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Old 08-05-2020, 05:20 PM   #41
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Personally, I'd go for 50 amp. I would think that would give you room to "grow" into a more needy RV.

We approached this from a mixture of the suggestions. We added a new breaker box next to the main outside breaker box where power comes into the house from the meter pole. Our pool equipment was added this way, so we thought, "Why not the dock?"
When we originally built our house 25 years ago we requested a 400 amp service which the utility protested but reluctantly installed.

We installed a new 100 amp breaker box on the S&B's outside wall next to the house's outside 400 amp breaker box and ran about 24" of wire to power it. We then ran wire to a 100 amp service panel which became the new main service panel for the dock. From that panel we ran all of the dock's interior power requirements like outlets and lights. We included some 15 amp and 20 amp breakers, one 30 amp breaker, and one 50 amp breaker. From that main, we ran wiring across the rafters for lighting, and around the interior framing for many electrical outlets. We also ran wire for a single 30 amp outlet and a single 50 amp outlet. That way, we can cut the power at the main panel before connecting or disconnecting the MH regardless the amps. We currently use only 30 amp. Any visitors will have a choice of hookup. When we upgrade our rolling digs, so shall we. Good luck.
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Old 08-05-2020, 05:50 PM   #42
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Did this in May while hiding out from the virus at my Son's house. Panel was opposite end of house from outside garage where we were parked. 100' of 3 conductor with ground #6 was about $220 at the depot. The box with the outlet was 30 or 35. The prior owners of the house had had a hot tub so there was an unused 50 amp breaker just waiting for me. Half a day to snake a very large wire. But nice to have 50 amps, and the ability to run whatever we wanted.


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Old 08-05-2020, 06:22 PM   #43
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Originally Posted by pubtime View Post
I'd recommend (to avoid using a dogbone adapter) a 50/30/20 Amp RV box like you find at your favorite RV campground. That will add a bit to the cost, but not that much (maybe $100 more for the box). They have an additional set of breakers on the box so you plug the 50 into a 50 AMP socket, or a 30 into a 30 and if you need it outside you also have a 20 Amp plug (with a breaker) just like in the campground. You also put a 50 Amp breaker at your service panel.
Excellent idea if you don't mind having a few more exterior outlets.
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Old 08-05-2020, 06:25 PM   #44
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Question for Goodspike:

I have a 30 AMP View and had a surge protector installed in the RV. Does your comment and concern still apply to me if I use a 50 to 30 doggone?
Yes, a surge protector is not over current protection. But again you can deal with that concern easily by putting in 30 amp breakers until you actually need 50 amp service. Fairly inexpensive change and something I'd be willing to do myself even though I don't like operating inside breaker boxes.
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Old 08-05-2020, 06:44 PM   #45
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If you want to know if this connection is safe or not, ask Mike Sokol. He is Mr. RV Electrical expert. https://www.rvtravel.com/electricity...%2BRqbvouAM%3D
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Old 08-05-2020, 06:45 PM   #46
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Smile 30 vs 50amp service

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Originally Posted by JoeC View Post
I would put in the 30 amp service unless I was planning on living in the motor home and using all of the appliances. 30 amp would be plenty to live with, even running one A/C unit with appliances. Don't assume 50 amp service is not much more expensive.
Depends upon your building code in your area and the household service into the home.
Is it 100amp or 200amp into the dwelling? And you might have to run a separate line for the 50amp.
Another consideration is whether you will run just fridge or go full blown with A/C and occupants.

Signed: Sparkies Electrical
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Old 08-05-2020, 07:13 PM   #47
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A lot of folks here recommending that you just do it yourself without mention of pulling a permit. Here to add an additional breaker to a panel and run a new circuit a sealed drawing by a licensed professional is required to be submitted in order to obtain the permit and then the work has to pass the rough in and final inspection by the code enforcement inspector. What may be acceptable in one community may not pass muster in another so each has to verify what the local requirements are. Yes National guidelines exist however those can be superseded by a more rigorous local requirement due to a variety of factors.

I did commercial maintenance and yes it was on the Annual Maintenance Schedule to turn off all equipment at their service disconnects and then go back to the main panel to clean it out if needed, check tightness of the lugs and exercise the switch gear. Internal maintenance staff did the small stuff under the guidance of a Master Electrician while he did the 440 Volt Three Phase items. We still had Oil Bath Disconnect Switches on some equipment so those required the additional service of an oil change (up to 5 gallons on some) and contact cleaning/inspection at that time too which fell on me as Head of Maintenance to take care of personally.

