Wiring in 50 amp plug

[Paulswa1]

We have a 2016 295RK that we park in the mountains of N. AZ. We have a RV carport that it stays in when we’re not on the road and we use it as a weekend retreat since we live in Scottsdale full time. . The clearance is tight on both sides and the 30 amp service is right beside the entry door. The previous owner only needed a 30 amp service. I use a 30 to 50 amp adapter and it protrudes out quite a bit. I think I’m going to wire in a 50 amp plug and eliminate the adapter. I think all I need to do is add a jumper wire from the single hot wire to the extra hot terminal on the 50 amp outlet. I know it will not support the second a/c and I will put a “30 amp only” label on it. Am I correct in my thinking?

Thanks.

Paul

[MARK A]

50A uses 2 legs..
30A uses one..
Could you relocate the receptacle? Or to simply wire in a 50 amp plug in You would need to verify 4 wires. I wouldn’t recommend a jumper wire. I think that would be a potential overload on a single pole breaker.

[Paulswa1]

Thanks Mark. I don’t think it will be an overload if I don’t run the second ac. I checked the adapter with my voltmeter and it shows continuity between the two hot receptacles which to me, would be the same as adding a jumper between the hot leads on a 50 amp plug but I may be wrong.

[BB_TX]

What you are describing is essentially what the adapter is doing, connecting the one source hot to the two trailer hots. As long as you retain the single pole 30 amp breaker and tag the outlet for what you have created it would work and be no different functionally than what you are already doing with the adapter.

Not clear why your existing arrangement “protrudes a lot”. My 30/50 adapter hangs straight down. Same for my power cords.

[MARK A]

The 50A part of your trailer uses the common wire. If you don’t have 4 wires I would stick with the adapter.
I use my 30A cord and have the adapter pigtail at the back of the trailer.

[BB_TX]

The 30/50 adapter jumpers the two trailer hot legs together to the single hot source leg. He is proposing to move that jumper to the new 50 amp outlet. The outlet becomes the adapter. Still using the single pole 30 amp breaker. Functionally it is the same thing.

[kc8lvy]

I have seen the after effects of this and it is not good. Most likely it was wired with #10 wire which is 30 amp 110 service. At one of our RV Resorts we had some FEMA trailers in there and someone tried to do what you would like to do. The wiring in the Box caught on fire because even though they did not have 2 AC's, they ran electric hot water heater, 1 AC, microwave, tv etc etc. This all adds up to more than the wiring could handle.

What you want to do you will most likely overload your electric wiring and possibly cause a fire. You may think that you won't run too much at once but what about your family? They may not know and run to much. It is not worth your family's SAFETY.

My advice to you is do it right with the correct wiring.

[BB_TX]

What he is proposing is still protected by the 30 amp breaker and is no different, functionally, than using the 30/50 adapter. If it exceeds the 30 amp breaker it will trip that breaker. Jumper in the adapter/jumper in the outlet, same thing.

[kc8lvy]

He will have to change out the breaker and receptacle. He would need a double pole breaker so he could feed both legs of the receptacle. The only way he could use the single 30 amp breaker is to piggyback the wires coming out of the breaker.

[BB_TX]

The 30/50 dog bone adapter is a 50 outlet with the two hots jumpered together and powered thru the 30 amp end from a single pole 30 amp breaker. He is simply proposing to eliminate the adapter and jumper the two hots on a new 50 amp outlet and power it from the existing 30 amp breaker. The net result is the same as using a 30/50 adapter.

[kc8lvy]

After reading his post again I see what he wants to do is run a jumper wire between the 2 legs on the receptacle. He could do that but still would be better if he did it right the way.

[mhs4771]

If you know what you're doing there are all sorts of combinations you can come up with. I have a 50amp outlet on the outside of my garage that is being fed from a 30 double pole 230V supply. Granted I can't run everything in the unit, but plenty of power for normal useage with 30 amps on each leg.

[Paulswa1]

Thanks for all the advice. I’m sure the jumper wire will be fine. It’s wired with 8 Guage wire over a 30 foot run so I’ll just use a short piece of 8 Guage wire for the jumper. I’d rewire it with 8/4 on a 50 amp breaker and do it correctly but I’ll never need both air conditioners at the same time. Thanks again. These forums are great. Prior to our Montana, we had a Beaver motorhome and that forum was awesome as well. It seems that every problem or project you have in mind, someone has been there and done that.