30 amp extension cord how to#
Now, let’s talk about all the cool things you CAN do and how to do them safely, beginning with using RV power cord adapters, better known as “dogbone” adapters. John’s holding a 50-amp female to 30-amp male dogbone, which lets us plug our 50-amp rig into a 30-amp outlet. It’s only on a few very high-end motorhomes (usually bus conversions) that you might expect to see 240-volts available through this same type of plug… most often for supplying high-voltage power to a 240-volt dryer (and ONLY that circuit is provided 240-volts… everything else in the RV will be wired to use 120-volts from one or the other leg of power). Usually, half of the RV’s 120-volt circuits are powered by one leg, and the other half are on the other leg.īut it’s still the same 120-Volt system as on all smaller RVs. Most 50-amp RVs are wired to use each side of the 120-volt service separately, sending 120-volts to two separate “legs” of service. Even though it’s called a 50-amp connection, it actually supplies two separate 50-amp, 120-volt feeds.Īs a result, a 50-amp feed brings a total of 12,000 watts into your RV with 6,000 watts from each hot wire. This is the big one… 50 amps… which virtually all large RVs are equipped with.Ī 50-amp power cord (for larger RVs) has four prongs that correspond to TWO 120-volt hot wires, a neutral wire, and a ground wire. Let’s talk about each version, and then we’ll address the issue of extension cords. RV power cords are available on RVs in 15-amp, 30-amp, and 50-amp versions, usually in lengths of 25 or 50 feet. Your RV power cord will plug into the pedestal, and that’s how you’ll power the outlets in your RV during your stay.
30 amp extension cord full#
9) How Do You Know an RV Pedestal Is Safe to Plug Into?Īll classes of RVs have an RV power cord that runs from your rig to a power source.įor example, if you stay at a campground with partial or full hookups, you’ll have a power source at your campsite.