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Old 06-20-2017, 06:51 PM   #7
JRTJH
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
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From what I understand, RVIA and most electrical codes stipulate that there can only be "one neutral/ground tie" in an electrical circuit. Hopefully there's an electrician that's more familiar with the codes that can expand on that.

Anyway, In trailers and generators, the physical ground and the neutral are not together. In homes they are tied together. Your trailer "can't be tied" because as soon as you plug it into the house or a campground pedestal, it would be "double tied" which is a violation of code. It's the same "theory" that is used with "double insulated" power tools (plastic case and separate connections for the neutral) which is why they no longer have a 3-prong power cord.

If your physical ground in the trailer is loose, corroded or otherwise not secure, you're relying only on your neutral to provide a return path for the 120 VAC wiring. If anything happens to interrupt the neutral half of the system, there's no "backup" to protect you against shock. When using a generator, if you have a "circuit protection device" on your trailer power cord, it will not allow power to pass to the trailer unless you use a "neutral/ground tie" at the generator. That "neutral/ground tie" physically connects the generator ground to the neutral bus. By doing that, you "create the same environment" as in your home wiring.

There's a lot of information about the differences in wiring and how they interact with each other in RV power. Some internet searching will provide you with more information than you'll ever want to read.

Suffice to say, there was "something" not working correctly if you got a "tingle" when touching the trailer while standing in damp grass.... Next time, it may be raining, you standing in wet sand with the trailer connected to a 50 amp campground power pedestal. That's not a good way to start (or end) a weekend camping trip.
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