50 amp to 30 amp question

[RCMP03]

Hello Everyone,

This is our first time posting so please bare with us. We love this forum and amazed at all the great information everyone provides. We feel like part of a family!

We just purchased a brand new 07 30' Montana and take delivery this Saturday. Although we are overwhelmed with its size compared to what we were used to (27' Prowler Lynx bumper pull for 1/2 ton TV), our 06 Dodge 2x2 shortbed quad cab 2500 HD 5.9 diesel Automatic Trans will be in for a big surprise! I am seeing many on this forum with larger set ups, so our truck should be ok (I hope)! We can't wait for our first camping trip next weekend!

We have a question for you! The RV is a 50 amp. We are seeing a lot of campgrounds that only provide 30 amp service. Does anyone have any words of wisdom when it comes to AC and other elecrical equipment running at the same time? We don't want to damage anything due to our ignorance. Any advise is appreciated!

Oh as soon as we can figure this out, we will post a pic and create a signature!

Thank you everyone! I'm sure we will be back with other questions! Happy RVing!

Sue & Harv

[Thunderman]

Welcome to MOC!
You can purchase a adapter to attach to your 50 amp cord and all should be find. If you have 2 air conditioners and run them at the same time you may throw a breaker. Others will be along to give you their comments shortly.

Good luck and happy camping, I am sure you will enjoy the new Monty.

[Montana Sky]

Sue & Harv,
As Thunderman has said, purchase the 50amp to 30amp adapter and you will be set. It just plugs into the end of your 50 amp cord and the male end goes right into the parks electrical outlet. If you overload a circuit in your coach, you will know it pretty quick. Traditionally you will have to go to your electrical panel in the water closet and reset the breaker. Unless your trying to run 2 a/c's at once, three or more space heaters or your microwave and other high wattage appliances, I doubt you will have any trouble. Congrats on your new coach, let us know how your shakedown trip goes...

[ols1932]

Welcome Sue & Harv,
You'll find you're in good company on this forum.

Yes, as Thunderman said, purchase a 30-amp male to 50-amp female adapter. Some RVers refer to it as a "dog bone. Better yet, Ask the dealer to throw in a 30-amp cable with an adapter that will connect to your rig. We did that in 2000 and our dealer threw in the cable and adapter as part of the deal. You really need a 30-amp cord anyway because the 50-amp cable is a lot heavier and if you're only using 30-amp connections, the 30-amp cable is a lot easier to handle. If the dealer doesn't want to throw in both the cable and the adapter, just see if he will throw in the "dog bone." Only costs about $25.

Feel free to post as often as you see fit. Keep us abreast of how you're doing and if we can help you, there are plenty of experienced people here who will be happy to step up to the plate and help you.

Orv

[rldriver]

Welcome Sue & Harv, we have found if we start the microwave when running two electric heaters we start popping circuit breakers. So we try to remember to shut the heaters off when cooking. All you have to do is reset the breakers after shutting down some of the draw.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

As far as "We don't want to damage anything due to our ignorance." This won't happen as the circuit breaker will trip before any damage can be done.

Follow the advise above and you will be fine. Just watch how many high amperage pulling appliances you are trying to use at the same time. Even using a hair dryer and a heater on the same line at the same time will trip a breaker but that's about all that should happen.

After you have some trailer usage under your belt you will have it all figured out and you too will be giving advice to the newbies.

[Sunnyside]

Good morning Sue & Harv,

You TV will be great with that trailer. We pull a 35" mountaineer with ours, and it tows better than our 20" Caravan did.

As for your power, we purchased a 50 to 30 amp adapter that plugs into the trailer. We then run a 30 amp cord the rest of the way. The 50 amp cable is heavy and hard to work with.

Have fun with your new trailer

[rvfirefighter]

I would suggest one other device to obtain that tells you alot about the electricity coming into your camper.
"A Volt Meter", this plugs into an outlet and lets you know how many volts the electrical system of the campground is supplying. Low voltage can harm appliances and this visual device quickly tells you if you have strong or weak electricity. You can tell when you use different appliances how much electricity is left. You might want to cut off certain appliances when not in use.

Hope your travels are safe and fun, good luck.

[RCMP03]

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you so much for your advise. We will be sure to ask the dealer for an adapter. We have a 30 amp cord from the other trailer we can use (glad we kept it).

We can't wait until tomorrow when we get our new Monty. We will keep you all posted!

Sue & Harv

[gkbutler]

Like everyone else, welcome to our "large extended family." We have found out that we can run two of our three major appliances when on 30 amp service with no problem. We found out the hard way that we can't run the electric skillet, coffee maker, and a small heater on the same circuit. As Glenn said, after a while you will know what you can and can't run without tripping the breaker.

Good luck with your new Montana and we look forward to seeing you down the road.

[richfaa]

Part of being a Rv'er is learning "power management"Start by looking at the breaker panel..you may note that the kitchen breaker is 20 amps..not very much if you are on 30 amp service and the average toaster may draw 8 to 10 amps the micro wave about the same..You will learn fast.

