How do I power TT from garage? Got various answers at Camping World today..

[Danattherock]

We have our first travel trailer arriving in a few days. A No Boundaries 19.3, 24' 4200 lbs. We have two interstate batteries dual propane canisters and a solar system with inverter.

I want to hook up an extension cord to my garage to power the unit, charge the batteries prior to trips, and camp in the trailer in our yard initially.

Got $700 worth of camping accessories today (recommended to me here in my other thread), thank you to all that replied. Among them a 30-->15 dog bone. Regarding powering my travel trailer from the garage, I asked two people at camping world and got two very different answers.

There was some confusion about 15 or 20 amp being available in my garage, and one guy tried to sell me a $100 30 amp power cord that was about 1 inch in diameter. The other guy told me to use a regular extension cord and the 30-->15 amp dog bone. They both had varying opinions on whether or not I could run the air conditioner without tripping the breaker. To say the least it left me confused.

What do I need to do to safely power my travel trailer beside my garage here in the yard. initially I just want to spend some time in the camper and learn how to use the systems. In the long-term I would want to plug it in prior to a trip to fully charge the batteries.

Thanks guys.


Dan
NC

[winniman]

The 30 to 15 adapter should be all you need. If the rv cord wont reach the outlet, an extension cord could be used. It should be heavy duty if you use one. Running the air conditioning might be possible if you don't use too long of an extension cord. You will have to try it and see. I could run mine on 15 amp on my old one, but only one, and nothing else. As far as keeping the batteries charged, that should be no problem.

[Danattherock]

Thanks. I failed to mention we have a single 13,500 btu air conditioner.

[Ninja Worf]

If your breaker box is on the side of your house I would install one of these.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Connecti...-100669968-_-N

When I park my trailer on side of my house for a week or longer before trips I plug into this. If I am just doing a quick unload or park it on the street for a day Ill run extension cord with adapter to power everything...a/c worked with me (i have 20 amp breakers) but I made sure nothing else was running when a/c would kick on.

[Bob_C]

If you have a problem with the A/C, buy an Easy Start capacitor .........very easy to install as it plug right in next to the existing one........just remove the outside shroud for access....

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Chances are good that the outlet in your garage is on a 20 amp breaker, even if the outlet is rated for 15 amps. A 20 amp, 120v outlet has one of the flat pins turned 90°... and that was probably the big, fat cord they tried to sell you. The dog bone is a better idea.


That said, you need to avoid using a #16 gauge extension cord, my preference is a #12 with regular 15 amp connections (hint: 2 in a box at Costco) if you're doing more than just charging the batteries.


With a 20 amp service you should be able to run either the air conditioner OR the microwave oven, but not both at the same time. Ditto for a Mr Coffee, etc. Run the refrigerator on propane. You'll have enough power for the TV or other entertainment stuff, running the converter/charger to power the interior lights, refrigerator controls, propane detector, exhaust fans, water pump, etc. On real 30 amp service you might get away with microwave and AC, or AC and Mr Coffee at the same time.


Good luck and safe travels!

[SteveJ.]

I would suggest something like this in case you get a campsite too far from the electric hook up. Not too often but I have been in a situation where the longer cord was handy.

https://smile.amazon.com/Camco-Exten...s%2C784&sr=8-3

Probably half the price of Camping World(but I didn't check). $31 and change from Amazon.

[KanzKran]

The receptacle could be on either a 15A or 20A circuit. I think the requirement for it to be on a 20A circuit is fairly recent, so there’s a good chance it’s 15A.

I bought the extension SteveJ linked (below), and use it all the time when visiting friends and family to plug into their garage receptacle.

Originally Posted by SteveJ.

https://smile.amazon.com/Camco-Exten...s%2C784&sr=8-3

I got an adapter similar to this one from my FIL, and it’s been very handy. Same function as a dog bone, but smaller. Mine has a little LED that shows the presence of power at the receptacle, which is pretty handy.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-PowerGr...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

You’ll probably be OK even with a 15A circuit if you manage your loads carefully. I’d suggest letting the batteries come up to full charge before engaging any heavy loads, so the charger reduces its draw. My charger pulls 15A all by itself, but my battery bank is pretty big.

[TXiceman]

A 30 to 15 amp adapter is needed. You will not be able to run much in the TT. Maybe the A/C. Otherwise you can use the 15 amp circuit to run the fridge and charge the batteries.

Next thing is to ignore anything Camping World will tell you.

Ken

[Jay D.]

Originally Posted by Solo_RV_Guy

Chances are good that the outlet in your garage is on a 20 amp breaker, even if the outlet is rated for 15 amps. A 20 amp, 120v outlet has one of the flat pins turned 90°... and that was probably the big, fat cord they tried to sell you. The dog bone is a better idea.


That said, you need to avoid using a #16 gauge extension cord, my preference is a #12 with regular 15 amp connections (hint: 2 in a box at Costco) if you're doing more than just charging the batteries.


