Extension cord

[RV Campers]

Hello
We have a keystone cougar 5th wheel with a 30 ft electrical cord but we need 35-40 feet. Can we add to the existing cord or buy a whole new cord?

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum

Is your trailer 30A or 50A? And is your current shore cord attached to the trailer or does it have a connection at each end?

You could buy an extension cord, or possibly make a new cord.

[GlasNav]

If you do utilize a shore power extension, recommend providing some sort of weatherproofing arrangement for the connection. Electricity doesn't play well with water, etc...

[rhagfo]

Well you never know how much cord you need. Our 50 amp main shore cord is 40’, not long enough when we spend time at our daughter. So I built an extension of 23’.

[sourdough]

My original power cable was about 30' but left me wanting from time to time. Bought a new 36' cable and 15' extension then put the 30' at home to run the RV when it's there for a few days. Over length power cables can be an issue so be sure and get the right gauge for the length you want. IMO if you need more than 50' you need to adjust where you are parked or find another site.

[NH_Bulldog]

If you need extra length, I would suggest simply picking up a plug-in extension cord of the same size/rating. I have a 30' plug-in cord on my current unit, but from time to time I need a bit more so I picked up a 25' extension and have yet to not reach a power source.

If you have a 50A unit, lugging around a 50' power cord of that size even when you don't need it, is more work than it needs to be. Keeping your original cord for use 90+% of the time and using an extension only when needed makes the most sense to me.

[jxnbbl]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

If you need extra length, I would suggest simply picking up a plug-in extension cord of the same size/rating. I have a 30' plug-in cord on my current unit, but from time to time I need a bit more so I picked up a 25' extension and have yet to not reach a power source.

If you have a 50A unit, lugging around a 50' power cord of that size even when you don't need it, is more work than it needs to be. Keeping your original cord for use 90+% of the time and using an extension only when needed makes the most sense to me.

I wish i took this advice...when I got a 50A trailer, i found a used 50A cord on craigslist. The good part is I think i have my former 30A cord that i think I needed once. That with a dogbone would have worked just fine.

[SargeW]

I purchased a 15' extension years ago and carry it in the bay. I don't need it a lot, but when you do it's invaluable. When I had a motor home I would sometimes pull into a site instead of backing in when the best view was out the back of the site, like at the beach.

The extra 15' allowed me to run the cord under the rig to the pedestal and still get 50 amp power.

The 15' footer is a lot cheaper than a whole another cord. The prices have went up since I bought mine, but still worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/CircleRiver-E...eae8f9840&th=1

[rhagfo]

Well I hear all this talk about lugging around a 50 amp cable. Most likely due to using the cheap cable that came with the unit. Before we started full time I had the opportunity to get 40' of 6/4 SOOW power cord. This is the cord used on construction sites to hook power boxes together. Instead of the PVC insulation it is rubber insulated, much more lighter and flexible. I store it for travel in a 3 gallon bucket, I also made an additional 23' extension cord that I have used a couple times.

The pictures below are of building the 23' extension cable and the 40' main cable in the 3 gallon bucket. In the last picture you can see how flexible the cable is, this cable has been in constant use for the last seven years.

[rlh1957]

RV manf & sellers are famous for giving you a cord that they know won’t reach some park pedestals. Thus you have to buy another.

No matter what the reason, carrying another cord makes sense for whrn you need extra length.
Be sure you carry an adapter that connects the extension to you rig electrical plug. Just in case your primary cord goes dead.