Fema trailer....can I go 50 amp down to 30?

[fireflymin]

This is about my son's 28 ft. fema trailer that has a 50 amp hook up... stove is electric, ac , water heater and heater.....We are in Fla, so no real need for heat right now.....but ac and occasionally the stove...mostly microwave and ac. plus lights.....Is it okay to reduce the plug from 50 amp to 30, and still be okay.....most likely using the ac, a few lights, tv and microwave..... Hard times have forced him to use this as his home full time, in my back yard....I have the 50 amp hook up, and would like him to use my 30 amp extension that will put him at least 50 feet into my back yard, where the trailer will be more out of the neighbors line of view... This move will take place tomorrow, so immediate help is valuable.....Thanks in advance.....

[Matusky]

30 amp should be fine,..... Only problem you might run into is if the compressor on the AC is running and you use the microwave, being on an extension, worst case is you'll just have to reset the breaker,.... If you need an adapter, best place is to run into walmart where the RV stuff is. I think for that setup 30amps will be fine

[W4RLR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fireflymin This is about my son's 28 ft. fema trailer that has a 50 amp hook up... stove is electric, ac , water heater and heater.....We are in Fla, so no real need for heat right now.....but ac and occasionally the stove...mostly microwave and ac. plus lights.....Is it okay to reduce the plug from 50 amp to 30, and still be okay.....most likely using the ac, a few lights, tv and microwave..... Hard times have forced him to use this as his home full time, in my back yard....I have the 50 amp hook up, and would like him to use my 30 amp extension that will put him at least 50 feet into my back yard, where the trailer will be more out of the neighbors line of view... This move will take place tomorrow, so immediate help is valuable.....Thanks in advance.....

Your son has a park model, not an RV. Replace the refrigerator, water heater, furnace, and stove with RV units, and then you could make it work on 30 amps. Without replacing those items, you couldn't run the stove and the A/C, or the stove and the furnace on 30 amps. I won't even get into the issues with plumbing and holding tanks.

You would probably spend more money than the trailer is worth in doing that, though. Cheaper to run a dedicated 50 amp line if your son is going to live there full time.

[fireflymin]

I know that the stove and fridge are all standard house type appliances... The main thing would be using the ac and microwave at the same time, but in my way of thinking, I can do that with my mh, which is a 30 amp rig. So I was thinking it wouldn't hurt anything to run off just the 30amp extention cord. I do have the 50 hook up, but the outlet is in my front yard and I just had my friends leave after a 3 month stay, with a 40 footer hooked up out there; my lawn is a mess, and it's nice to have a view from inside my house. I have the extension cord, and cannot afford to spend the money to bring the outlet to a pole in the backyard at this time. So I figured this was my best option for the time being... Because I am relatively new to this; thought I'd ask for imput from you all. Thanks again!

[JimM68]

Better to bite the bullet and purchase that 50 amp extension cord.

30 amps is cutting your incoming power to one third. While that can marginally work with a motorhome with a good power management system, that park model trailer doesn't have any power management and needs every watt of that 50 amp power.

[bldrbob]

Check the stove to see if it is 110 or 220. If 220 it will not work on 30 amp which is 110.

[wa8yxm]

I agree with the advice about the stove.. Good chance it's a standard house model 240 volt and will not work on 30 amps period.

Of course there are ways around that.

[TXiceman]

More than likely the stove is 240 VAC and will not operate on 120 volt 30 amp service. I think yo will need a 50 amp service to plug in to.

ken

[Texas Bubba]

You can get a 50 amp extension, similar to the 30 amp you already have. Would be much cheaper and safer that working with the 30 you have now. RV dealer or Camping World will have what you need. Otherwise your looking at "issues".

[melvonnar]

You asked the question 50 to 30 amps?
Answer; NO

[mick]

If you run that extension cord over 15-20 foot, I hope u get a really heavy duty cord.

[Ray,IN]

I fully agree with these replies:

07-26-2011 07:35 PM TXiceman More than likely the stove is 240 VAC and will not operate on 120 volt 30 amp service. I think yo will need a 50 amp service to plug in to.

ken 07-26-2011 10:58 AM wa8yxm I agree with the advice about the stove.. Good chance it's a standard house model 240 volt and will not work on 30 amps period.

Of course there are ways around that. 07-26-2011 08:48 AM bldrbob Check the stove to see if it is 110 or 220. If 220 it will not work on 30 amp which is 110.
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If the trailer does not have holding tanks, do you have a solution to connecting to your sewer system?