Pole Breaker Problem

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

The last thee ( 3 ) campgrounds in a row we have been to have had problems at the poles providing enough power to my bus... What the heck is up with that.

1) Kerrville, Had to replace breaker.
2) Rayford Crossing They had to replace the breaker and the 50 amp plug.
3) Yesterday Friday; Gulf Waters RV Resort in Port Aransas, ( Tried two different poles ) They would do nothing for us, cause it was Friday evening and the techs had already driven across the ferry and it would take 3 hours to get back. WE PULLED UP STAKES 6:00PM FRIDAY night and left Port Aransas and headed to La Hacienda, @ Lake Travis. Plugged in to one of their new sites this morning ( which they have almost 300 of ), and NO PROBLEMS AT ALL.... Yippeee

My question is does anyone think I have an electical problem somewhere that keeps causing this POLE Problem? I worry now everytime I plug in somewhere, that when we go away for a short time, the power turns off.

Not sure what else to do? We have been plugged into service W/O any problems for 6 hours. I better knock on wood!!!!

Gary S.

[nrhareiner]

Hello Gary,

Do you know how many amps you are pulling on each leg? Do have inverters that are adjustable reference the amount they will draw?

the other variable is the temperature in the area you are visiting. I am in Denver at the moment with temps above 95 degrees. I have the bus set to draw no more than 35 amps/side. Plugged in, the breaker was weak and tripped. I carry extra breaker, replaced it and am fine. I replace their breaker when I leave if they do not agree to replace the breaker while I am there.

I think the problem is the heat and older breakers and not your bus.

[MangoMike]

Kim,

Do you replace those breakers hot? I don't recall seeing a disconnect switch on the pole or am I missing something. Good idea to keep a spare.

Mike

[merle&louise]

Gary,

We were in a CG in Columbus, GA and I had a similar problem. I plugged into the power pole and everything worked fine; 120V on each leg and everything inside the coach worked normally.

When we returned about 10PM everything was off! No power at the power pedestal on either leg AND THE 50 AMP BREAKER WAS NOT TRIPPED! I ran the generator and complained to the office the next morning.

Come to find out, there was a second 50 amp breaker on the main distribution center for the campground (I'm sure that is the wrong terminology) that was worn out. They replaced it and no more problems.

So the problem was not my coach and it was not the 50 amp breaker on the power pedestal. Go figure!

[phorner]

Try setting the charging amps for your inverter/chargers to the lowest settings. You don't need the maximum charge rate unless you do a lot of dry camping.

It's real easy to trip the campsite 50 amp breaker, especially if it's hot and you're running multiple air conditioners. Keep a close eye on your total electrical loads, as they may have momentary spikes, such as when the water pump or hot water heater kicks on.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

A 50 amp breaker will handle 40 amps. If it actually carries any more consider it a bonus.

Having said that there is a trend in the temporary power industry to squeeze every penny of cost from the boxes. What used to be copper internal wires is now aluminum for example. The leader of the industry, Midwest has agressively cut costs and the competitors have followed in lockstep.

This is solely attributable to campground owners who will not spend a penny more than they have to. All suppliers to the industry are doing the same thing the electric box folks are. The savings to the campground owner is an illusion because by taking a dollar out of the box by going from copper to aluminum for example the product life is shortened, and maintenance costs are increased because the torque on the lugs is always loosening. Loose fittings translate to resistance, which translates to heat, which translates to problems.

This group has a hard time understanding the short sighted view of campground owners, but look around at who is camping next to our coaches. Plastic boxes with no quality are typical, and the lack of quality is not as important as the lowest price. We will see more problems in the years to come as the newer cheaper boxes replace the older ones, and they will exhibit problems much sooner than the old heavily built boxes with copper wires and copper bus bars.

For us to minimize problems we have to use less power. Personally I limit our loads to 30 to 35 amps per leg. If it starts to exceed that I turn off things that can be powered when we don't need as much air conditioning.

I think that Gary is just having a stream of bad luck unless he has just thrown all his 120 Volt switches and is using lots of power.

[dreamchasers]

I have been following this post and have thought of the power monitoring system in my Country Coach. I have searched my documentation and do not have any information on this device. Is this part of the generator electronics. I think I am protected, but do not know for certain. The generator panel has several alarms, I do not know if I should install a Progressive Industries system or is it not needed? Does any Country Coach owners have any information on the specifics of these systems? Mine is a 95 Country Coach.

Any help is alway appreciated.

Hector

[dale farley]

Hector, I can tell you that several of us CC owners have the Progressive Industries system. I wouldn't have another RV of any kind without the coverage the system offers. Mine is attached any time the bus is connected to shore power.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Hello Gary, Do you know how many amps you are pulling on each leg? Do have inverters that are adjustable reference the amount they will draw?
the other variable is the temperature in the area you are visiting. I am in Denver at the moment with temps above 95 degrees. I have the bus set to draw no more than 35 amps/side. Plugged in, the breaker was weak and tripped. I carry extra breaker, replaced it and am fine. I replace their breaker when I leave if they do not agree to replace the breaker while I am there.

I think the problem is the heat and older breakers and not your bus.

Kim, I do not know how many amps I am pulling on each leg. I am sure it is posted on my panel, overhead, but I still have lots more to learn about that, before it comes naturally. I have the ( 2 ) Trace 4000's and am trying to track down the manual now, so I can figure out more on just how these operate. It was very hot ( 96 ) when we plugged in, and the sun of course was beating down on the pole, so I have heard that added heat causes lots of problems. Someone told me they actually put an umbrella over the pole to cut down on some of the direct heat?

Just for further info, we camped without incident all day and night yesterday at the new park in Austin. Ran all A/C's got the bus as cool as we wanted, and blended up a couple batchs of Frozen Margaritas too, and NO ELECTRICAL PROBLEMOS ? !!!! Made me very happy for the rest of the weekend.

Gary S.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Hector, I can tell you that several of us CC owners have the Progressive Industries system. I wouldn't have another RV of any kind without the coverage the system offers. Mine is attached any time the bus is connected to shore power.

Hector, I absolutely agree with Dale. Even with all of the problems with electricity I have been having lately, I still plug in FIRST my Progressive Industries Black Box. I wish my box was built in to my bus, but I put it on the pole every time before I plug in.

A real must have electrical device. If you can get the same High end unit and have it Installed DO IT.. My 7 cents worth.

Hector what did you think of the RV parks I sent you info on in Sugar Land? Hope I helped?

Gary S.