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View Full Version : Weather proofing electrical "dog bone"


X-Treme
10-16-2015, 06:38 AM
At my house, where I park my Alpine, I have a 30A RV plug in, but my RV is a 50A cord, so I have to use a "dog bone" adapter to plug it in. I plan to leave it plugged in during the winter, but am wondering what a guy could to to "weather proof" that connection.

On my last holiday of the year, I melted my last adapter and I'm sure it was due to the driving rain that we had there for the 3 days we were there. The connection was definitely wet.

Up here in Alberta, we will more than likely see some snow this winter ;) and the spring thaw is always very wet. I'd rather not burn up anther adapter, or worse yet, my 50A power cord on my Alpine.

What would YOU do?

JRTJH
10-16-2015, 07:20 AM
Here's one possibility, I'm sure there are others. http://www.amazon.com/SOCKiTBOX-Model-Weatherproof-Electrical-Small/dp/B009RX5GI2/ref=pd_sim_468_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=06JT8EEQJ7BTE6C7XQM2&dpID=51VMBqXbL7L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_

In the question/answer section at the bottom of the page, one person states that he uses this box with a 30 amp cord and that he doesn't think it would work with a heavier cord.

I don't have this box, have never seen it, but it's a start for you....

Another thing you could do is to cut the top and bottom off of a large ziplock storage bag and slip it over the dogbone and tape both ends to the cable. That would effectively seal the dogbone from water intrusion, but I don't know how long it would last in freezing weather before getting brittle and possibly cracking/breaking down.

Good Luck.

Festus2
10-16-2015, 07:31 AM
I'd get a suitably sized black garbage bag and throw it over (or wrap) the pedestal or whatever outlet you have and tie it at the bottom.

hankaye
10-16-2015, 12:50 PM
X-Treme, Howdy;

What I do is simply wrap the connection joint (Dog-Bone to RV supply
cable), with black electrical tape.
The site I'm on is 50 amp and my RV is 30 amp., so, ... dog-bone connection.
The lid for the box won't close due to my D_B having a grab handle so I just
lower it as far as it goes and leave it at that.
I do replace the electrical tape each year, more for cosmetic reasons, I've
always found it to hold up very well. Even in the hot sun we get down here
just above the Mexican Border.

hankaye

Pull Toy
10-16-2015, 02:27 PM
Make friends with the local "Telephone Guy", we have "Cable closures" that will fit your needs! They're not pretty... but they sure are waterproof!

X-Treme
10-17-2015, 12:38 PM
I like the idea of the ziplock or garbage bags, but after hearing that, I think that what I'll do is go with multiple wraps of shrink wrap, and then I'll tape both ends with electrical tape. Thanks much for the ideas folks!!