baby steps phase

[explainmyself]

Hi, im still in a 40 hr cubicle job - just saving money til Spring - at that point, id like to get a transit van and do campgrounds for a year or two. 

Two questions: i have dogs and their safety is priorty, particularly in heat. I plan on installing a vent fan, but my question has to do with a window ac install - if i am typically going to be in a campground with electricity, would it be safe (from the electrical point or view) to just plug the ac in independently to the camp plug, provided the plug or extension cord could reach? Are my main risks just mainly surges?

 

[DannyB1954]

You can buy a surge protector for the power cord if that concerns you.
The longer the cord is, the thicker it should be. It depends on the size of your A/C. You can't have a cord that is too large, but going too small will cause a voltage drop, the A/C will use more amperage and the cord will get hot. When I say large I do not mean long. I mean thick. With electric wire the smaller number gauge is actually a thicker wire. Don't ask me why. Once you know how much power your AC will use, there are charts for how thick it should be for what length.
Here is one chart https://forums.woot.com/t/masterplug-extension-cord-reels/437056

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome ExplainMyself to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

highdesertranger

 

[maki2]

I myself would put in a thru the wall outlet that has a closure cap on it. You attach the heavy duty power extension cord to it on the outside. On the inside of your van you have it wired to a 15 amp wall plate plug socket. That plug socket should be set into a proper electrical outlet box. You can get those as a surface mount box. This will help you have a safe and sane electrical connection solution.

Both RV stores and Marine supply stores sell the through the wall outlets. They do come with a gasket to make a water tight seal. A bi-metal hole saw of the diameter that matches the outlet size will be needed to cut the hole through the wall of the vehicle or trailer. I have done this type of installation myself, it is not that difficult to do.

 

[RoamerRV428]

your risks are a few things.

campground elec can trip it off due to a few problems occuring
campground elec is not always reliable depending on park maintenance etc
your ac could trip the campground electricity and it goes on and on kinda


thing is the worst is never known

we have a small dog we leave in the ac when out and about doing things we can't bring him with us.

luckily, never has AC tripped in our rv for like a 4-5 excursion gone.

however, it has tripped many times while IN the rv with the dog and my mind says, HOLY crap if we were gone....

and even with our genny one time.....we fired it up, cooled the toyhauler with AC while we walked the dog etc and stretched, then put him inside to wait while we ate at a restaurant and before we even shut the door the AC tripped off. So we put the dog in the truck and hit the button to keep the truck and AC running and went to eat but every single time out on the road with the dog it is super scary to leave. I freak a tiny bit and then say to myself in the end, it is what it is, I do my absolute best to safeguard him but.....ugh.....

most important after you got yourself set up is STAY a while.....feel out your elec. set up.....that is best we can do mostly. in the end if you are there and all kinds of elec tripping is happening then ya know you can't leave your pets. Happened in a few cgs with us. Immediate tripping and annoying and we would get the circuit breaker replaced by the park rangers on our site and good to go, no problems after that......so I know I wrote a book here LOL but it is a scary thing to rely on elec. connections you don't know require that AC to keep your pets alive.

 

[Matlock]

As mentioned, relying on Campground electrical supply is not a good idea for man nor animal.
So maybe it's just me but leaving my best friends locked inside a potential oven while I'm out of site is a very scary accident waiting to happen.
Sorry I'm such a downer on this subject.

just my ol 2¢

 

[B and C]

There are automatic generator starters (AGS) on the market. Of course your generator would have to be electric start.

 

[explainmyself]

Thank you all for the advice! I totally get the idea of the electricity going out - i was thinking of one of those temperature monitors that can send alerts to your smart phone if it hits a certain threshold. I would never be too far from them, but in all practicality, there will be times when i need to leave them in there.

The idea of setting up a backup supply is probably a good thought too...

 

[DannyB1954]

I also have a Maxx Air fan that starts up with a thermostat. It opens the vent and turns on the fan. If the AC dies, the fan will at least keep the inside about the same temp as the outside.For both systems to fail would be rare.