50 Amp Hookup & Keeping it Cool

[Davis3B1G]

Hello out there. We just bought our first popup a few weeks ago and really enjoyed our first outing. We are going to a state park in a couple of weeks that has a 50 amp hookup. What do I need to do to access the power? I have seen a 50 amp to 30 amp conversion plug. Will that do the trick? Also, the salesman at the dealership recommended never running the refrigerator while on the road using batter power. He said that you run at a net loss of current. Is this right? It doesn't seem to make sense not to keep the food cold while driving. But I'm new to this. Advice?

[Steve-o-bud]

Hello out there. We just bought our first popup a few weeks ago and really enjoyed our first outing. We are going to a state park in a couple of weeks that has a 50 amp hookup. What do I need to do to access the power? I have seen a 50 amp to 30 amp conversion plug. Will that do the trick? Also, the salesman at the dealership recommended never running the refrigerator while on the road using batter power. He said that you run at a net loss of current. Is this right? It doesn't seem to make sense not to keep the food cold while driving. But I'm new to this. Advice?

I've never seen a hookup that didn't accomidate lower amperage plugs, for instance, a 50 amp hookup also has recepticles for a 30 amp, and a standard 20 recepticle. But... I always like to be prepared, so I would buy all sorts of adaptors.
 
As for the fridge... I don't agree with what the dealer said. It takes a while for the fridge to get cooling, the sooner you turn it on, the better. If you have a power source where you park it, I've heard advice to plug your trailer into shore power, and run it on A.C.
 
The dealer might have meant that with the fridge going, you may not be delivering full charging current to the battery, as some of it it going to the fridge. I recommend that you charge your battery with a good charger prior to hitting the road, and this won't be an issue.

[tlhdoc]

You could call the campground and check to see if it has the lower wattage plug.  I have a 50 amp to 30 amp dogbone adapter and the only time we used it was when a friend was camping on a dry site next to us and they needed to run their furnace.  I was plugged in to the 30 amp outlet and they used my adapter to plug their PU into the 50 amp outlet.