Best way to run two AC units in a 30 amp park

Have not posted in a long time but now need  input of the forum.  I have a stationary 30 amp 5th wheel running in a 30 amp park.  I would like to bring in a 50 amp RV with two AC units.  For the time being bringing in 50 amp power is not an option.  The owner is open letting me do what I can to get to 50 amp short of new service mainly because AEP the provider has an entire section on their website saying what I want to do would require the entire park to change at the parks expense.

So a coupe of questions.

The unit I am looking at has a 5500 Onan, can I run the two AC units during the periods of peak heat and maybe watch TV or be on my computer?  This unit does have a residential fridge that has to stay on. I do have a large propane tank so I don't think fuel is an issue other than cost.

There is another 30 amp plug not being used next to mine.  Can I tie those together to get full 50 amp service?  I know I would be paying for two meters, that is ok.  I have looked at the "cheater plugs"  but not convinced they will work even though there is no GFI.  The owner is ok with that  Thoughts?

Can I take the second AC and run it to the other 30 amp plug? The owner is ok with that too?

Could I put the washer dryer on the second 30 amp plug or generator and run it with or without the 2nd AC?

Can I move to another park with 50 amp power? Yes but I don't want to, the view the neighbors and the lifestyle here are too special.

Are any of these options viable and which one would be the best way to go?


HTX

If the park owner is ok with you using two 30A outlets you can get a Y adapter that plugs into both and then plug the 50A cord from the RV into the Y.

Hopefully the two outlets are on different legs of the main feed so as not to be in phase. And remember, this Y will give you 60A max total, not the 100A that two sides of a 50A plug supplies. You will have to watch your total amperage use.

Amazon has one for $50. Y adapter

First I a little confused from your post> Do you actually owned the Fifth wheel or are you looking at one to buy? This is what causes my confusion: "The unit I am looking at has a 5500 Onan"

I make the assumption that you own a fifth wheel with 30 amp service (not 50) and it is wired so the Genset will run the second AC.

If this is the case, then it might be easy to power the second AC via the "extra" 30amp outlet next to yours. Easy or hard depends on finding the romex cable that service the second AC from the Genset.
If my assumption is true and you want to know how to make a second power source work, let us know.

If your Fifth wheel has 50 amp service, then a cheater box will work. If the 2- 30 amp outlet are on the same leg of service then it is possible to exceed the capacity on the neutral wire in the 50 amp cord because you could draw a total of 60 amps. If the two outlets are in different legs then the max amperage to the neutral would be 30 amp. To find out take a multi-meter and check the voltage between to 2 hot lines on the 2 outlets. If the voltage is 240 the circuits are on different legs, if the voltage is zero then they are on the same leg. If they are in the same phase (same leg), just be sure that you don't exceed 50 amps total draw.

ken

The way I read it is the OP has a 30 Amp RV right now but wants to pull it out and bring in a 5vr with 50 AMP service.

The 5th I have now is 30 amp unit on a 30 amp post  I want to buy a 5th that is a 50 amp unit and I don't want to move to a park with full 50 amp service.  I'm in South Texas. I need two AC units at certain times of the day.  That is my primary objective.

Maybe I should start a new thread but it would be in this section anyway so here goes.  My 2003 KZ with the "artic package" is set up so that all of the windows are on the sun side of unit. No way to change that.  The presumed new one will have will have less than 10% that many windows facing the afternoon sun  I assume that that change alone will keep me cooler? 

HTX said:

Maybe I should start a new thread but it would be in this section anyway so here goes.  My 2003 KZ with the "artic package" is set up so that all of the windows are on the sun side of unit. No way to change that.  The presumed new one will have will have less than 10% that many windows facing the afternoon sun  I assume that that change alone will keep me cooler?

Click to expand...

Yeah...

Wow, ALL of your windows are on one side?
Solar through windows is a big part of heating up.
Hey, greenhouses are basically ALL window, right?
Awnings and/or tinting/mirroring can help as well.

*If the underground wires to your RV site can handle 50 amps.. (not all can) Then there is an option.  Two of them in fact but one is better
First the EASIEER option and that is to have an enegery management system installed (I'm not even going to think about doing a job like that myself) This term "Energy Managent system" refers to one of two systems.. One we call surge guard (not that one) the other is we call a "load shedder"  What this does  is run both air conditioners... ONE AT A TIME... Not the best optio0n if it's really hot

The other option is the one I use.

I found the power lead that went from the distribution box out to one (Rear in my case) of the air conditioners

I disconnected the Romex from the breaker box, all 3 leads, and set aside for the moment.

I connected a new line to the same breaker 12ga, and extended it to a recessed box which I cut into the service side of the RV

Then using a junction box and proper connections I extended the power line to the roof to the same box

The line from the breaker has an outlet.. The line to the roof a plug, On 50 amps sites (I am on one now) they connect. on 30 amp sites with a 2nd 20 amp outlet.. I unplug and using a 12ga  extension cord plug into the 20 amp hole.. Works great.. Most of the time.

I can run both of them at one time though I often have to kill the front one to run the Microwave. or kill the water heater,  or both.

