30a or 50a?
- Thread starter Wildwood
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lol, those are good choices.
Yep...generally speaking, a trailer conversion under about 20 feet long wont need 50 amp service.
Unless you plan on powering a 240v welder or residential clothes dryer.
A small or mid sized trailer conversion can normally run on 30 amps, but you might have to switch the A/C or electric space heater off when running a microwave. My 6x12 runs on 15 amp service but there is no A/C.
Once you get over 22 to 24 feet or so, you might want two A/C units, large TV, sound systems, outside work lighting, a large fridge, a larger battery bank and converter/charger, and able to run a microwave simultaneously with the electric heaters or A/C units. In that case, you will probably want 50amp service.
Unless you plan on powering a 240v welder or residential clothes dryer.
A small or mid sized trailer conversion can normally run on 30 amps, but you might have to switch the A/C or electric space heater off when running a microwave. My 6x12 runs on 15 amp service but there is no A/C.
Once you get over 22 to 24 feet or so, you might want two A/C units, large TV, sound systems, outside work lighting, a large fridge, a larger battery bank and converter/charger, and able to run a microwave simultaneously with the electric heaters or A/C units. In that case, you will probably want 50amp service.
Van-Tramp
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My understanding is that rigs that require 50 amp only require it for the dual AC units they have up top and a ton of appliances. If you have only a single AC unity then there is no need for 50 amp. Heck, if you do not have any AC units, then there really is no need to even go to 30 amp.
No reason you couldn't do 30 or 50 amp anyway though. Just a bit of overkill
No reason you couldn't do 30 or 50 amp anyway though. Just a bit of overkill
highdesertranger
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Van Tramp is correct. also you will not be able to plug in 30 or 50 amp except in a camp ground without adaptors. with 15amp you can plug in anywhere. highdesertranger
Almost There
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Since most all of the electricity needed for my van conversion was 12V with only a few portable appliances needing 120 I installed a standard 15 amp inlet.
It makes hooking up to an extension cord at friends' places easy and also easy to hook up to the portable generators.
For the very few times that I haven't been able to use a 15 amp hookup I simply carry 30 amp 'reducer' adapter - it's about the size of a large replacement plug end so it doesn't take up a lot of room. The 50 to 30 reducers are pig tails and as such are somewhat bulky.
My idea of air conditioning is to stay somewhere it's not that hot and for the few hot days I encounter I use a fan and open windows....
It makes hooking up to an extension cord at friends' places easy and also easy to hook up to the portable generators.
For the very few times that I haven't been able to use a 15 amp hookup I simply carry 30 amp 'reducer' adapter - it's about the size of a large replacement plug end so it doesn't take up a lot of room. The 50 to 30 reducers are pig tails and as such are somewhat bulky.
My idea of air conditioning is to stay somewhere it's not that hot and for the few hot days I encounter I use a fan and open windows....
Canine
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I've seen people that have tons of large, high draw appliances, and still blow the circuit on 50 amps. Both ACs are running, the microwave is running, then a hair dryer is plugged in. TRIP. It's not like a stick and brick house where you can plug anything in anywhere at any time. You have to manage your electricity. I'm 100% solar and have no problems running most things for a few minutes. The only things I wouldn't be able to run would be a clothes dryer, a table saw, or something like that. I could even run an AC if I wanted, but I'm at the very lower end of that ability. So low, that it isn't reasonable at all right now, but technically doable.
It is very hard to give you a good answer without knowing your electrical demands and if you want to be off grid or plug in all the time or a variation of the two.
It is very hard to give you a good answer without knowing your electrical demands and if you want to be off grid or plug in all the time or a variation of the two.
WalkaboutTed
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Use whatever is cheaper. You'll have a bunch of adaptors after the first half dozen campgrounds anyway. Though currently running a/c at state park 30a cord and outlet.
Ted
Ted
DannyB1954
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I would go with the 50 amp. If you are camped somewhere really cold and have a 50 amp hook up, you could even have a 220v electric heater, water heater., microwave, AC units etc. When you are at a location that doesn't have a 50 amp service use an adapter and just be careful what you plug in.
highdesertranger
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the 50amp has 2 legs of 110v not 220v you will need to make it 220v yourself. highdesertranger
Yep, exactly the same as normal residential wiring. 120 plus 120 is 240.
bullfrog said:
I wonder how common that is?
By the way, I use the terms '120' and '240' interchangeably with '110' and '220' since the power companies have almost all gone to 120v. In fact many homes and businesses are now supplied with 125 volts.
It makes the power companies happy since it means slightly higher revenue without actually increasing rates.
DannyB1954
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highdesertranger said:
The voltage difference between the two 120 volt legs will be 240 Volts as the 120 legs are on opposite phases. The receptacle for 50 amp RV is wired just like a house clothes dryer plug.
The downside to using 240 volt appliances is that if you use a 30 to 50 adapter, the appliance will not work.
If you are staying in a park that has 50 amps and it gets cold, a 240 volt heater puts out 4 times the heat as a 120 volt will, (6,000 watts vs 1500 watts). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HS8FZAC/ref=psdc_510182_t1_B003XOZN7A I put a 240 volt heater in the Class A parked next to my house, ( it acts as a guest house ). Where I am propane costs about the same as electricity for heat.
DannyB1954
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A 50 amp RV plug is not two 25 amp circuits, it is 50 amps per leg. They would have to run two 50 amp legs of the same phase. If they ran only one leg to the power pole and then split it to go to both legs, the wire feeding the pole would have to be able to carry 100 amps. The neutral leg and ground would also have to be large. I don't see how this would be cheaper or easier for them.bullfrog said:
I bet the larger Class A couches use a 240 volt heat pump / air conditioner. This would not work on a jury rigged system.
I check the pole plug before plugging in and as someone who has had one of the early 50 amp motorhomes for many years I have seen many strange things when it comes to campgrounds. The campground I'm in now at one time had a single phase 100 amp service for 24 sites with 50 amp and 30amp as well as 2 standard edison 110 plugs in each pole and that is in a government campground! Just because the plug is there doesn't mean the power is because the wiring may not be heavy enough. Try using the 50 amp plug and the 30 amp plug from one pole on two different trailers and brown outs will ruin both trailers ACs. It is really crazy what some of these places have done. A good volt meter is cheap insurance as well as one of the trouble shooting plug ins.
