Many RV owners hate the constant battle to power their desired electrical appliances on 30 amp service. As those of us with 30 amp electrical systems know, it doesn’t take many appliances running to trip the 30 amp circuit breaker.
What if you’re happy with your RV, but still want the benefits of 50 amp service? Is it possible to convert your RV from 30 amp service to 50 amp service? Surprisingly, you can convert a 30 amp RV for use with a 50 amp pedestal.
The process might be a bit pricey though.
According to BetterRVing’s Master Certified RV Technician, Steve Roddy, the conversion could take upwards of 8 hours of labor (and we all know how much that costs) not to mention a new distribution panel and shore cord.
30 amp and 50 amp electrical service tips from a Master Certified RV Technician.
(Source: YouTube)
This video answered a lot of commonly asked questions about RV shore power. I had no idea it could take up to 8 hours to rewire an RV for 50 amp service. Better start saving up now.
Transcript:
Question from Tina Rose from Facebook:
Last night we blew a breaker in our 32 foot travel trailer. We are wired for 30 amp and are plugged into a 50 amp outlet with a surge protector. The only things running were a small space heater, water heater, radio, and a bedside clock. The coffee pot was plugged in but not running. In the summer, the A/C trips the breaker all the time. Is this normal? Is there a way to wire it for 50 amp service? I have also heard that because I am wired for 30 amp, and plugged into 50 amp, I am pulling too many amps. I do have a surge protector plugged in as well.
Tiny Rose, a lot of questions there. Let’s start with the one where you’re running the space heater, the water heater, and the clock, all at the same time.
So you’re at very close to your limit of drawing 30 amps with your 10 amps on your water heater, up to 15 amps on your space heater, your refrigerator running on electric, so you will be tripping circuit breakers as soon as you reach that 30 amp limit. You will have to turn off some of those appliances to be able to run on a 30 amp system.
Is there a way to wire my travel trailer for 50 amp service? Yes it can be converted from 30 amp to 50 amp service. It would be a process of changing the distribution panel or adding a second distribution panel to the travel trailer. I don’t recommend that you attempt this yourself. This should be done by a professional. It could take up to 8 hours of labor, changing the shore cord and rewiring your distribution panel.
And then the third part of your question. If you do have 30 amp service, and you use an adaptor to plug in to 50 amp service, it will not improve anything. It does not give you more amperage available. Your RV is still wired for 30 amps. If you have a 50 amp cord and you adapt it to a 30 amp service, now you have changed things, you have reduced the amount of amperage that’s being provided to you by the campground.
For answers to your tough RV challenges, post a question today on betterRVing.com’s forum or Facebook.com/betterRVing.
There may be small errors in this transcript.
How much on average would it cost for an electrician to convert my 2012 Keystone Cougar 27 RLS from 30 amp to 50 amp?
Thank you for providing this site and this valuable information
V/R
Ken