Friend of mine has a 50amp trailer. With 2ac.  He never has a problem running them. On 30amps.  He runs his ho****er heater on gas. And makes shoure he dosent run the microwave. Or his washer dryer

Thanks everyone. There is another 50 am 5th in the park and he can not run both, as old as the park is it would think voltage to the posts is probably not the best.  The more i think about it the idea of taking the second AC and maybe the washer and dryer and putting  them on a separate panel and the other 30 amp plug would be the best bet. 

HTX

I'm in a similar situation and my solution is to run a portable A/C vented out a window instead of the second over head.  The one I bought is only 7.5 amps which is about half the amperage and I'm not blowing any fuses yet and it keeps it fairly comfortable in north Texas summer.

Often in a 50A rig connected to 30A shore power, the two a/c will alternate. The fans run on both, but the compressor won't start on the second one if the available amps aren't above some threshold value.  People think they are both "running". but basically one is on stand-by waiting for the other to cycle its compressor off. When that happens, the second one kicks its compressor on and does some cooling.

It may occasionally be possible for a second compressor to start, but generally the start-up amp load (typically 20+ amps) is just too much. If it does manage to start, though, there will be probably be adequate amps available to keep it running. Mine seems to have about  a 25% success rate when the park 30A power is solid. Your mileage may vary...

I commented on this a few months ago, but back when we had our '92 Bounder, I purchased from Camping World a "black box" that would allow one AC to run for about 10 minutes, then shut if off and start the other AC and let it run for about 10 minutes and then repeat, repeat. It did the job in Arizona in the spring/summer months. I don't know if a unit of this type is still on the market, but if it is, it would be worth taking a look at.

Bll

I have two 30 amp plugs available. How hard would it be to take the second AC and put it on another the other plug? I know about the cheaters that use 2 30's but a true straight plug to the other 30 amp  seems to be doable.  Or am I missing something?

HTX

If you have two 30A outlets, and each has its own 30A source wire (not two outlets daisy chained to one 30A source wire), the "cheater" is the way to go for a 50A RV. I run my 50A coach at home that way. The only wrinkle to that would be if the outlets are GFCI protected, but few except the very newest are.

But yes, you could make a cable that plugs to the 30A box and then wire one of the a/c units direct to that cable, adding a 20A circuit breaker somewhere in there for protection. The a/c wires to the RV load center (hot/neutral/ground) must be removed and connected to the new cable. The drawback (other than the effort & cost) is that only the a/c gets power. In a 50A RV, usually other stuff is also shifted to the second hot leg, e.g. water heater, or maybe a washer/dryer if it has one. If that stuff remains on the other 30A source, you can still run into power limitations.

No matter what you do and how you try to make it work, there will always be some campgrounds that have such old wiring that none of those measures will work.  We're sitting in one right now.  We needed a place to stay over the long weekend; it's near where we wanted to be and it looked good.  The owners are very nice and have tried hard to be accommodating but the fact remains, their 30-amp circuit can't handle anything but minimal loads.  NO air conditioner.  No washer/dryer.  Bare minimal microwave usage.  Today I went grocery shopping to find meals I can serve cold or cook on the range.  There's no way I could cook a frozen entr?e in the convection/microwave because it barely warms a cup of coffee - and it struggles to do that much.  (It's too hot to use the propane oven.)  Our digital monitor reads about 105 volts.  Jerry has used every trick he knows including his "cheater" to use both our plug and the one at the next site.  That didn't work either because the place simply needs upgrading.  We don't always have the luxury of finding the ideal place so be prepared for the unexpected like lousy 30-amp service.  This too will pass....  The good news is we maneuvered the coach enough that the satellite dish can see over the trees so not all is lost.

ArdraF

So even if the two 30 amp plugs are on different legs the best I can hope for is limited 50 amp service using the cheater?  I think I found the RV I want, virtually no windows on the afternoon sunny side, dual pane windows where there are windows and they all have awnings including a roll down solar screen on the large rear window that faces east.  I have to believe  that alone will be a big help.

This turning into a major PITA but still bound and determined to up grade the RV and be comfortable. I really appreciate all of the responses.

HTX

Most parks the pedistal will have a GFCI in the 20 amp slot, and your cheater cord/box will trip the GFCI.

This is why I( "Split off' my rear A/C when on 30 amp sites.

There are no GFI's but instead of plugging the cheater into the 20 amp it can plug into the 30 amp on the other side but maybe doing it your way skipping the cheater and just plugging into the other 30 amp service with one AC might be better.  In 3 years there a has never been an RV in that spot and we have plenty of other's that are nicer available. 

Funny thing is the unit that I am seriously looking at is a Redwood 36RL with 3 roof units. If I can run any two of them at the same time I will be very happy.

HTX

I have a 30 amp RV and we occasionally run the 2 A/Cs,  ... even with all the power management and switching over the fridge and heater and forget using the microwave, ...  it usually doesn't work.

....because
on those really hot summer days when everyone in the area is running a/c's on full blast, the voltage in the whole grid can drop from an ideal voltage of 120VAC..  down as low as 109 VAC and what was 30 amps at 120 volts,  is now around 33 amps and stuff starts shutting down to stay under 30 amps.

best thing you can do is turn one a/c on in the morning and leave it on all day. If it really gets really hot (above 103)  you have to fire up the generator.

or the window unit and a 20 amp cord also sounds like a good idea.

( now that I'm retired my new plan is to get naked and surround myself with cold bottles of beer.. )