Connecting 50 amp trailer to 50 amp outlet using 30/15 cord with dogbones

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charityd13

Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2021
Posts
6
Location
Florida
I have reservations to camp later today so I know this is very last minute. I JUST got my trailer back from the dealership yesterday (a Sunday; service department was closed). I had it delivered and was not there when they picked it up from the dealer (I was leading a Girl Scout troop encampment and couldn’t be there). When I finally got to the rv, my 50 amp cord was missing. (I of course plan to call them today). With my extreme rush to make sure I could hook up at the campsite today I was able to get a 50 amp female to 15 male overnighted. I have all the needed connectors to connect my 50 amp rv to the 50 amp outlet but I have to use a 15amp cord > 25ft 30amp cord > 50mp outlet. Am I at risk of burning my cords. I have one AC I will be running bc its Florida and the middle of September haha. I will probably have fan plugged in as well and the fridge and a TV at night. This is my first time using this RV and doing all of it without help 😅 so I just want to make sure I’ll be ok. I will have to have it set up this way for at least today but if the dealership doesn’t have my cord than this could be the set up until Friday (the next 4 days and nights).
 
Welcome to the forum.
I would not run all those items in a 15 amp cord but that’s me . I’m not a electrician. Get on the phone now with the dealership.
In Lakeland it’s high will be 84 today and low 72 tonight.
 
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Are you missing your 50 amp extension cord, or the 50 amp cord that is wired into the junction box( I am not familiar with your unit)?
 
Welcome to the forum.
I would not run all those items in a 15 amp cord but that’s me . I’m not a electrician. Get on the phone now with the dealership.
In Lakeland it high will be 84 today and low 72 tonight.
So the 15 amp cord is very short. It’s basically just an adapter/connection cord that has the proper 50 amp female that I need to actually connect to the rv. From there the bulk of the connection will be a 30amp that has a dogbone to connect to the 50 amp breaker/outlet.
 
So the 15 amp cord is very short. It’s basically just an adapter/connection cord that has the proper 50 amp female that I need to actually connect to the rv. From there the bulk of the connection will be a 30amp that has a dogbone to connect to the 50 amp breaker/outlet.
That short length 15 amp cord will be your week link.
 
Are you missing your 50 amp extension cord, or the 50 amp cord that is wired into the junction box( I am not familiar with your unit)?
No it’s the main 50 amp cord that has the special female side to connect to the rv. I think that’s what you mean when you say “junction box” 😅
 
That short length 15 amp cord will be your week link.
Will it still create a problem if the cord is high/rv quality and the outlet I’m hooking into is still the same amperage as my rv? When you say weak link, what kind of problems might I experience. Could I burn up the cord?
 
The cord is rated to only allow 15 amps to go through it. Makes no difference if it’s high quality. It could just melt and start a fire. Others more experienced will chime in soon. How far away is the dealership?
 
The only problem that is possible for your configuration is the cord would get warm, or you could trip a breaker. I would suggest feeling the smallest cord to see if it is getting warm. If it is getting warm stop using it and replace it with a heavier cord. You won't burn up the cord unless it is hooked up to a defective breaker.
 
The 15A dogbone cord is essentially a 15A fuse. Regardless of the other cords, it will get hot if 15 amps of power flows thru it for more than several minutes. If you try to pull 20A or 30A, it will melt down. The net of that is you cannot run all those items at the same time - the a/c alone will pull about 12 amps. Adding the rest, plus another 1-2 amps for the built-in battery charger & 12v converter will push the load above 15A, at least intermittently.

Short answer: Yes you will burn up your 15A cord.
 
The cord is rated to only allow 15 amps to go through it. Makes no difference if it’s high quality. It could just melt and start a fire. Others more experienced will chime in soon. How far away is the dealership?
It’s over an hour away. Not a huge deal if they have it I obviously prefer the original 50 amp cord! 😅 this dealership has been shady left and right and I just have a sinking feeling that they will tell me they don’t have it. I didn’t provide and itemized breakdown of what it was delivered with. I just took note of what needed to be fixed. I dunno 🤷‍♀️
 
Go to camping world and buy the correct cord. Mickey Mouse knows better than this. It's not worth patching in unreliable, risk hazard wiring.

Can you not afford another cord? You can always bring it back too if you keep it clean and certainly have the dealer pay for it.

Lots of things result from improper wiring. Burning the wire up is the only short term result. High Amps and low voltage will stress certain appliances causing a reduction in the quality of life and life expectancy.

Get a new cord. Simple.
 
Don’t think of it as a 15 amp cord, because you’ll actually be using it as a 15 amp fusible link.
 
I would think the weak point will be where the 120VAC plug from the dog bone plugs into the extension cord. I burned one of those up just running a 30A trailer on a 15A outlet so trying to pull 50A through a plug like that probably isn't going to last for very long.

You can try it but if it burns up a connection you will have no power at all, then what?

What if it works for a while and then fails in the middle of the night?

Everything will work just fine if you don't run the Air Con.
 
Go to camping world and buy the correct cord. Mickey Mouse knows better than this. It's not worth patching in unreliable, risk hazard wiring.

Can you not afford another cord? You can always bring it back too if you keep it clean and certainly have the dealer pay for it.

Lots of things result from improper wiring. Burning the wire up is the only short term result. High Amps and low voltage will stress certain appliances causing a reduction in the quality of life and life expectancy.

Get a new cord. Simple.
The money isn’t/wasn’t really the issue it was time. Thankfully the cord was left at the dealership and I have it now in hand so crisis averted but thank you everyone for your knowledge and input. I would hope to be smarter than “mickey mouse” but I’m a newbie and that’s what this forum is for, right? 👍🏼
 
Thankfully the cord was left at the dealership and I have it now in hand so crisis averted but thank you everyone for your knowledge and input.
That is great news. Just to educate a little bit, power cords are rated in amps based on the diameter of the wire. Just as a larger diameter hose will carry more water with the same driving pressure, a larger diameter of wire will carry more amps at the given voltage. If you attempt to use a small cord for a large current it will get hot and eventually melt as suggested. But it will also restrict the current flow and the voltage will drop in your RV. Your air conditioners are the thing that will be most impacted. You could do serious damage to the motors of your air conditioners if you attempt to operate them from a small sized extension cord.
 
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