powerline system on 98 Chieftain

[head_west]

Hello from a soon to be Winnebago owner (maybe). We have been looking for a nice used coach within our budget for several months and believe we found the right one. It is a 1998 Chieftain model 33WB in excellent condition with a floorplan the wife and kids love.

I was feeling really good about it until I talked to someone about the power situation. It is wired for 30 amps, has 2 roof airs and we live in Texas. It does have the Powerline EMS. We went and test drove it the other day at around 5:30 when it was 101 (heat index of 110). Both airs were running, the fridge was on and it was nice and cool (using the generator). The panel showed to be pulling 17 amps. The person I talked to said it would be virtually impossible to cool our rig in the summer off of shore power with only 30 amps. This fellow was an older gentleman who has been rv'ing for a long time.

I know this is my decision, but any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Ken

[head_west]

Hello from a soon to be Winnebago owner (maybe). We have been looking for a nice used coach within our budget for several months and believe we found the right one. It is a 1998 Chieftain model 33WB in excellent condition with a floorplan the wife and kids love.

I was feeling really good about it until I talked to someone about the power situation. It is wired for 30 amps, has 2 roof airs and we live in Texas. It does have the Powerline EMS. We went and test drove it the other day at around 5:30 when it was 101 (heat index of 110). Both airs were running, the fridge was on and it was nice and cool (using the generator). The panel showed to be pulling 17 amps. The person I talked to said it would be virtually impossible to cool our rig in the summer off of shore power with only 30 amps. This fellow was an older gentleman who has been rv'ing for a long time.

I know this is my decision, but any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Ken

[troth]

My coach also has a 30A shore power cord, and I've run both my roof A/Cs perfectly well in 95 degree Ohio temps this past summer. And they were pulling between 16 - 18 amps on my EMS panel readout. To be sure, running the genny can give you more amps to play with. But that's one reason your coach has the EMS, to shed some current loads as other demands are brought into the system.

[bflem]

The older coaches would not run both air conditioners on 30 amps. but with the powerline system you can use both with a few amps to spare. Id you try to use the microwave, hair dryer or a combination of other high amperage units the power line may shut down one air conditioner until the load is reduced. I think the 30 amp with powerline will serve you well.

[SeaRay]

I agree with the other posts. We had a 1987 31ft Winnebago Elandan with 30 amps and 2 roof units. The BR unit was installed aftermarket by CW and it was wired so you could run both at one time. We never had a problem with amps, but we were careful what we turned on at the same timr since we did not have a management system in the coach.
We rarely used both units and at night when it had cooled down we would run the bedroom unit so we could watch TV up front without the overhead noise of the front unit. South Carolina may not get as hot as Texas but an August day around 98 degrees with 98% humidity is enough to make a bug sweat, We were always plenty cool in the coach.
I say go for it.
SeaRay

[tomsm]

Ken,

Welcome to the forum! Of course 50 amps is nice, but I agree with the others. I had a 2002 Southwind 32 with 2 roof units and 30 amp service. We took a trip in the summer of '03 from Florida on I-10 all the way across Texas, spent several weeks in AZ and around Palm Springs, CA. Returned on the same route. We were very comfortable the whole time. The EMS would occasionally kick off one of the a/c units when the coffee was brewing, but it wasn't off long enough to affect the temp in the coach. If you like everything else about this unit, in my opinion, you shouldn't let the 30 amp service stop you.

[head_west]

Thanks again for your replies. I feel much better about it now. I actually slept good last night. I don't know why I beat myself up over these decisions. Guess its human nature.

Ken