker box capacity.
Your TT breaker box acts in the same way. So as long as the voltage is right coming into the trailer , your breaker box protects the overall amperage load (up to 30 amps) as well as the individual circuits in the box.

[Old-Biscuit]

Up to 30 amps total

Then your Main 30A breaker in the AC Power panel will trip if overloaded which can be accomplished but would have nothing to do with using the 30A to 50A adapter.

Added benefit......50A receptacle on power source is probably in better shape than the 30A ones.
Course will all the 50A rigs that may not be as true as it used to be.

[westend]

Yup, you can use it all. The circuit breakers in your trailer still act as safety for any over-current situations.