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Rbuff

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Nov 8, 2017
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I recently bought a small cabin and RV park. I want to upgrade the 30 amp hook-ups to 50 amps. Do I just change the breaker or do the plugs and wiring also need to be changed??
 
I'd expect that the wiring, etc. (including the underground part that runs back to your source) also needs changing/upgrading, since it has to handle up to at least three times the load--overheating from inadequate wiring can cause serious problems, and with no change you get, at best, serious brownouts on a 50 amp rig. Long runs are even more serious if under gauged.
 
A 30 amp pedestal has 3 wires, 1 hot (30 amp), 1 neutral, and a ground. A 50 amp pedestal needs 4 wires, 2 hots (50amp each), 1 neutral and a ground. Years ago you could use a single wire for neutral and ground, but that hasn't been legal for quite some time, I believe the early '90s, and no electrical inspector worth his salt would let you get away with that now.
 
You might be looking at replacing the entire system: beginning with service from the street, then everything up to and including the pedestals. The place to start would be getting a qualified electrician in to look things over.

Good power is essential to keeping your customers happy. I know that we don't return to campgrounds with voltage issues.
 
As said, it's possible everything from the street in may need replacing or upgrading. And a visit from a licensed commercial electrical contractor would be a good starting point. Unless your park is in some really remote area with no regulations, you will need permits and UL or equivalent inspections before offering the service to the public.
 
NY_Dutch said:
As said, it's possible everything from the street in may need replacing or upgrading. And a visit from a licensed commercial electrical contractor would be a good starting point. Unless your park is in some really remote area with no regulations, you will need permits and UL or equivalent inspections before offering the service to the public.
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^^^ :)) :)) :))
Dutch nailed it. A normal electrician will do you no good. He won't know enough and he won't be able to tell you how much it will cost.
 
So it took me a little to figure this out (and members please correct me if I am wrong) but the difference between 30 amp service and 50 amp service sounds like 20 amps.  However since there are two 50 amp hot wires you are really comparing 30 amp service to 100 amp service or 3.33 TIMES the amount of electricity potentially flowing to the RV.

Also your system has to deal with someone's electronics running while 20 air conditioners (or whatever the number) cycle on and off - sometimes at the same time drawing a lot of start up current.

So no I would not recommend just changing out the breakers.

If you choose to upgrade, while the ground is ripped up you may want to factor in that within the next 10 years there will be a lot of electric cars on the road that those campers may be towing (yes I know details have to be worked out on drive systems) but it may be WAY cheaper to run the copper now and be over prepared than rip everything up again later.

By small how many spots??
 
KandT said:
So it took me a little to figure this out (and members please correct me if I am wrong) but the difference between 30 amp service and 50 amp service sounds like 20 amps.  However since there are two 50 amp hot wires you are really comparing 30 amp service to 100 amp service or 3.33 TIMES the amount of electricity potentially flowing to the RV.
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Correct. It's sometimes better to think in watts of available power. an RV 30 amp service delivers 3600 watts, while an RV 50 amp service delivers 12,000 watts.
 
It's not exactly rocket surgery, the National Electric Code spells out the requirements for campgrounds pretty clearly.
 
Others have mentioned getting a good electrician, but let me add that it's really important to have one who is knowledgeable about RV systems.  Many people, including regular electricians, think our big 50-amp plugs are for 240 volts but they're not.  RVs have 12-volt systems and 120-volt systems.  A 240-volt outlet will fry our electronics!

It's really important that you have good electricity.  We have left some RV parks early because their electricity was bad.  We've also been in a couple where we felt the electrical system was unsafe so we unplugged and used the generator.  Last year we ran into an old campground the owners had bought the previous year.  After the purchase they realized they needed to upgrade the electric but hadn't planned on that so didn't have the money.  We changed sites a couple of times, stayed over the holiday weekend, and then left a couple of days early because it was so bad.  Upgrading the electricity should be one of the first things you do and it will be expensive.  It needs to be done and it needs to be done correctly or you will have nothing but problems.

