Almost had an electrical fire - Montana Owners Club

johnregrus · 08-21-2019, 03:44 PM

I have a 2017 Montana 3160RL Legacy Edition that I purchased new. Recently it almost caught on fire.

My RV has had minimal use. We park it in an RV park near a lake that only has 30amp service to sites so we always use only one air conditioner. I also installed a Progressive Industries hard wire surge protector before we took delivery of our new RV.

Recently I lost power to the RV and couldn't find out why as everyone around us had power.

I called a mobile RV repair tech and he discovered the the shore power female plug-in at the rear of the trailer had arced because of loose connections on the rear of the plug.

The only plausible conclusion was they were loose from the factory. The rear of the plug was burnt up.

The RV tech said we almost had a fire. I suggest you check your plugs.

I'm not happy with Montana.

richfaa · 08-21-2019, 04:00 PM

The is a fairly common issue and the plug should be checked and replaced with a 90 degree plug.They take a lot of stress over time being plugged straight in

rohrmann · 08-21-2019, 09:43 PM

If you had loose connections at the receptacle at the rear of your rig, they probably weren't loose from the factory, but with use and electrical loading, the connections will get loose as load means heat, and when you heat a connection and then it cools, there is expansion when hot, and when it cools, the wire and connectors shrink, and there you have loose connections. You should check every connection you can access in your rig, maybe annually, but at least once after you have had your rig a while, and this also means 120 volt as well as 12 volt connections, especially in the main panel of the rig.

When you are connected to a 30 amp service, you are loading up close to the max of 30 amps, so you will see lower voltage which means higher amperage and that is heat, where with a 50 amp service, you will rarely load either leg even close to it's max load, so you don't get the connections as hot. Whenever it's possible, try to get 50 amp service so things are easier on your rig's electrical system.

mootana · 08-24-2019, 06:37 AM

Well said!

DmaxDually · 08-25-2019, 10:06 PM

I never stay at a sight or camp ground that only has 30 amp service.

SteveandTerri · 08-26-2019, 07:44 AM

The wires that were connected to the electrical receptacle may not have been terminated properly. Here's a thread that may apply:

https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=78383

NCFischers · 08-26-2019, 08:52 AM

The power cords are bought in bulk from another manufacturer by Montana and placed in the RV still wrapped up. Your anger is misplaced.

SteveandTerri · 08-26-2019, 08:59 AM

In my case, the cord wasn't the problem. One of the power leg wires was inserted too far such that the wire's insulation was under the clamp.

deansue1 · 09-01-2019, 01:18 PM

Had the same problem with my unit and I was plugged into a 50amp plug found camper was missed wired on my 2018. The plug on the cord and camper were welded together.

Nat_Park_Travelers · 09-01-2019, 03:07 PM

We just went through the same thing with our 2019 3700LK - lost power after a week of being plugged in. I went outside and the outlet was smoking big-time. I pulled the plug from the shore post, disconnected from the trailer, shut off all breakers and got my screw gun and removed the outlet from the trailer. Mechanic said it was loose connection that arced, and yes, likely from the factory. Didn't make any sense why after being plugged into the same post for a week all of a sudden the outlet melted and started smoking. The PD EMS didn't even catch it, I guess because it was at the outlet before getting to the EMS and was already off.

Mark N. · 09-02-2019, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DmaxDually

I never stay at a sight or camp ground that only has 30 amp service.

Care to explain why? I've done so many, many times without issue. There's no risk in using an adapted 30A pedestal. You are simply restricted to one A/C unit.

margerush · 10-04-2019, 05:41 AM

richfaa--I want a 90 degree dog bone but can't find one. I bought & returned one from etrailer. The 90 hung to the side (not down) & needed to be twisted to the right, therefore, the weight of my power cord pulled it down & made a bad connection. Please suggest who I can get a good 90 degree perpendicular to the ground.

SteveandTerri · 10-04-2019, 06:37 AM

Margerush: "I want a 90 degree dog bone but can't find one. I bought & returned one from etrailer. The 90 hung to the side (not down) & needed to be twisted to the right, therefore, the weight of my power cord pulled it down & made a bad connection. Please suggest who I can get a good 90 degree perpendicular to the ground."

