50 Amp Cord and other questions.

[CJAG1]

Newbie here, My wife and I are taking our first long trip in our coach. First stop Cedar Key Florida for a month in Mid December. No other plans booked after that. We are going to wing it a little and take the advice I have read and book a few days in advance in and around FL. I realize we may not get prime beach spots.
Should I bring an extra 50 amp cord other than the one my Coach has?
If I am plugged into a small amp cord do my adapters for 30 amp and 110 work on the main plug?
Do you find some electric hook ups far away at some spots.?
How about Sewer hose? I have about 20 foot now, should I have more?
Florida this winter and we are open to suggestions on other RV parks.
Any other suggestions would be great!

 

[Rene T]

Newbie here, My wife and I are taking our first long trip in our coach. First stop Cedar Key Florida for a month in Mid December. No other plans booked after that. We are going to wing it a little and take the advice I have read and book a few days in advance in and around FL. I realize we may not get prime beach spots.
Should I bring an extra 50 amp cord other than the one my Coach has?
If I am plugged into a small amp cord do my adapters for 30 amp and 110 work on the main plug?
Do you find some electric hook ups far away at some spots.?
How about Sewer hose? I have about 20 foot now, should I have more?
Florida this winter and we are open to suggestions on other RV parks.
Any other suggestions would be great!

I carry a extra 50 Amp 15' extension cord. If I know I'm going to a CG with only 30 Amp, I take my 30 Amp extension cord and just adapt it down from 50 to 30. You won't be able to run everything all at once with that 30 Amp cord.

A 20' hose typically will be more than enough. 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Florida isn't all swamps and gators and we actually have stores, even Walmarts!  You can buy power cords and sewer hoses in many places.  I would not stock up on any of that stuff "just in case".  Do, however, have a 50/30 adapter and a 30/15 adapter, to mate up with less-than-50A outlets if needed. Those are basic supplies.

 

[Isaac-1]

If you decide to carry one, you may be interested in the online sale at camping world, they have a couple of 50 amp extension cords marked way down (on clearance?) at the moment, something like $50 for a 30 ft 50 amp cord

 

[John From Detroit]

I used to have a trailer I installed 30 aps in so I have a 30 amp shore cord..and extension. and a 50 amp shore cord. and extension, and dogbones going both up and down. as well as a 15-30 doggy and 30-15 puck (These are for special needs not normally used with RV save for some testing)

I have been known to chain 'em all together a time or two (That's 1 or 2 times in 15 years so don't get excited) .. But  My 30 amp cord is much ligter than the 50 so if on a 30 amp site. Why fight the 50? plus is is what I call a SUPERFLEX also called ARTIC FLEX so even at zero F it bends nicely (Don't even consider rolling up your 50 that cold).

and the 30 amp extension is a left over from my trailer days.

1 Week ago I was using the 50 amp extension.. IN a park. So I recommend having it.

 

[NY_Dutch]

The sites we most commonly use our 50 amp extension cord on are "scenic" sites where the best view is at the rear of  the site, so we pull in instead of backing in. That puts the power stanchion on the wrong side of course, plus the extra length lets us route the cord out of the normal walking path.

 

[jymbee]

I carry a extra 50 Amp 15' extension cord. If I know I'm going to a CG with only 30 Amp, I take my 30 Amp extension cord and just adapt it down from 50 to 30. You won't be able to run everything all at once with that 30 Amp cord.

I understand this to be the case, but just what does happen if, for example, you try to run 2 AC units that require 50 Amp service when connected to just 30 Amp power source?

 

[SargeW]

With some careful planning I have run 2 AC units on a 30 amp circuit. With a 50 amp outlet and a 50 amp cord, you actually have 50 amps on each incoming leg, for a total of 100 available amps. When you plug in using a 30 amp cord or a 50 amp cord with a 30 amp adapter, you have reduced your available power to 30 amps. 

The same goes if you plug into a 30 amp service by putting an adapter on your 50 amp cord to fit into the 30 amp receptical. There is still only 30 amps available.

The result will be that you will either pop the breaker on the pedestal, or possibly the breaker in your RV. The only way that I have done it is to make sure that all other power draws are off. If anything else cycles on, a breaker will pop.

 

[John From Detroit]

I understand this to be the case, but just what does happen if, for example, you try to run 2 AC units that require 50 Amp service when connected to just 30 Amp power source?

That one is easy to answer.. sort of.. What happens if you try to run BOTH A/C's and much of anything else including your converter.. CLICK and silence... the breaker trips.

NOW that said. turning off EVERYTHING my two Carrier Air V's together drew 27 amps by measurement. THe limit for a 30 amp breaker. But I had not left over power for anything.  This was a "Proof of concept" test I did once.. And they were brand new at the time.  My new coleman draws just a tad more power. (about 0.3 amp more).

Now.. There are some thigns you can do to REDUCE amprage. For example the water heater element in my Rig is 1500 Watts at 240 volts... or if you like 375 at 120. Takes a bit longer to get hot... BUT... Takes a LOT longer to make that breaker say "CLICK".