I almost had a heart attack when I saw a kid on an aluminum ladder against one of the main Knob and Tube copper bus bars for the unequal leg 3 phase having just drilled a hole and tapped into the 120 Volt High leg to put in an additional outlet next to his work area. The bars were live and under load when he did it plus he did not put in a breaker for the outlet and just tapped a 1/4-20 steel bolt into the bar and connected a 10 gauge wire directly to the 400 amp bus for his 20 amp outlet. He even was using a corded electric drill that was not double insulated. Thankfully he did not have it plugged into an outlet on a different leg of the main bus.

We had to call in an electrical engineer to determine if the kid had seriously undermined the load capacity of the bus downstream and correct the installation of the outlet. If he had undermined the bar then that area of the factory would have required a shut down to repair it. All that really was protecting him and his metal ladder from the bare copper was paint over spray that had accumulated since the bars were first installed prior to WWI when the Civil War Era factory was converted from steam to electric power. Still gives me the willies to this day.
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Old 08-05-2020, 07:38 PM   #48
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You would be crazy not to upgrade at such small cost. I did and it allowed me maximum flexibility. 1. You may later upgrade to a 50 Amp Motor Home 2. visitors (relatives) with an RV my want to use it, 3. Any hired construction firms prefer it 4. Cost more to upgrade in the future is a possibility 5, You may use more multiple plug-in adapters/ports and not worry about the current draw, ....the list goes on.
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Old 08-05-2020, 08:26 PM   #49
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I just want to say that it is a fact that circuit breaker being switched thousand of times does not cause arcing nor any more issues than switching a light switch. If you have ever worked, owned or examined a commercial building of any size you would know that all the circuits are switched using the breakers. I spent the last 60 years doing this in many different buildings every morning and night! I can't remember ever having to replace a breaker, they are manufactured with very heavy duty contacts to allow for this.
Please do not rely on getting expert electrical information on forums. I have spent many hours with a forensic electrical inspector with two doctors degrees trying to determine why my custom built 1 year old house suffered $350,000 in fire damage. I learned a ton but would never attempt to tell any one else how to wire anything. Having said that I would go with the 50 amp wiring done by a licensed electrician. Use the 30 amp breakers and 30 amp outlet until you need 50 amps.
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Old 08-05-2020, 09:02 PM   #50
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I do agree with Rapid. I also like having the capability of disabling the outlet when not in use, but more importantly, when plugging and unplugging the RV.
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Old 08-05-2020, 09:05 PM   #51
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Well I'd go with a 50 amp set up for the future. Most trailers have the ability to exceed 30 amps by the sheer presence of multiple 120v plug outlets in a trailer but the assumption is someone is not going to plug an appliance into these to exceed the rated load for that circuit. If you do it will trip and keep tripping after resetting it until the load is reduced to match the circuit. Same for the 30 amps for the trailer or for that matter 50 amps for my motorhome. A house, though different may have 200 amps but that doesn't mean you use 200 amps but like your trailer and my motorhome exceed it then either a particular circuit breaker will trip or if you exceed it on enough circuits the main will trip. That's what circuit breakers were designed to do. IMHO id go for the 50 and be happy you did down the road when you move up.
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Old 08-05-2020, 09:25 PM   #52
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NeilV - I mounted the breaker box and the dock breaker panel, as well as all the outlets and lights. I also ran the wiring, about 200 ft. of it, both inside and out, whether through conduit or in-ground. I hired a licensed/certified electrician friend to check everything with the rough-in and with local codes. He connected the power from the S&B outside main breaker box to the add-on outside 100 amp breaker box for the dock, and then connected the other end to the dock's 100 amp panel. Because we live in a very rural area, permits were not required. I just didn't want things to get weird either when I engaged the first breaker, or later on when I plugged in something, especially the MH, or switched on the lights from the panel inside.
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Old 08-06-2020, 05:42 AM   #53
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This is just not correct.

