30amp

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NY_Dutch said:
They'll know the difference when they see the 30/50 dog bone hanging out of the park power panel.
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The comment that this started with was me saying I carry a 20 ft 30 amp extension around so it easier to hook up when on 30 amp, thereby the 50 amp cord and the dogbone adapter stay hidden in the electrical bay and only the end of the 30 amp extension is seen outside of the coach. The 30 amp cord is much lighter and less bulky than the 50 amp cord, so trivial to handle by comparison.
 
JayArr said:
If I owned the campground and a class A RV came in and asked for 30A service I'd drop by later to see what they plugged in.
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There sure are a lot of sucker deals at RV parks these days.

When I stayed a month at Oxbow RV Park, Payson, AZ, they add a $10.00 "administrative fee" to the electric bill.

When I recently stayed at the Creekside RV Park, I could only get a spot that had electricty and water. No sewage.

On the way out, I had to pay $10.00 to dump at their central location. If I did NOT stay there, they would charge me $15.00.

But when I stayed in White's City, NM I boondocked away from the others. When I left, they told me to dump (for free) and any unused full hookup spot.

To be charged ten bucks per day for electricty you cannot even use is really a sucker deal.

IMO, these sucker deals piss people off more than does a higher price to stay each night.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
Just as an experiment I tried to plot out the route for our recent 2 week, 1,800ish mile trip from Louisiana to the mountains of New Mexico and back in order minimize nightly campground fees, by using Passport America parks, low cost public campgrounds, etc.
All but 3 nights were full hookup 50 amp sites, those 3 other nights were 30 amp water and electric with free dump station. Nightly cost ranged from free, which was at a recently reone free public campground in Andrews, TX a fully paved lot behind the Chamber of commerce with 6 water and electric pull through sites and dump station, limit 3 night max stay. The power posts had both 50 and 30 amp outlets however there was a printed out of order sign on all the 50 amp outlets. Up from that was a 2 nights at a $15 per night city park in Dublin, TX (30 amp water and electric), then 3 night stay at a Passport America park in Llano, TX (2 nights at the 50% off Passport America rate), putting the total for 3 nights combined at about $65 (Full hookup 50 amp), 4 nights at another passport America Park in Mayhill, NM (Cool Pines RV park), $22.50 per night at Passport America rate (limit 3 nights, but they let us stay 4 at the discount rate), new owners doing a lot to fix up the place, very nice, very friendly park, with lots of social activities (free cinnamon rolls in the club house on Saturday mornings, apple dipping with locally grown apples on Wednesday we were there, etc.), and another Passport America park near Waco also $22.50 for one night. The most we paid to spend the night the entire trip was $39 for pull through 50 amp site in Fort Stockton, TX (only 10% off Good Sam discount here), second most was $35 at a somewhat ran down mom and pop RV park near Huntsville, TX (trying to get stopped for the night before the bad weather hit, the heavy rain rolled in about 20 minutes after we stopped).
 
JayArr said:
If I owned the campground and a class A RV came in and asked for 30A service I'd drop by later to see what they plugged in.
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Is the real reason because you know owners of Class A's with 50 amp service capability can usually afford to pay more?

-Don- Reno, NV
 
Isaac-1 said:
The comment that this started with was me saying I carry a 20 ft 30 amp extension around so it easier to hook up when on 30 amp, thereby the 50 amp cord and the dogbone adapter stay hidden in the electrical bay and only the end of the 30 amp extension is seen outside of the coach. The 30 amp cord is much lighter and less bulky than the 50 amp cord, so trivial to handle by comparison.
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I also carry a 25ft 30amp power cord from a prior RV so the 50amp stays on the real in the bay, I have the 30 to 50amp dog bone but use the 30amp cord as it's lots lighter.
 
Edd505 said:
I also carry a 25ft 30amp power cord from a prior RV so the 50amp stays on the real in the bay, I have the 30 to 50amp dog bone but use the 30amp cord as it's lots lighter.
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If I ever get the shaft by using my 30 to 50 amp adapter, I will start doing that as well.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
DonTom said:
If I ever get the shaft by using my 30 to 50 amp adapter, I will start doing that as well.

