Forum Discussion

Kampfirekid's avatar
Kampfirekid
Explorer
Jul 20, 2020

Wiring A 30amp RV Outlet - Ground & Neutral

I wired up a 30amp plug in my barn this weekend to power the travel trailer when it’s in the driveway. My barn is wired with a 100amp service breaker cabinet off the house main service, which was installed 18 years ago by a certified electrician, and inspected by the County Building Department.
Question I have is related to ground and the neutral for the plug. The terminations on the plug are done as required,, but at the panel, the ground and neutral bus is bonded together. Is this a no-no for RV services.
I terminated the neutral wire on the neutral buss on the same side as the breaker, and then terminated the ground to the same buss where the ground wire from the house service terminates... which is on the neutral buss on the other side of the panel. Is this correct? Being a single pole 30A breaker, the 120V to the plug is a no-brainer, but is the shared ground/neutral an issue?
Thanks for your help.
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Jul 20, 2020
    That is correct. The neutral and ground are bonded at the main panel and kept separate in the RV.
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Jul 20, 2020
    It's OK. RVs don't bond utility power ground and neutral. That's done at the main panel and in your case the barn. The ground is a safety wire and bonding at the barn is consider safe.

    RVs do bond built in gen neutral and ground which is isolated from shore power. Ditto for an inverter.
  • Kampfirekid's avatar
    Kampfirekid
    Explorer
    Jul 20, 2020
    BB_TX wrote:
    That is correct. The neutral and ground are bonded at the main panel and kept separate in the RV.


    Okay, but to clarify, while the ground and neutral wires at the receptacle are separate, they both come back to the barn breaker box and terminate on a common or shared ground/neutral buss. So, in reality, they are NOT separate. Is there a danger of this?
    I verified at the main 200A power panel in house that feeds the 100A breaker panel in the barn, the ground wire feeding the barn panel is also terminated at the shared ground/neutral buss. There is no separate ground terminal in either panel, and I thought I read of concerns with voltage traveling from the neutral thru to the ground if shared.
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Jul 20, 2020
    Applances should not return any current on the ground. Doing so is a ground fault condition and will trip a GFCI if present.

    There are posts on these boards concening a shock when touching the outside of the RV. I've posted that RVs should plug into a GFCI, turn on appliances and insure they don't have a ground fault. Note that the typical shore GFCI is limited to 20A.

    There is a lot of misinformation or out of context information on the internet.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Jul 20, 2020
    Is the barn a sub panel connected to the house main panel? Or direct feed from the utility transformer?
    Does the barn panel have a ground rod or does it have a ground wire feeding back to something else?

    Not that it matters but is the barn wired with two main breakers with split phase 240v service or is this just a single phase 120v service?
  • Kampfirekid's avatar
    Kampfirekid
    Explorer
    Jul 20, 2020
    time2roll wrote:
    Is the barn a sub panel connected to the house main panel? Or direct feed from the utility transformer?
    Does the barn panel have a ground rod or does it have a ground wire feeding back to something else?

    Not that it matters but is the barn wired with two main breakers with split phase 240v service or is this just a single phase 120v service?


    The barn is a 100A sub-panel fed from the house main 200A panel, not separately fed from a transformer. The barn does NOT have separate ground rod. In the panel in the house, the ground wire leaving the house to go to the barn panel is terminated on a common ground/neutral buss. That same ground wire at the other end that reaches the barn panel is also terminated on a common ground/neutral buss.

    The barn has one main disconnect. It’s a standard SquareD 100A residential house panel.

    Thanks for your help.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Jul 20, 2020
    This is a NO SHOCK ZONE drawing for Power Panel at the house...



    Be sure you get someone that understands all of this before jumping in there and wiring it up yourself...

    Nothing worse then stepping off your trailer steps to the ground and getting shocked...

    Also nothing worse than having a licensed technician wiring up your RV power panel and not knowing the difference between RV and House Washer/Dryer wiring... This will burn up all of your plugged in appliances when first turned on haha... This is a good reason to have a licensed electrician company doing it as their Insurance will pay for all they are responsible for burning up. Guess who gets the bill if you wire it up wrong. Could be in the thousands of dollars replacing electrical appliances in the RV haha...

    Just saying of course.... I am no authority on any of this...
    Roy Ken
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Jul 20, 2020
    Kampfirekid wrote:
    The barn is a 100A sub-panel fed from the house main 200A panel, not separately fed from a transformer.
    I don't think the barn subpanel should have a ground-neutral bond.

    I am not an expert but there could be some consideration for the distance etc but I would double check with the city or a different electrician.

    https://forums.mikeholt.com/
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Jul 20, 2020
    RoyB wrote:
    This is a NO SHOCK ZONE drawing for Power Panel at the house...



    Be sure you get someone that understands all of this before jumping in there and wiring it up yourself...
    Roy Ken
    Good information in the text but questionable diagram that shows a utility service entrance with no main CB.
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Jul 20, 2020
    Interesting that earth grounding or not of a remote panel seems to vary. Local codes might be different. The ground wire is a safety wire and bonded to neutral and earth ground at the OPs house. He could contact an electricial knowledgeable in local codes.

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