[Mudchief]

Congratulations on your new unit. Like others have said above just get the adapter.

[rickety]

If you talk real nice to your dealer he will probably give you a 50 amp to 30 amp adapter. Mine did. No questions asked. It really should be part of your cord set up the big cord and a 50 to 30 adapter and in some cases a 30 to 20 adapter. I have run our 3280 on 20 amps, but not a whole lot works. TV and furnace mostly. Congratulations on your purchase and enjoy the forum you will learn and learn and learn. I am!!!

[sreigle]

You've been given a lot of good advice. As Glenn said, you won't hurt anything. The breakers will trip first. Don't forget sometimes it's the breaker on the park's post outside that trips so check that one, too.

You will learn what you can run and what you cannot. One thing to keep in mind is your water heater has both a propane heater and an electric heater element. The electric one is controlled by a switch on the heater's panel outside under the cover. Some of us leave that one on all the time and use the breaker inside the coach to turn it on and off. It's the only thing on that circuit. The reason I bring this up is that if you are having trouble popping breakers, you can turn off the electric element on the water heater and use just the propane element. The only advantage of using both at the same time is faster recovery, like after a shower.

You can buy a 30 amp "extension" in the rv section at Walmart. But you'll need an adapter that goes on the Montana to reduce from 50 amp to 30 amp. I have one and use that any time we connect to 30 amp. I got it at Camping World. It's a bit pricey at around $70 but since it avoids me having to handle that monster 50 amp cord it's worth its weight in gold.

I use this in conjunction with a 30 amp extension cord made for rv's:


Since I bought the above, this one has become available:

[RCMP03]

Steve,

Thanks for the tips! We have an extension 30amp cord that we had with our Prowler in case we were ever too far away from the post. We never needed it. Will that be what we would use in conjunction with the adapter? The dealer told us we will have an adapter in our start up kit. That way, we won't have to purchase the cord you are speaking of?

We will take our coach on its maiden voyage next weekend and the campground is 30amp, we will learn as we go! I had no clue about the water heater, but will keep that one mind for sure! Hopefully they will show us all this stuff tomorrow at the PDI!

Thanks again to all!
Sue & Harv

[rv_nut]

Sue & Harv,
All three start up kits I have received had a 30A to 20A adapter plug in them, not a 50A to 30A (that kit is pretty much useless junk). Make sure you check on this. As others have said, I feel certain your dealer will throw the proper adapter in if you ask -- mine did.

Just so you're not confused -- the adapter pictured above is not the simple dog-bone. That one is more expensive, but a better solution, since you don't have to plug it into the end of your heavy, 50A cable. You may not get that one thrown into the deal, but it never hurts to ask.

Ken

[Lije Baley]

Welcome to the forum. Your Montana will have a fifty amp cord. Many call it the "anaconda." It's heavy and stiff, even in warm weather. In the cold, the big cord can be impossible to roll up. Your dealer will probably provide (I think it's actually Keystone doing the providing) an adapter that allows the 50 amp cord to connect to a 30 amp power source. You'll find it much easier to use your 30 amp cord with the adapter Steve got from CW, which connects your cord to Montana.

[bncinwv]

Steve,
Can you clarify your practice of using the electric portion of the Hot Water Heater. Is the switch you are referring to on the lower left hand side (ours is in the off position with a small cotter pin through it). If the switch is on, then does that convert the heater to electric use?? Wondering due to previous thread in another topic about propane usage. More particularly, if we can use electric for the water heating without kicking breakers, is there a disadvantage to saving propane in this manner?? Thanks for any info and suggestions!!
Bingo

[Connorsmom]

Just take the cotter pin out of the on/off switch and turn it on. Go inside your trailer and shut off the on/off switch for propane heating. I always run off the electric switch for my water heater. The CG I stay at in the summer makes me pay $85.00 per season for electricity, so I make use of all the electricty I can...LOL I also run my fridge off electric, and make use of my fireplace to save propane also. If you run both switches on the water heater simultaneously, it will heat up VERY quickly, but other than that purpose, it would be redundant to use both. Stick with just the electric and save some $$$. Just always remember to shut it off if draining the tank. Either outside with the switch, or inside at the breaker box. Power to an empty water heater will fry the element within minutes. VERY expensive mistake!! (No, I've never personally done it...LOL)

As far as the cords...my dealership included a 50 to 30 plug, and a 30 to 20 plug. I purchased a 25' 30A cord from CW, and it has come in handy on many occasions already!!
Jan

[David and Jo-Anna]

The only adapter I got in the starter kit I just got with my new Big Sky was the simple 30 amp to 15 amp plug (cost about $2.50). I was able to get the dealer to toss in the 50 amp to 30 amp dogbone adapter by asking for it. So it's definitely not Montana providing any significant adapter.

As for the two adapters that are pictured in Steve's post, for reasons that escape me, it seems to be cheaper to buy the 12" 50 amp to 30 amp adapter plus a regular 25' 30 amp cord than to buy the 25' 30 amp cord with the adapter built into it. Plus Camping World tends to put the short adapter on sale more often than the cord with built in adapter. Go figure!!