120 volt into RV

[GVJeeper]

Bill B, You asked "I'm not sure where the 1500 watt heater came from" I looked on Page 3 #45 where GV stated "My space heater is 1500w"

 

Heck by this time its so confused I'm about to give up. I try my best to help but I must be a poor teacher... How something so darn simple got so complicated????? lol To be safe he should add a 50 Amp 120/240 Volt NEMA 14-50 Service NOW THAT OUGHT TO DO IT!!!!!!!!!!! Orrrrrrrrrrrrrr on the other extreme go to Wally World and buy a 20 Gauge Zip Cord extension cord with 2 prong plug and receptacle and use it??? The heat generated in the cord is NOT wasted, it will still go to raise the temperature in his RV !!!!

 

John T

 

Sorry John, I've been traveling, too, and am now in Vancouver WA. Yep my space heater says 1500 watts on it. I know, really got the convo going didn't I, lol. I used to work with engineers and they go on and on.....off offense intended guys, lol. I'll stick to the extension cord thru the slide out for now.

[oldjohnt]

GV, that extension cord is indeed a true 20 amp rated cord. NOTE HOWEVER while EITHER a 15 amp NEMA 5-15P Plug (likely what heater has) or 20 amp NEMA 5-20 P Plug will fit into that cords Female receptacle end, THE CORDS MALE END WILL ONLY FIT INTO A PEDESTAL THAT HAS A 20 AMP NEMA 5-20R Receptacle.

 

Many RV park pedestals indeed have true 20 amp T Slot NEMA 5-20R Receptacles,,,,,,,,, HOWEVER some older parks may only have a 15 amp NEMA 5-15R Receptacle BUT THAT MALE CORD END WONT FIT INTO A 15 AMP RECEPTACLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ONLY A 20 AMP

 

I like the cord, its a true 20 amp rated, BOTH the wire and ends, but you may find some park pedestals with receptacles that cords male plug wont fit into!!!!

 

Now if you replaced that cords male plug end with a more common more typical NEMA 5-15P Plug, it will fit in about any park receptacle as they are gonna have one or the other. Other options are to carry a 20 to 15 amp converter so that cord will eventually plug into either receptacle. Such would be a 20 amp NEMA 5-20R Female Receptacle on one end (so your cord will plug into it) and a 15 amp NEMA 5-15P Male Plug on the other which will fit into a 15 amp park pedestal receptacle.

 

NOTE they make a ton of 12 gauge 3 wire 12/3 heavy duty extension cords that have standard 15 amp NEMA 5-15P Male Plugs you know and people have been known to use them lol, probably cheaper and can buy at Wally World or ACE Hardware or Lowes or Home Depot or about anywhere.

 

Im NOT abandoning my beliefs and preferences about how Id prefer full true 20 amp cords (like the one you selected) and devices and plugs and receptacles (SUBJECT TO LOAD AMPS), I'm ONLY saying what most people do or what could be done and still work.

 

John T

[trailertraveler]

...what kind of load I can put on the 12v receptacle hidden in the bedroom?...

Most RVs have a 12V power outlet in the entertainment center or main TV location like this one that is marked as 8 Amp Max.

In all of the RVs I have had most of the 12 Volt circuits were fused with a 15 amp fuse. If you are planning to use the 12 Volt outlet to power an inverter which will then power a TV and DVR; many have found that without a generator or connection to shore power, the voltage drop between the batteries and the inverter caused by the relatively long runs of small gauge wire will cause the low voltage feature of the inverter to shut it down. A better stategy is to place the inverter as close to the batteries as possible and run a 120 volt line to the TV and DVR.

[Kirk W]

Who the hell built this thing?...no one at FR knows what kind of load I can put on the 12v receptacle hidden in the bedroom? It's clear that once you buy from FR you are on your own.

I believe that you would find that there are many other manufacturers who would give you much the same sort of answers. FR, like several other brands around, is a company that is best known for maximizing profits and moving product. The model that you own seems to be in the ultra-lite class and to keep weight down most builders leave out everything that they can.

 

Since your RV is now two years old, it is very possible that the company doesn't have any electrical diagrams or possibly any other kind still around. I suspect that you would get better information from the service department of an authorized dealership.

[oldjohnt]

I used to buy and sell RV's and I saw a ton of them with that type of a 12 VDC outlet pictured, some of which (the outlet) were rated for around 200 watts max which corresponds to a bit over 15 amps at 12 volts. Some were served with 14 Gauge (15 amp) wire and protected by a 15 amp fuse. Those are primarily for small 12 VDC TV's etc. and NOT a bigger Inverter. Often the wire runs serving those type of 12 VDC outlets are quite long and if 14 gauge wire conducts 10 and more amps the voltage drop can be problematic. To power an Inverter I suggest like what was posted, locate it near the battery bank and use big enough wire. By big enough I do not mean only that with sufficient ampacity, but one to two sizes larger to reduce voltage drop. If you need to charge a cell phone or an I Pod or power a small portable DVD player or 12 VDC TV I wouldn't hesitate to use them but for anything bigger or an Inverter I wouldn't.

 

John T

[GVJeeper]

I was at Camping World and asked services about the 12v receptacle and she said to limit the distance that the inverter is from it to 10ft (the receptacle is only about 4 feet from the 12V house batteries). So, when I boon dock I'm just going to put the DirecTV DVR into the bedroom to record any favorite programs and then watch them later when I'm hooked up to city power. That solves that issue. BTW I have an Anser carryout that only need to be plugged in while it's looking for the satellite so once it finds it I can unplug it.

 

I have an appointment on Thursday for Camping World to install two fantastic fans. I'm capable of doing it myself (knowledge & experience) but at 65 yo it's not worth it for me to hassle with climbing up on the roof and spending heavens only know how long to remove the old vent and clean it up....what I've read that's a real PITA. It's worth the install fee for me.

 

OK now I have to read up on all the post about the extension cord for the heater.....then I'm off for a little geocaching and metal detecting (mostly hunting with some finding, lol)

 

Thanks to all who have replied!!!!

[trailertraveler]

...I was at Camping World and asked services about the 12v receptacle and she said to limit the distance that the inverter is from it to 10ft (the receptacle is only about 4 feet from the 12V house batteries)...

The receptacle may only be about 4 feet from the batteries, but I doubt it is wired directly to the batteries. Where is the panel with the 12 volt fuses located. The length of the wire run to the 12v receptacle will likely be the sum of the distance from the fuse panel to the batteries and the distance of the receptacle to the fuse panel.

 

I finally got a chance to find the pictures of the outlet I installed in our current trailer. It is in the slide under the dinette table with the wiring in the storage area below the seat. I used a 20amp power inlet. These inlets are made for boats. The threaded section is only about 1.5 inches so the locking nut can not be used to secure it on and RV Floor or composite wall which are generally 2-4 inches thick. So, I drilled all the way through the screw holes and used tee nuts to secure it rather than the locking nut and wood screws. I secured the romex to the 1x2 framing and boxed off the area so that items in the storage area would not hit the wiring.