With a 20 amp service you should be able to run either the air conditioner OR the microwave oven, but not both at the same time. Ditto for a Mr Coffee, etc. Run the refrigerator on propane. You'll have enough power for the TV or other entertainment stuff, running the converter/charger to power the interior lights, refrigerator controls, propane detector, exhaust fans, water pump, etc. On real 30 amp service you might get away with microwave and AC, or AC and Mr Coffee at the same time.


Good luck and safe travels!

A 15 amp receptacle has the same plug arrangement as a 20 amp one does. the only difference is 15 amps uses no. 14 wire and a 20 amp uses no.12. the receptacle with one blade at 90 deg. is a 220 volt.
Jay D.

[scrapperjohn]

Just plug it in to keep batteries charged.
Don't run AC, microwave, or coffee pot at all.

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by Jay D.

A 15 amp receptacle has the same plug arrangement as a 20 amp one does. the only difference is 15 amps uses no. 14 wire and a 20 amp uses no.12. the receptacle with one blade at 90 deg. is a 220 volt.
Jay D.

The NEMA 5-20 20 amp plugs and receptacles are 125v and have 1 blade at 90 degrees. The receptacle has a "T" slot on it to accommodate the NEMA 5-15 15 amp plug as well as the 5-20 20 amp plug with the 90 degree blade. This is the receptacle that is on my Champion 2000 watt generator and I bought a 20 amp to 30 amp dog bone with a 5-20P plug to use with it. It took a bit of searching to find this specific combination dog bone but I wanted to use components that were properly rated for the capacity of the outlet. I don't know how common the 5-20 plugs/receptacles are - none of the 20 amp outlets in our stick & brick use them.

[KanzKran]

Originally Posted by ttavasc

The NEMA 5-20 20 amp plugs and receptacles are 125v and have 1 blade at 90 degrees. The receptacle has a "T" slot on it to accommodate the NEMA 5-15 15 amp plug as well as the 5-20 20 amp plug with the 90 degree blade.

The left slot, which is the neutral with the ground at the bottom, has the tee slot for both 15A and 20A plugs. The 250V version is similar, but the right hand slot is horizontal instead of vertical. So a 120V plug of either ampacity won't fit into a 240V receptacle, and vice-versa, but in either case, both the 15A and the 20A will fit into a 20A receptacle of the proper voltage, and a 20A plug won't fit into a 15A receptacle.

Originally Posted by ttavasc

I don't know how common the 5-20 plugs/receptacles are - none of the 20 amp outlets in our stick & brick use them.

The NEC allows 15A receptacles on 20A circuits as long as there is more than one receptacle on the circuit, and a duplex receptacle counts as two. So places like kitchen counter top receptacles (small appliance branch circuits, or SABC's), which are required to be on 20A circuits, are normally 15A receptacles. And 15A duplex receptacles are rated for 20A combined load, as well as 20A pass-through, so it's all good.

But 125V 20A plugs are pretty uncommon. Probably has something to do with UL/CSA listing, but I don't know that for fact.

[Persistent]

Dan,
I thought the issue was covered in the other thread. Sorry if not.
The dealer has it covered. You likely have a 15 or 20 amp circuit. You can't always tell by looking at the socket. A 20 amp socket has an extra horizontal component to one of the blades, but 15 amp sockets are often installed on 20 amp wired circuits. Check the circuit breaker to be sure. The dog bone or simple adapter for your TT will likely be a standard 15 amp plug.

You can almost certainly run one RV air conditioner on a 15 amp circuit. I expect a new small RV AC to draw about 12 or 13 amps when the compressor is up to speed and running hard.

You do not need to worry about soft start systems for grid power. The 15 amp breaker will allow the motor to draw more than 15 amps for a short period while it starts.

You do need to worry about what other devices are drawing power from the same home circuit. You only have 2 or 3 amps left before the breaker will trip.
If money is an issue buy a heavy gauge (12 or 10 gauge) extension cord. If not, buy the larger 30 amp cord. The cord with the 30 amp plugs can be used in a campground situation where the pedestal is too far from the parking pad.

If you want to power everything at once, you need a 30 amp 120 volt circuit. You can power lights, pump, fans, TV, and radio using a 15 amp outlet. Frig, furnace, and water heater control circuits also work with all those other things when they are using propane. Your converter/charger will provide the 12 volt power they all use.

High current 120 volt devices are the issue. You can use only one at a time using a 15 amp circuit. AC, electric frig, electric water heater, electric space heater, electric coffee pot, etc. can only be run one at a time. Each of these uses more than 8 amps and two of them will trip a 15 amp breaker.
If you have a 20 amp breaker in the house circuit, you can run all of the 12 volt devices plus one of the high current 120 volt devices. This may or may not work with a 15 amp circuit.
You can get a 30 amp extension power cord at Walmart, a hardware store, or Amazon for less than $100.
You can easily charge batteries using a 15 amp 120 volt outlet. Your converter/charger will draw less than 7 amps even when charging at full capacity.

40 amps X 12v = 480 watts.
480 watts / 120v = 4 amps.