electrical adapters carried?

[bearbait]

edited for content

[tlhdoc]

Yes I carry a 50 amp to 30 amp adapter.  The only time it was used was when we plugged another PU into our site.  The other PU didn't have an electric site so I shared our power post.  The didn't have any problems using the power that way.  I looked into buying a surge protector but it was $$$.  I do unplug the PU in electrical storms in case the power in the CG gets hit.

[mike4947]

I've learned the hard way to carry the 50 to 30 amp dogbone. Seems like most TT's plug and unplug without tripping the breaker first and the current draw causes an arc. Not much happens to the trailer plugs as their used infrequently, but the poor shore power outlet can take a beating over a year or so and get burnt contacts. This causes a large resistance and both drops the voltage and raises the amperage required. Low voltage (under 108 volts AC) can ruin an air conditioner in short order.
In our extended camping family we've had several melted shore power plugs. We've learned to check the voltage before plugging in and if there are any signs of burning or discoloration on the 30 amp, even if the voltage is good, we use the 50 to 30 apm to plug in the dogbone.
 
As for a surge suppressor we've yet to see high voltage spikes in any campground or RV park in 30 years, but we've seen plenty of low voltage. BTW a surge suppresor won't protect from lightening strikes only voltage spikes. You need a lightening arrestor for electrical storm protection.

[Campaholics]

We have never plugged into the 30A, just convert and use the 20A.  Now that we bring a lap top, I have a surge supressor on one of the outlets, less that $10.

[topcat7736]

We also have the 30 amp to 15 amp adapters which came with both the TT & popup.

Before opening the TT this year, we bought a 30 amp portable Surge Guard which can be used on the TT or popup. In less than 2 months (on just the weekends we're present), there have been several brownouts & 2 blackouts. Except for the air conditioner & microwave, everything in our TT will switch from 120v to 12v/LP automatically. So, we leave the battery connected and LP turned on when we're camping in it.

Checking the power when you arrive is excellent, but you can't keep checking it every moment of the time you are plugged into it. That's why there are these tireless machines to do the work for us.

Several people had appliances destroyed both this year & last because of the power problems. But, each time something has occured this year, our Surge Guard has removed power from the trailer until the 120v was normal again. Maybe it's a bit pricey, but when in use it completely protects all the appliances in either the TT or popup.  Money well spent.

30 Amp Surge Guard

[oldmoose]

I don't have a surge protector, but I do have the 50 to 30 and the 30 to 120.

Moose

[bearbait]

I like the idea of a surge guard,  nice piece of mind at the very least.  But I would rather have it inside the trailer inline, not hanging a 250 dollar item from my electric pole for someone to steal while I'm away from my site.  I wonder if someone makes one that could be hard wired between the shore power cord and the converter?

[mike4947]

Bear, they can be permanently mounted and wired inside the RV, you can also get, for more money of course, one fitted with a boost transformer that will jump the voltage up 10% when it detects low voltage. They usually run just about the price you quoted.

 
As a note to Topcat if your park has had that many electrical problems JMHO but I'd be all over the managment about it.

[topcat7736]

BB,

Camping World has one that can be hardwired inside the trailer (at a cheaper price too). We bought the portable one because we use it on two different trailers (and there's an optional lock available to keep honest people from stealing it). Here's the link:

Hard-wired Surge Guard

Mike,

There isn't much they can do about it. The campground is at the end of the local power run and homes, further up the valley who share the same feeds, have the same problem. We'd move, but the price is cheap and we can store both trailers and all our camping stuff there for the entire year. Plus, it's only an hour from work (every Sat morning). Someday......

[mike4947]

Actually TC I now understand exactly what you're going through. The season site we had was the same way. A hummingbird fart would shut down the power for several hours. We ended up tracing the problem back to a substation over 11 miles away over several years.  What finally helped was the APA (Adirondack Park agency) gave the power company rights to cut back trees on the power right of way. Forever wild ain't always a good thing.

Once they got the trees under control and stoped the brancj induced power outages, they finally saw that the substation needed upgrading. Of course that was the year I lost the camp in a divorce.
 
Several folks added the Power guard surge suppresor with the voltage booster which doesn't help with outages but kept a lot of AC's, microwaves, and fridges from burning out during the brownout/ low voltage times.