ArdraF
 
Rbuff said:
I recently bought a small cabin and RV park. I want to upgrade the 30 amp hook-ups to 50 amps. Do I just change the breaker or do the plugs and wiring also need to be changed??
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First welcome to the forum. Where are you located so we can come buy for a visit.
How many cabins and how many RV sites?  Are they all pull through? Are your sites wired for cable? You may have a pretty big project on your hands and it would be best to do it right the first time.
Bill
 
ArdraF said:
Others have mentioned getting a good electrician, but let me add that it's really important to have one who is knowledgeable about RV systems.  Many people, including regular electricians, think our big 50-amp plugs are for 240 volts but they're not.  RVs have 12-volt systems and 120-volt systems.  A 240-volt outlet will fry our electronics!

It's really important that you have good electricity.  We have left some RV parks early because their electricity was bad.  We've also been in a couple where we felt the electrical system was unsafe so we unplugged and used the generator.  Last year we ran into an old campground the owners had bought the previous year.  After the purchase they realized they needed to upgrade the electric but hadn't planned on that so didn't have the money.  We changed sites a couple of times, stayed over the holiday weekend, and then left a couple of days early because it was so bad.  Upgrading the electricity should be one of the first things you do and it will be expensive.  It needs to be done and it needs to be done correctly or you will have nothing but problems.

ArdraF
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The 50 amp plug IS 240v if measured between the two "hot" legs, just like a household 240v system.  In the RV setup, nothing goes between the two "hot" legs, but instead the load is spread nearly equally between one 'hot" and the neutral and the other "hot" and the neutral, giving 100 total amps of 120v power.  I have a diesel welder/generator unit that I can use to run my farm when the power goes out and its 50 amp receptacle will also run an RV.
The best setups I have seen at RV parks have a 50 amp receptacle/50 amp breaker, a 30 amp receptacle/30 amp breaker and 20 amp receptacle/20 amp breaker.  Do it right the first time.
 
Yup, the 50 amp RV service is just like your electric kitchen range. The 30 amp is what gets a lot of electricians that don't know the difference between 30 amp RV and 30 amp dryer service.
 
Rbuff said:
I recently bought a small cabin and RV park. I want to upgrade the 30 amp hook-ups to 50 amps. Do I just change the breaker or do the plugs and wiring also need to be changed??
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Do you have any 50 amp hook ups now?

If all you have now is 30 amps is your SMALL RV park able to handle a 45ft coach towing a vehicle or trailer behind it?

If there is room for big rigs then I would work on those sites first IF you don't have enough money to do everything at once because
like stated it will be expensive especially if you thought you could just change out the breakers.  That won't cut it - as your finding out.
 
Thanks for all of the input. We have 7 cabins and 6 RV spots but are interested in converting 2 spots to 50 amp, at this time. We are located on Lake Sam Rayburn in the Angelina National Forest, in East Texas.
 
Two spots should not be too expensive. Once again you need a contractor and not an electrician. And I am a retired electrician. Most electricians won't have the ability to do the complete job.
 
I always wonder why people get involved with things without doing some research. It would seem that if one was buying an RV park, one would know the difference between 30 and 50 amp service, and what it would take to re-wire.
 
SuwanneeDave said:
I always wonder why people get involved with things without doing some research. It would seem that if one was buying an RV park, one would know the difference between 30 and 50 amp service, and what it would take to re-wire.
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For the same reason people buy an RV having not a clue how to operate it or people who buy a large trailer when they only have an SUV.
 
SuwanneeDave said:
I always wonder why people get involved with things without doing some research. It would seem that if one was buying an RV park, one would know the difference between 30 and 50 amp service, and what it would take to re-wire.
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Sometimes, people are presented with an opportunity, and they take it. Then, study up on how to make the most of it.
We did that with a B&B. We had a lot to learn, and it was a lot of work. We learned what we needed to and had a great adventure.

Never let not knowing get in the way of doing. 
 
LarsMac said:
Sometimes, people are presented with an opportunity, and they take it. Then, study up on how to make the most of it.
We did that with a B&B. We had a lot to learn, and it was a lot of work. We learned what we needed to and had a great adventure.

Never let not knowing get in the way of doing.
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:)) :))
 
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