technicolordreamer
New Member
A millennial caught in mid century madness
Posts: 5
1965 Rogue Rambler
Currently Offline
|
Post by technicolordreamer on Mar 21, 2018 9:09:52 GMT -8
Let me start off by saying I know exactly nothing about electrical, but I want to make sure I'm being safe for obvious reasons.
My '65 Rogue Rambler has all original wiring with a regular "extension cable" style inlet on the exterior that powers 3 interior lights (low wattage LED bulbs) and two outlets. It has two breakers, both 15 amp. No electric fridge, no 12 volt system.
I'm planning on staying at a campground that has 30 and 50 amp service. We plan on basically running lights and charging phones/tablets. I'm assuming I need some sort of adapter for my trailer, but will I be courting disaster by hooking up to 30 amp?
Thanks in advance!
|
|
charliemyers
Active Member
Posts: 181 
Likes: 58
Currently Offline
|
Post by charliemyers on Mar 21, 2018 9:59:57 GMT -8
Something like this would get you connected: 15 amp female 30 amp male rv adapter
It’s good that you question the sanity of using such an adapter though. I personally would not use it unless I had a way to protect against drawing more than 15 amps. If one of your 15 amp breakers is being used as a “main” breaker while the other supplies the lights & outlets, then you’re set. But if both breakers feed lights & outlets, then it’s entirely possible to draw more than 15 amps through wire that’s not heavy enough to carry that much current. Some people say that they’ll be careful and only turn on a limited number of appliances, lights, etc, but conditions can occur that are beyond your control (wires can come loose touching a hot wire directly to ground, devices that you plug into outlets can fail, etc). It’s conditions such as that which breakers are intended to protect against. Probably 999 times in a thousand it won’t be an issue, but I like to protect myself against that .1% just because I can. |
|
technicolordreamer
New Member
A millennial caught in mid century madness
Posts: 5
1965 Rogue Rambler
Currently Offline
|
Post by technicolordreamer on Mar 21, 2018 12:03:10 GMT -8
I can't even imagine what sort of appliances I'd use while camping! For me, having a roof and an oven are luxury enough after years of tent camping with a compact car in the PNW.
|
|
|
|
Post by vikx on Mar 21, 2018 21:13:56 GMT -8
I'm pretty sure the campground will have the smaller 15amp outlets. Call and ask. Charlie is right but the adapter will work in a pinch. If you're not using appliances or a heater, you're good to go...
|
|
nccamper
Administrator 
Posts: 7,743
Likes: 2,870
1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
Currently Offline
|
Post by nccamper on Mar 22, 2018 5:57:06 GMT -8
For me, having a roof and an oven are luxury enough... I hear you! The aluminum makes us feel safe.  When you're on the grid, an electric heater is great on a cold night but it does draw a lot of power. |
|
jnordgren42
Member
Posts: 35
Likes: 12
1954 Silver Dome
Currently Offline
|
Post by jnordgren42 on Mar 28, 2018 8:22:06 GMT -8
I'm pretty sure the campground will have the smaller 15amp outlets. Call and ask. Charlie is right but the adapter will work in a pinch. If you're not using appliances or a heater, you're good to go... Yep, as far as I can remember, every campground I've every been in has had a couple of regular 15A plugs with the 30 or 50A service. |
|
