Tripping Breakers at Campground

[shelby_sho]

Originally Posted by ftrupe

L Haven:
I checked today the continuity on the plug. With the main breaker off, there was no continuity between the neutral and ground or the hot and ground, but there was continuity between the hot and neutral. Does this sound correct? I am hoping the issue was the campground as Flybouy suggested. I have a mobile RV Tech coming next week to repack bearings and adjust/replace the brakes. I'll ask him about the electric issue and what he would charge to put an EMS in if I purchase one, although looking at the install directions, it doesn't seem too difficult. Will all of them fit behind the panel? Any suggestions on brand, such as Progressive EMS HW30c?

Hmmm, with the 30 amp breaker off, you shouldn’t have continuity across any of the prongs on the plug. Doesn’t sound right to me. If the main breaker was on, there are many loads that would provide continuity between the hot and neutral wires. Converter as mentioned above is a good example. A short between neutral and hot should trip any breaker not just GFCI. There are breakers that provide arc flash protection, but I don’t know how the work and I wouldn’t expect to see one at a campground pedestal.

Do you have a gfci at home or your storage lot that you can plug into? If that trips too I’d be looking for problems in the trailer.

Do any of the 120v items have power even with the 30amp breaker off and the trailer plugged in? Everything 120v should be off. 12v items will work until the battery drains.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by ftrupe

Flybouy:
The breakers were on, but the 30 amp main braeker was off. I can put The EMS where the cable enters the trailer, but that is next to the bed under the nightstand. Not sure where I would place the display module then. If it is where the panel is, I can run the wire up through the closet above it.

If the main breaker in the camper is off and you are checking resistance at the 30 amp male plug on the shore cable then there should be NO continuity, i.e. resistance should read infinity. If you get any reading other than infinity then it's time to isolate wherebthe issue is. Stsrt with disconnecting the shore power cable from where it connects inside the camper. Resd the cable, if it's clear then work your way back to the breaker panel. What's the 30 amp male plug look like? Any discoloration or signs of overheating?

[roadglide]

OK I’m going to tell on myself. I was hooked up to 30 A to 50 A d dog bone connected to a circuit analyzer. I was running 2 AC’s just to see what and how long they would go on 30 A , It was near 110 that day and the breaker flipped immediately shut one AC off and reset the breaker all was fine. I want to drag up shutting the breaker off and pulling my 30 amp dog bone one of the legs on the plug melted . Ended up costing me $20 for a new dog bone and possibly the breaker saved the Circuit analyzer.

[ftrupe]

Flybouy:
I agree that there should be no continuity with the breaker off. I'm thinking the issue could be the breaker, which would be the easiest fix. I pulled the breaker this morning and found it was a Siemens Twin 30 amp and 20 amp breaker: 30 amp for the main and 20 amp for the AC. I had a similar issue in my house where I was getting current flowing even with the hot wire disconnected from the breaker. Change the breaker and all was solved.

[Yvon Royer]

Originally Posted by ftrupe

I was at a campground this past weekend for my first outing this year with my 2015 Passport 23RB. The state park had a 30 amp GFCI circuit breaker on the pedestal. The breaker tripped after several minutes and then kept tripping. Maintenance came and installed a new breaker. This new breaker tripped immediately when the unit was plugged in. So I turned off the main breaker in the trailer and the pedestal breaker still tripped as soon as the plug went in. The maintenance guy said this happened in a few trailers and showed me the solution, which was to use 2 adapters, with the ground removed from the second one, and then plug my trailer in. So now my trailer was not grounded. He even told me that if I went to the local trailer dealer and asked for the XXXXX Special, they would give me the setup. I did and they gave me exactly what he showed me and told me to break off the ground, which leads me to believe this is more of a problem than he said. Since my trailer's main breaker was off, I thought that maybe I had a loose ground on the cord. Opened the junction box where the wire enters the trailer and all wire nuts were tight. Then I went to the panel and checked that the ground lug for the #10 wire was tight and it was. So is it the campground electric or could it be something with my trailer? Also, I don't ever remember seeing a GFCI in a campground before and didn't think they were necessary. I keep the trailer plugged in to a 30 amp RV outlet at my house and the breaker never tripped. Any thoughts ?

GFCI trips when there is a difference in current in the live and neutral wires. It’s potentially a life saver. I’d the appliances were cord-connected, you could isolate them one at a time since all wires are disconnected.

If you live in an area where you need to winterize your unit, I suspect that you may have left the electric water element turned on and may have turned the water on in the spring inadvertently before there was water in it; damage is instantaneous and the live wire is contacting water. Yes, I did that once. You could try to turn this switch off and if it is double-pole, the GFCI should stop tripping. You can also take the element out to inspect. If this is not the problem, you have a ground fault somewhere. You may have to find the individual electrical connectors to isolate the culprit.

It can be deadly to use grounded electrical equipment with a disconnected ground. Never use electrical equipment connected to an outdoor socket in such a case, especially when the ground is wet or moist.

Yvon Royer
285EFS Cougar
RAM 3500 6.7 L

[ftrupe]

Just a follow up to my original post. My RV Tech came to do other work and I asked him about the tripping breakers. He said that he has seen this many times at this campground, and one trailer owner had him go though the entire electrical system, and he found nothing wrong. As the article by Mike Sokol referenced above, he agrees that GFCI breakers do not belong in campgrounds. I just returned from a weekend trip at another place and had no issues. So, I will not be going back there and I am not going to worry about it. But it was interesting that Sokal said if the ground is broken off and you are plugged into a GFCI protected pedestal outlet you should still be safe from electric shock. The problem arises when you plug the power cord with the ground broken off into a non protected breaker. But the campground's solution was to use 2 adapters and break the ground off the adapter, not your power cord. so I guess if you're there and all set up, that would be the only solution. In any event, I won't be going back. Thanks everyone for your input; it is appreciated.