 

[NY_Dutch]

I understand this to be the case, but just what does happen if, for example, you try to run 2 AC units that require 50 Amp service when connected to just 30 Amp power source?

As said, a breaker will pop. The worst case situation would be using a 50/30 adapter to plug a 30 amp cord into a 50 amp outlet, and then converting back to 50 amp at the RV cord. That would allow up to a 50 amp load on the smaller 30 amp rated cord, possibly overheating and melting the connections or insulation and causing a short circuit. Definitely not recommended...

 

[CJAG1]

I will get one extension 50 amp and I have all the adapters for 30 amp and 110. I love the idea of parking in Scenic areas and routing my power accordingly. 
Great forum here.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I understand this to be the case, but just what does happen if, for example, you try to run 2 AC units that require 50 Amp service when connected to just 30 Amp power source?

Since two a/c units consume roughly 30A total, odds are strong the 30A breaker on the power pedestal (or its source) will trip. Same for many other combinations of 2 or more high power appliances, e.g. one a/c + microwave, or microwave and a hair dryer. 30 amps is just 30 amps (3600 watts), no matter how you use it.

A confusion factor for many folks is that 50A service is also 240v service, so it delivers near 4x as much power as 30A/120v.  50A service has 12,000 watts available vs the 3600 for 30A/120v.    It gets even more confusing in Dutch's worse case scenario, with a 30A adapter/cord in the middle between a 50A outlet and a 50A shore cord.  The 30A adapter reduces the 50A/240v to 50A/120v, so the available power is immediately cut in half (6000 watts max).  It still substantially exceeds the capacity of the 30A cord, though, potentially pulling 50A through a cord designed for 30A.  This is not a problem when plugging to a 30A outlet - only in the 50A-30A-50A scenario.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The need to carry extensions varies a lot with the RV.  Some shore cords are as short as 15-20 ft (saves $$on entry level models) while others may be as long as 30 ft (many high end models). Likewise, the location on the shore cord entry to the RV is a factor, e.g. at the rear or positioned somewhere along the driver (street) side.  Ditto for sewer hose lengths - some rigs even have an alternate sewer outlet on the passenger (curb) side.

And of course, sewer inlet and power & water outlet locations on a campsite varies all over the map and may even be at opposite ends of the same site. The only thing sure is that all variations are possible and if you travel around much you are likely to encounter most of them.

 

[jymbee]

Since two a/c units consume roughly 30A total, odds are strong the 30A breaker on the power pedestal (or its source) will trip. Same for many other combinations of 2 or more high power appliances, e.g. one a/c + microwave, or microwave and a hair dryer. 30 amps is just 30 amps (3600 watts), no matter how you use it.

Got it. Thanks for the input.

A confusion factor for many folks is that 50A service is also 240v service, so it delivers near 4x as much power as 30A/120v.  50A service has 12,000 watts available vs the 3600 for 30A/120v.    It gets even more confusing in Dutch's worse case scenario, with a 30A adapter/cord in the middle between a 50A outlet and a 50A shore cord.  The 30A adapter reduces the 50A/240v to 50A/120v, so the available power is immediately cut in half (6000 watts max).  It still substantially exceeds the capacity of the 30A cord, though, potentially pulling 50A through a cord designed for 30A.  This is not a problem when plugging to a 30A outlet - only in the 50A-30A-50A scenario.

While I read this excellent explanation a couple of times, and my reading comprehension is usually on the high side, for some reason when it comes to all matters electrical I just kind of space out. Guess it's just one of those areas that or whatever reason I've always managed to avoid dealing with. Right up to the point that I have to call our local electrician to bail me out of course. 

 

[Dream Chasers]

Cedar Key is wonderful. We were just there last month for the Seafood Festival. The Red Tide wasn't that far north so the fish is safe to eat.

Whenever we only have 30 available, we just run one A/C at a time. We generally just run the living room.  But about a half hour before bed, we run the bedroom with the door closed. Then when we go to bed, we run the living room overnight. We don't like the bedroom a/c blowing on us. We leave the door open and plus the air from the living room runs through the ceiling ducts.

 

[CJAG1]

What RV park were you at? Its our first trip there Sunset Isle was the only park I could get a spot at. I hope we like it.
Thanks for the tips on AC.

 

[Isaac-1]

One follow up comment on the sewer hose length issue, a lot here depends on how you travel.    When travelling solo I can easily go a week between dumping my tanks, the way I travel I rarely stay in one place more than 5 days, at most 7 to get the pay for 6 nights and get the 7th free deals.  If I happen to luck into an RV site like the one I had on a recent trip with the  sewer hookup all the way at the front of the site (just forward of my drivers side front wheel when I was parked), then I don't hook up the sewer hose and dump as I am leaving the rv park.  If need be I would pull forward to dump then back up into place again as my dump connection is all the way at the back of my coach on the drivers side.    The alternative would be needing a 30 ft sewer hose, with supports as this was slightly up hill.

 

[Dream Chasers]

We always stay at the Low Key Hideaway. It has 9 RV spots, 5 hotel rooms and a Tiki Bar. Only 2 people per RV or room and must be over 21.