With a 30-amp RV, the maximum power you can use is 30 amps, regardless of the receptacle you plug into.
That's right, because the RV breaker will limit the current draw to 30A.
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Old 08-06-2020, 06:17 AM   #54
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Greetings. This is my first reply so I hope I'm NOT screwing it up!
I installed a 120v-30A plug in garage to run my Navion 24V and it works no problem!

However, since then I installed and Easy Start on my rooftop heat-pump/AC unit, which reduces the inrush starting current by about 70%. Now I can use a standard 120 volt extension cord plugged in to a standard garage outlet. It runs the entire RV including AC fine even in the hot Florida heat. Cord and plug does not get warm either as total amp draw is fine. Plus it is much easier on the AC compressor due to a gentler start.
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Old 08-06-2020, 08:15 AM   #55
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This is just not correct.

With a 30-amp RV, the maximum power you can use is 30 amps, regardless of the receptacle you plug into.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Four Seasons View Post
That's right, because the RV breaker will limit the current draw to 30A.
Again, incorrect because you also need to protect the cord running to the RV and the wiring inside the RV before the main breaker.

Look at it this way. If you had a 30 amp subpanel wired with a gauge sufficient to carry 30 amps but not 50, you couldn't have a 50 amp breaker at the main panel feeding it because there's a 30 amp breaker at the other end. And that's with all the wire inbetween being presumably protected inside walls. That doesn't change when you have the wire being basically an extension cord running across the ground, and because wiring inside the RV tends to be notoriously bad.
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Old 08-06-2020, 08:19 AM   #56
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Well I'd go with a 50 amp set up for the future. Most trailers have the ability to exceed 30 amps by the sheer presence of multiple 120v plug outlets in a trailer but the assumption is someone is not going to plug an appliance into these to exceed the rated load for that circuit.
Yes they do have that ability, as discussed above in post 9, RV systems are different than home systems which seldom exceed the main breaker. But if they do and the 30 amp main breaker in the RV is not tripping, that breaker needs to be replaced. So that RVs can draw more than 30 amps is not a reason to install a larger breaker in the house, nor does that make doing so a safe practice.

The goal is to be safe, not to eliminate breakers tripping!
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Old 08-06-2020, 09:47 AM   #57
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Yes they do have that ability, as discussed above in post 9, RV systems are different than home systems which seldom exceed the main breaker. But if they do and the 30 amp main breaker in the RV is not tripping, that breaker needs to be replaced. So that RVs can draw more than 30 amps is not a reason to install a larger breaker in the house, nor does that make doing so a safe practice.

The goal is to be safe, not to eliminate breakers tripping!
The point was not telling him to install a 50 amp breaker bc he could exceed 30 amps. I agree that is unsafe and not a good practice. Rather the point was it shouldn't be the reason not to install it. Even a 30 amp breaker can draw more than 30 amps before it trips predicated on the age, amount of times it might've tripped, and quality control at where the breaker was manufactured and a plethora of other reasons. Many times, when we owned a TT some campgrounds only offered 50 amp service. Hence the invention of the 50 to 30 amp dogbone, as it is refer to by many. If it was so dangerous 50 to 30 amp dogbones would be illegal. IMHO I'd install the 50 and use a 50 to 30 amp dogbone with a surge suppressor. Safe electrical practices should always be foremost whether your at work, home, RV or anywhere and I always practice and advocate of that, so when in doubt go to an expert. After 36 yrs as a Firefighter I've seen the results, many times when it was not practiced. So be safe and contact an expert bc you'll get many helpful opinions on forums, many are helpful, great knowledge and experience but in the end its you and your family's welfare that depends on your decision.
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Old 08-06-2020, 10:00 AM   #58
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If it was so dangerous 50 to 30 amp dogbones would be illegal.
I'm not sure there's any government entity that would be able to create or enforce such a rule. But I'd turn it around and say that if it were safe then Underwriter's Labs would be willing to certify them.
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Old 08-07-2020, 08:39 AM   #59
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Wow! Like everything, there's a million ways to look at all this. Quite a discussion though. Here's what I did. Once the electrician arrived, we discussed the options. He, without my input, suggested running size 6 cable through the conduit and installing a 30A circuit breaker and outlet. Later, when I want to upgrade, just change out the two end pieces and I have 50A capability. So that's what I did (and yes, we ran a fourth untapped red wire as well for the upgrade). The RV is humming just fine on house power. Appreciate all the sage advice... :-)
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