-Don- Reno, NV
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Just like the lighter cord if all that's available is 30amps. I got a deal on the 50 amp real but cord is still heavy and I have to unreal the entire 50amp to use it, twist lock on the RV and then the pedestal.
 
Edd505 said:
Just like the lighter cord if all that's available is 30amps. I got a deal on the 50 amp real but cord is still heavy and I have to unreal the entire 50amp to use it, twist lock on the RV and then the pedestal.
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I could just use this and hide the adapter to the 50 amp cord inside the RV on the other side, so then when a "JayArr" walks by my RV he will think it's a 30 amp RV.:)

-Don- Reno, NV
 
I think anyone with an RV can afford the camping/hydro/dump fees. Just like anyone with a car can afford gas. If you can manage to buy an expensive recreational vehicle then the difference between $25 and $35 shouldn't be a big factor in your budget.

The infrastructure to supply 50A service is more expensive to install and maintain and therefore requires higher charges to pay the investment back and keep it in working order. 50A pedestals, breakers and outlets cost more to buy and replace, 50A underground cable is more expensive than 30A underground cable. You need to get all that back plus have a profit.

I've read complaints on this forum about campsites that only have 30Amp service which prohibits Class A owners from running both AC units so it's a contradiction to also hear complaints that 50A service is more expensive. There is no free lunch.
 
JayArr said:
so it's a contradiction to also hear complaints that 50A service is more expensive.
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I don't think anybody complains about that. What I was complaining about is a 50 amp capable RV drawing less than 30 amps from a 30 amp outlet and the RV park owners wanting to charge more, just because the RV is 50 amp capable when on a 50 amp outlet.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
DonTom said:
What I was complaining about is a 50 amp capable RV drawing less than 30 amps from a 30 amp outlet and the RV park owners wanting to charge more, just because the RV is 50 amp capable when on a 50 amp outlet.
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If that actually happens, it would be valid. After being involved in security for a national RV rally for the past 6 events, I can tell you that there are RV owners who will try to cheat and get what they have not paid for, so if it is happening the cheaters are who caused that to happen.
DonTom said:
there is a better way such as check the meter daily
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There are at least 2 problems related to that approach. First is that most RV parks do not have electric meters at every site, only those which are sometimes rented for a monthly fee, and there would be significant cost to install meters for all of their sites. Second is the cost of having someone read those meters each day or as the occupants were to check out. Even if that were to be done, at least some of the cheaters in the RV community would slip out without paying extra for their electric use. Having been a campground host in several public parks, I have many times seen an RV arrive late and leave early, avoiding paying anything for the time spent in the park.
 
Individual meters are VERY expensive, I think I saw a price tag on a new electronic meter with wifi at $800. To outfit a campground with 40 sites that is $32000. A 32K investment on a 5 year amortization at 5% interest is 40K, a 40 site campground with 70% occupancy 30 weeks of the year has 840 nights of paid guests per year. You would need to raise the price of every site by $9.52 to break even and that doesn't include installation or maintenance.

Remember that the campground is a business, any solution to any problem must be the one that is most profitable without decreasing sales.
 
DonTom said:
You're not going to get more than 30 amps form a 30 amp outlet. The CB will trip.

-Don- Reno, NV
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I was talking about charging more for a 50 amp connection at the pedestal. If you were talking about a 50 amp coach connected to a 30 amp at the pedestal, then I missed that. So it would take 50 amps to trip the CB.
 
DonTom said:
I could just use this and hide the adapter to the 50 amp cord inside the RV on the other side, so then when a "JayArr" walks by my RV he will think it's a 30 amp RV.:)

-Don- Reno, NV
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That is what I use but the 5W end is a twist lock adapter like this so I can use the 30amp cord. I only have 30 amp in the car port where the 5W lives when not in use so this is the what I use to keep the RV powered up when parked. Fridge stays cold & batteries charged. Not sure what there is to hide, 30amps is 30ams no matter what cord I use. No way to get 50 amp through a 3 wire cord, 50 amps requires 4 wires. Use an adapter on the 50amp cord, plug into the 30amp in the pedestal you get 30 amp. I have no idea what you think your hiding using a 30 amp cord and hiding the 50 amp all your going to get is 30 amps.
 

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