For 30amp Trailer, install 30 or 50amp service to pole?

[kilboar]

Hello All,

I've got electric at a private camping area and need to add service for a 30amp plug for a new 30amp travel Trailer. I heard it better to put in a 50amp outlet in and then use a 30-50amp plug to hook it up the trailer. That way I would have extra or reserve power for everything on my 30amp trailer to run.

Smart or Dumb? 🙂

Andrew

[Bobbo]

dodge guy wrote:
Get a box with 50, 30 and 20A connections. Use a 50-30 adapter to your trailer this will leave the other leg free when you want to use the 20A service. More is always better when it comes to electric!

If you install the 50/30/20, you won't need the 50-30 adapter. Just plug in to the 30 amp outlet. The 20 amp outlet will still be on the other leg. (On a related note, using the 50-30 adapter on a 50 amp outlet only gives you a 50/50 chance of having the 20 amp outlet on the other leg. The 50/30 adapter taps one of the legs, but you don't know which one.)

ken56 wrote:
If you want to be able to use your air conditioners then go 50. Even though your rig is 30 amp think of the future and the possibility of getting a 50 amp unit. You never know. If you just want to keep the battery charged then do the 30 amp and you will still be able to use your air and lights anyway. All is dependent on how far away it is and what gage wire used.

While I agree with going 50 amp (I am the one who posted the picture of the 50/30/20 pedestal), you don't need the 50 to run your air conditioners. In a 30 amp RV, they will run just fine on a 30 amp outlet.

[ken56]

If you want to be able to use your air conditioners then go 50. Even though your rig is 30 amp think of the future and the possibility of getting a 50 amp unit. You never know. If you just want to keep the battery charged then do the 30 amp and you will still be able to use your air and lights anyway. All is dependent on how far away it is and what gage wire used.

[dodge_guy]

At home I installed 30A service, even though I will eventually have a class A. However in your situation I would run 50A. Get a box with 50, 30 and 20A connections. Use a 50-30 adapter to your trailer this will leave the other leg free when you want to use the 20A service. More is always better when it comes to electric!

[sgfrye]

Bobbo wrote:
When I installed a pedestal at my house, even though I only had a 30 amp RV, I installed a 50/30/20 pedestal and powered it with a 50amp 240v breaker. While going to the expense and trouble, I figured that if I ever decided to get a 50 amp RV, I would not need to re-do it. The extra cost was relatively small compared to a 30/20 pedestal, and was negligible compared to the cost of doing it twice. There was no extra trouble, since I merely pulled one extra wire (although I did run 6g wire instead of 10g wire).

While a 30 amp is sufficient for now, be prepared for the future. "Do it right, do it once."

50/30/20 surface mount

this is what i would do. never thought we would go from a 30 amp TT to a 50amp TT but that happened about 2 months ago. i would spend the money and do it once. this is a nice setup

[kilboar]

Thank you all. I'm going with a 50amp in case I ever get a 50amp camper or add an ac or more electric devises to the camper.

Thank you again

[wnjj]

ScottG wrote:

wnjj wrote:
A box with a 50 and 30 also means a friend could visit with an RV.

Probably would work OK but that 30A receptacle is connected to one side (or leg) of the 50A. So it's possible both rigs would be running off the same side of 50.
The 20A recept is connected to the other side of the 50A.

True. I was thinking more along the liens of 2 30-A rigs with one of these: clicky

[Bobbo]

ScottG wrote:

wnjj wrote:
A box with a 50 and 30 also means a friend could visit with an RV.

Probably would work OK but that 30A receptacle is connected to one side (or leg) of the 50A. So it's possible both rigs would be running off the same side of 50.
The 20A recept is connected to the other side of the 50A.

True. There are two methods of dealing with this.

1. Use wire heavy enough for 80 amps, and put in an 80amp 240v breaker. That way, you can use the 50amp, 30amp, AND 20amp outlets all at full capacity at the same time.

2. The other way, like I said I did in my earlier post, is to install a 50amp 240v breaker and just know that you are limited to a max of 50 amps on each leg.

[ScottG]

wnjj wrote:
A box with a 50 and 30 also means a friend could visit with an RV.

Probably would work OK but that 30A receptacle is connected to one side (or leg) of the 50A. So it's possible both rigs would be running off the same side of 50.
The 20A recept is connected to the other side of the 50A.

[enblethen]

Sounds to me like the large panel on the pole should be 120/240 three wire and connected to ground through a rod.
It should have capability for either 120 30 amp or 50 amp 120/240.
There would be little cost different in labor to install both a 30 amp and a 50 amp box like the one suggested by Bobbo. Yes, a small differnce in material.

[BB_TX]

The reason an RV park 50 amp outlet may be better for a 30 amp rig using an adapter is because those park outlets get a lot of use and abuse. Well worn outlets are going to have more resistance the worse they get. The 50 amp outlet is heavier duty and will likely have less resistance than an equally worn 30 amp.

For your home service there is no real benefit to installing a 50 amp except for possibly getting a 50 amp rig later. Your current 30 amp rig has an internal 30 amp breaker limiting you to 30 amps no matter what you plug into.

[Lwiddis]

My DW said when I grow up I can have a 50 amp TT.

[wnjj]

A box with a 50 and 30 also means a friend could visit with an RV.

[Trackrig]

Bobbo wrote:
When I installed a pedestal at my house, even though I only had a 30 amp RV, I installed a 50/30/20 pedestal and powered it with a 50amp 240v breaker. While going to the expense and trouble, I figured that if I ever decided to get a 50 amp RV, I would not need to re-do it. The extra cost was relatively small compared to a 30/20 pedestal, and was negligible compared to the cost of doing it twice. There was no extra trouble, since I merely pulled one extra wire (although I did run 6g wire instead of 10g wire).

While a 30 amp is sufficient for now, be prepared for the future. "Do it right, do it once."

50/30/20 surface mount

Yes, install one of these and then you're all set.

Actually what I did was install one of these at the power pole and then ran the conduit and wiring over to where I wanted to park my MH and installed another one.

And after talking to the electrical contractor, the difference in cost for heavier wiring is very minor so I ran heavy enough wire so that a MH and TT can be plugged in at the same time.

What happens if you install a 30A service now and in a couple of years buy a larger unit requiring 50A service. What's the old saying - Penny saved, pound foolish, something like that.

Bill

[Big_Katuna]

To further complicate your decision, you can power the 50A recep with two 30A breakers to save $ on wire size.

It’s very hard to use 30A per leg with a 50A RV.

I’ve got my house RV outlet wired that way.

You can run both ACs, fridge, hwh and microwave just fine.