andref
Maple Ridge, BC, Canada
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Joined: 07/15/2009
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I don't know much about electrical systems on campers/trailers. I just got a new to us camper and just assumed everything would be identical to our trailer. it is, sort off. When I went to plug it in, the 30 amp plug on the camper is female. No biggie, I rigged up an adapter. How do I know if it is actually working properly and charging the battery? When I have it plugged in and I disconnect the battery, there is no power to the camper. Is that how it is? Does having the battery connected make a circuit? The back of the camper also has a 15amp male plug for a generator. When i plug my extension cord in and disconnect the battery, same thing no power. Should I just leave it plugged in and leave a light on to see if it drains the battery?
Andre
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Bumpyroad
Virginia
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the plug on the camper should definitely not be a female one. we have a problem.
bumpy
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silvercorvette
Anderson SC
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Bumpyroad wrote:from the OP I got the impression that he was trying to use a female 30 amp socket to power the RV. that would mean using a suicide cord, male/male to hook it up to the campground outlet?
something does not compute. I certainly have never had a 30 amp female outlet on any RV I have owned. I certainly have had 15/20 amp female outlets on them however.
bumpy
I was confused by the question, maybe the OP can clarify / explain what he is trying to do, I got the impression he was using an output as an input
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silvercorvette
Anderson SC
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Bumpyroad wrote:the plug on the camper should definitely not be a female one. we have a problem.
bumpy
I think it should be female, but my guess is he is using the wrong outlet. The one I have on the outside the camper is female and works fine, I used it yesterday . On my camper the female plug can be used to power electrical tools or appliances. My camper is parked in my mothers driveway and I need to drill a hole to fix her mail box but I didn't have a cord long enough to reach. So I plugged the drill into the outside female plug and ran the generator to power the drill.
I think the problem is the outside female plug is meant to be a provide power from the plug it is not meant as way to provide power to the camper.
Does the camper have a heavy 3 prong black cord with angled prongs? If it does you should be using that plug to run power into the camper and the other outlet to run power from the camper
If the prongs on the big black cable are female then I will quote bumpy "we have a problem."
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Bumpyroad
Virginia
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from the OP I got the impression that he was trying to use a female 30 amp socket to power the RV. that would mean using a suicide cord, male/male to hook it up to the campground outlet?
something does not compute. I certainly have never had a 30 amp female outlet on any RV I have owned. I certainly have had 15/20 amp female outlets on them however.
bumpy
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Chuck and Di
Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 09/28/2008
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Campers, like trailers, come with a 30 amp male plug, usually on a long cord. If it is not hiding behind a circular panel somewhere, then somebody has modified the electrical system. It would be extremely unlikely to come with a 30 amp female outlet (it could have a 15 amp duplex recepticle on the outside).
Some designs have a recessed male without the cord so that a 30 amp extention cord can be used.
Maybe you should post some pictures?
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Bumpyroad
Virginia
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I would guess that the OPs confusion is thinking that "recessed" male plug is a female one???
bumpy
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SoCalDesertRider
SanDiego, CA, USA
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On my older campers, I had to flip the switch on the converter from shore power to battery power position to have 12v power when unplugged and back to shore power when plugged in to charge the battery and have 120v power in the camper.
The shore power cords on my campers had 120v 15-amp male plugs on the end of the extension cords.
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JFG
TN
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Do not remove the battery from the electrical system... Why would you want to disconnect the battery?
Fred
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rrthor50
Camas, WA
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On my camper their is a 30 amp female outlet and a cord with a 30 amp male plug that connects to shore power. If I had the factory installed generator you would connect the 30 amp shore power cable to the 30 amp outlet. The 30 amp outlet is power from the generator.
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