I ran into the same thing. I had to disassemble and rotate the Main Electrical Inlet Socket (the receptacle that's built in to the back of the rig, where you insert your power cord) so that the cord would hang straight down. Seems the Keystone technician that attached the wires to the socket rotated that part of the assembly 120 degrees when they put it back together.

(Note: The socket has to be partially disassembled in order to terminate wires to it. When it was wired for the first time - at Keystone - it was assembled such that the internal component was 120 degrees from where it should have been.)

fyi: Before I figured this out, I also returned a 90 degree cord adapter to etrailer thinking it was defective...

DmaxDually · 10-04-2019, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark N.

Care to explain why? I've done so many, many times without issue. There's no risk in using an adapted 30A pedestal. You are simply restricted to one A/C unit.

Yes, I don't want to be restricted to one A/C unit or having to worry about power management. I don't want to have to turn things off so I can use something else.

richfaa · 10-04-2019, 08:03 AM

My 3402 was proper from the factory got the dog bone from CW.

BB_TX · 10-04-2019, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DmaxDually

I never stay at a sight or camp ground that only has 30 amp service.

Never is a really restrictive word. We always get a 50 amp site when available. But there are some really scenic places we have stayed and have used 30 amp where 50 was not available. And we have often stayed in the mountains at >8,000' in July/Aug when the lows were in the 40's and highs in the 70's and A/C was never turned on. 50 amp was not needed.

And using a 50/30 adapter, it splits the 30 amp current thru the two hot legs making the current thru each leg much less than possible with full 50 amp service.

DmaxDually · 10-04-2019, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BB_TX

Never is a really restrictive word. We always get a 50 amp site when available. But there are some really scenic places we have stayed and have used 30 amp where 50 was not available. And we have often stayed in the mountains at >8,000' in July/Aug when the lows were in the 40's and highs in the 70's and A/C was never turned on. 50 amp was not needed.

And using a 50/30 adapter, it splits the 30 amp current thru the two hot legs making the current thru each leg much less than possible with full 50 amp service.

I understand..Never was the wrong word to use. Right now now I am not retired and my camping is just quick get aways for rest and relaxation. My camping radius is limited to about 100 Mile weekend and extended weekend trips. So I have the ability to choose local camp grounds that have 50 amp service and all the amenities that I want so I can enjoy the weekend. When I retire and my camping is for sight seeing and exploring the country then I'll take what available..

**Carl n Susan** · 10-04-2019, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by margerush

richfaa--I want a 90 degree dog bone but can't find one. I bought & returned one from etrailer. The 90 hung to the side (not down) & needed to be twisted to the right, therefore, the weight of my power cord pulled it down & made a bad connection. Please suggest who I can get a good 90 degree perpendicular to the ground.

The standard for a 50 male receptacle is to have the ground plate at 8 o'clock. Most every Montana I have ever seen have it 120 degrees off. It is a simple task to remove the housing, the three screws holding the socket, give the socket a twist and them re-install the screws and housing.

This also gives you an opportunity to ensure the lugs holding the 50 amp cable are *TIGHT*. There have been numerous posts recently of folks who have melted the receptacle and power cord together due to loose connections.

PeteandJoan · 10-04-2019, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by margerush

richfaa--I want a 90 degree dog bone but can't find one. I bought & returned one from etrailer. The 90 hung to the side (not down) & needed to be twisted to the right, therefore, the weight of my power cord pulled it down & made a bad connection. Please suggest who I can get a good 90 degree perpendicular to the ground.

After you get your dog bone AND after you reposition your electrical inlet plug on the back of the rig so that the bone hangs "mostly" straight down.....then you need to get the coupling kit to seal the connection from your cord to the bone.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Not sure I did this link properly.

try the link above. I just purchased this about 2 months ago on Amazon (Marinco product) and it works great. It will keep the connection sealed and also hold the cord in place so it does not try to disconnect from dog bone. I leave my dog bone attached to the cord when storing to travel and it stays tight.

jcurtis934 · 10-04-2019, 06:38 PM

I won't stay at a park with only 30 amp service. I have in the past and had brownouts, but NOT from my power use but others in those parks and/or bad park power. It was hard to tell at one park because initial power was only 116vac. And now we fulltime and have no need to stay at 30 amp site rv parks.

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