Power problems at park what would you do?

[elite wa]

Okay so I just wanted to get an idea on what others would do in this same situation. This past weekend we were at camp and I am booking up our electric. Well I get the warning that their is an open ground. When I touched the power box or the metal latches on my coach I got a light shock.

So I went and told the ownership and they said that an open ground shouldn’t cause any problems but they would come out and take a look. Of course after messing around with it the owner got shocked as well.

They moved us to another site and all was good. Later in the evening the two campsites that were affected by this got new guests. One family had a surge protector and one didn’t. Now I don’t know if they were told about the problems but my question is what would you do?

Would you go up and ask them if they experienced any problems? Or would you think you did your part so it’s up to ownership?

[RRR]

Depending on how much time I wanted to waste I would try to figure out who the local authority agency is and contact them with the details.

Then post on every review site I could find.

[Arch Hoagland]

I would tell the new campers at the bad site about the problem. Someone could get seriously injured or killed.

That RV park doesn't happen to be in New Mexico does it?

[Milford 47]

I would tell them as well

Makes me wonder how I survived camping all thos years before we had ground wires

Started camping in the early 60,s as did many of you

Yes there were many if us that experienced hot skin

Given today's knowledge and regulations a bad pedestal is simply unacceptable

A modern RV should not have a hot skin either, something is wrong

[Xmcdog]

At the very least tell the new campers. How would I feel if their small child was killed?

A call and email to the local power authority would also be in order.

The CG has already been told.

Seriously if I owned the CG I would have the pedestals checked by an electrician at the beginning of the camping season. Certainly no less than every 6 months. Any issues, lockout the site power until it can be repaired.

[Milford 47]

When I plug in my surge protection system the lights immediately show the status of the pedestal

Very easy for a campground to check similarly

Having run into many bad pedestal situations over the years it is the first check prior to setting up

Beats having to move after setting up

[Spdracr39]

Maybe It was repaired while you were moving. If it was a loose connection or broken wire in the pedestal it would be a very easy and quick fix. There is no harm in asking the new occupants to check it out and use caution but I wouldn't automatically assume the camp host had done nothing.

[egwilly]

Not my park, not responsible for it. You brought it to their attention. That's on them now.

But, I would let the new campers know about it. Maybe even post a little sign on it with a warning about the power issue.

Our EMS won't power up if there is a ground issue. Not safe.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by spdracr39

Maybe It was repaired while you were moving. If it was a loose connection or broken wire in the pedestal it would be a very easy and quick fix. There is no harm in asking the new occupants to check it out and use caution but I wouldn't automatically assume the camp host had done nothing.

X2!

[kcdogger]

Originally Posted by elite wa

Okay so I just wanted to get an idea on what others would do in this same situation. This past weekend we were at camp and I am booking up our electric. Well I get the warning that their is an open ground. When I touched the power box or the metal latches on my coach I got a light shock.

So I went and told the ownership and they said that an open ground shouldn’t cause any problems but they would come out and take a look. Of course after messing around with it the owner got shocked as well.

They moved us to another site and all was good. Later in the evening the two campsites that were affected by this got new guests. One family had a surge protector and one didn’t. Now I don’t know if they were told about the problems but my question is what would you do?

Would you go up and ask them if they experienced any problems? Or would you think you did your part so it’s up to ownership?

Are you staying there for a period of time and/or do you plan on returning? If you are, I would do nothing other than perhaps casually ask the owners if they were able to fix the issue the next time you ran into them,more out of curiosity than anything else. They likely would not appreciate you running to the authorities like some have suggested. They also would probably frown on you going to other guests and telling them the power pedestals are dangerous. It really isn't your problem and you probably shouldn't be a party to any solutions or actions unless you are fine with any possible reactions.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Just a comment: An open ground is only a potential problem, i.e. there is no protection if some fault occurs in the future. Getting a shock, however, says there is a problem right now, i.e. it is already dangerous. That's a clear & present danger and it would be a kindness to warn the new occupants that there had been a shock problem earlier in the day and they might want to be verify that it is now ok.

[Mr Ted]

Originally Posted by kcdogger

Are you staying there for a period of time and/or do you plan on returning? If you are, I would do nothing other than perhaps casually ask the owners if they were able to fix the issue the next time you ran into them,more out of curiosity than anything else. They likely would not appreciate you running to the authorities like some have suggested. They also would probably frown on you going to other guests and telling them the power pedestals are dangerous. It really isn't your problem and you probably shouldn't be a party to any solutions or actions unless you are fine with any possible reactions.

Like someone getting Electrocuted ?

[Ljwt330]

The OP asked, "What would you do?"


I would ask the new campers if they discovered any issue with the pedestal, and mention that I had to be moved because of a dangerous ground fault. No accusations, just a question and information. I feel a moral responsibility to protect a complete stranger from a potential danger that I know existed, but is not my responsibility to repair. The camper with the surge protector likely would be warned if the problem persisted. I might even lend my own protector to the other camper to test his source if there was uncertainty.

[kcdogger]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

Just a comment: An open ground is only a potential problem, i.e. there is no protection if some fault occurs in the future. Getting a shock, however, says there is a problem right now, i.e. it is already dangerous. That's a clear & present danger and it would be a kindness to warn the new occupants that there had been a shock problem earlier in the day and they might want to be verify that it is now ok.

Before you ran around and scared the other guests, wouldn't you at least ask the park management if they had corrected the problem? In my park, if you had skipped that step and proceeded to upset other guests I would be refunding your remaining nights and asking you to leave immediately. A well managed park would have corrected or repaired the issue immediately. It could very well have been something extremely minor that only took seconds to repair. Things like a loose wire or a broken receptacle could easily have been the issue. If it was a well managed and maintained park, that is the most likely cause because extreme failures of electrical systems are beyond rare. More than once those issues have occurred because the previous guest drove off forgetting to disconnect their power cable or had the tail swing on their trailer knock over the box. We, as park owners, never, ever heard about those issues and the guests just sheepishly either pack up their power cable or stand the power box back up and drive on their merry way. It isn't always negligence on the part of the park that things break.