50 Amp Cord Maintenance

[bwney]

We recently lost one leg of our AC power after (somewhat) coiling the 50 amp cord on a cold morning. After setting up at the next park, the microwave, converter, and most bedroom lights and plugs had no AC power.

The next morning, I disconnected the 50 amp cord and set it on the picnic table to work on. 2 screws will remove the yellow cap from the plug. I also removed the clamp that holds the black sheath to the plug, although that wasn't needed.

Anyway, three of the four wires came right out of the clamps! Either they were never tight, or had worked loose over time.

Before you set-up next time, take 5 minutes and check your RV plug to make sure the clamps are tight. The only tool needed is a medium flat blade screwdriver. Remove the 2 screws holding the yellow cover, and slide it down the cable. The four clamp screws are around the edge of the plug, check for tightness.

No need to check the other end, the wires are welded to the blades on that end.

Be sure you are unplugged from park power before doing any electric work!

[Tom Gina 06]

Great idea Thank You!

[Ozz]

Super idea, thanks for sharing it. (And i'm glad you were able to fix it yourself.) I will check mine as well.
Ozz

[ols1932]

Thanks for the reminder. I've been going to check mine for several months now but have only been hooking up to 30 amp sources. I guess you could say "out of sight, out of mind." I'm going to check mine today!

Orv

[LonnieB]

Thanks for the tip bwney, I also will check ours today.

[bsmeaton]

Thanks Brant!

I'll put that on my list of pre-check items when it arrives. Would save a lot of troubleshooting later!

Also heard some folks had problems with the connections at the Monty receptacle as well. Loose from the factory.

[Parrothead]

We had the same problem last year. Cost $75 for a repairman to come out and find it. Now we know where to look if it happens again.
Happy trails..........................

[illapah]

Just got thru checking ours, all tite and in good shape. That is the way I like to find other peoples work!

[LonnieB]

When I went out to check the connections on the 50 amp cord, I looked around and decided those connections were the LEAST of my problems.

The Anaconda was coiled up behind the trailer, plugged into a couple of adapters, which plugged into a 120 volt 12-3 extension cord, that was plugged into the 20 amp duplex recepticle on my security light pole. It was time to go to Lowe's.

50 feet of 6-4 outdoor wire, 45 feet of 3/4 inch pvc underground conduit, a few fittings, a new 70 amp power outlet ( a 50 amp 240 volt 4 wire, and a 20 amp GFCI duplex ), and a lot of sweat from the Ditch Witch ( my son Chance ) later, things are as they should be.

http://i17.tinypic.com/47ijmvd.jpg
http://i10.tinypic.com/312ipao.jpg
http://i11.tinypic.com/44tbp68.jpg

I don't know which was hardest, the physical work, or getting these pictures posted, lol.

[Montana Sky]

Lonnie,

Nice job! Would you come up this way and install one for me too???

[DONnANNIE]

Nice job Lonnie. Very professional looking.

Not as big a job as yours, I added a 30 AMP outlet on the outside of my back garage a couple of feet from the 100 AMP service panel. I also added a 30 AMP circuit breaker in the service panel. I store the Monty next to the garage. So now I can plug her in and run the AC when necessary.

Come to think about it, about 10 years ago, I did the ditchwitch thing for about 100', 30" underground. I did the diggin' and my brother-in-law did the wiring of the garage.

Now, I need to wire the front garage, so when the Monty is in the driveway for loading/unloading I can run the AC.

[Mudchief]

Nice job Lonnie.

[Ozz]

Sawweeeettttt!
Nice job. like looking at a Playboy calender for us wirebenders.

[LonnieB]

Thanks guys, but you are too nice. It wasn't difficult, just took a little time and a little moola, around $350.00 at Lowe's. It may be kind of overkill, but I don't think you can ever have too much electric power.

Dave, I would be more than happy to install one for you, IF you were a little closer, lol.

[Steve and Brenda]

This is a common problem in thick-jacketed cables. There's no flex in the cables as they stiffen from the cold and, if they are poorly fabricated, the wires will pull from the plug due to the lack of strain relief. A good thing to consider is to do some preventative maintenance this winter if your RV is in storage. The cable, when its warm and you have the flex needed to move wires, has a backshell and saddle clamp that can be loosened exposing the terminal lugs of the plug. Loosen the wires and insert them into the plug as far as they can go and then tighten the lug as tight as you can. This not only ensures that you have a good bite on the wires but good surface contact with the lug gives you maximum current transfer and as we all know, more Amps is always a good thing

When you re-assemble the plug make sure there is no wiggle room on the saddle clamp. The clamp provides the strain relief and prevents the wires from pulling out of the plug. If you need it, wrap some tape around the wire harness itself to ensure good clamping.

If you are really industrious you can remove the rubber jacket covering the power wires and replace it with a nylon-cloth jacket that allows greater flexibility in cold weather. We use them in heavy duty cables such as the ones that provide power to the aircraft and they protect from nicks and cuts fairly well.

[Ozz]

Good post, Steve.
I would also suggest soldering the wire ends, the screw will dig into the solder when tightening.

[Mudchief]

Lonnie, if you get kicked out into the dog house you will be glad you have those extra amps.

[LonnieB]

That's one dog house I don't mind being in .

[Steve and Brenda]

quote:Originally posted by Ozz

Good post, Steve.
I would also suggest soldering the wire ends, the screw will dig into the solder when tightening.

Solder is also an excellent defender against that flaky, green corrosion that copper wiring is prone to develop in outdoor environments!!!

[bsmeaton]

Super nice Job Lonnie! That looks better than what I see at the majority of campgrounds!

Now for the sewer line!