Short Cut Breaker (Electrical)

[terryriddle]

My wife and I have camped for years with travel trailers and 5th wheel. We recently purchased the Reflection 260RD. A friend recently had a issue that seemed to point to the battery, but just today it was determined he needed to push the small reset button on his Short Cut Breaker. All these years, I have never heard of such an animal. Everything worked when plugged into an outside electrical source and when his truck was hooked up with the engine running. But without either, he had no interior lights, slide, etc...no 12 V applications worked..period. Someone told him about this thing called a Short Cut Breaker...and after hours trying to find such..he called the manufacture who immediately said you need to reset the Short Cut Breaker.. He was told where to look and found a very small black box on the frame with a black button the size of a pencil earser..which he pushed and now everything is working. It was implied all RV units have such a element. Does Grand Design units have a Short Cut Breaker and if so, where might it be on a 260RD? In 40 plus years, I have never experienced what my friend did....

[boyscout]

My wife and I have camped for years with travel trailers and 5th wheel. We recently purchased the Reflection 260RD. A friend recently had a issue that seemed to point to the battery, but just today it was determined he needed to push the small reset button on his Short Cut Breaker. All these years, I have never heard of such an animal. Everything worked when plugged into an outside electrical source and when his truck was hooked up with the engine running. But without either, he had no interior lights, slide, etc...no 12 V applications worked..period. Someone told him about this thing called a Short Cut Breaker...and after hours trying to find such..he called the manufacture who immediately said you need to reset the Short Cut Breaker.. He was told where to look and found a very small black box on the frame with a black button the size of a pencil earser..which he pushed and now everything is working. It was implied all RV units have such a element. Does Grand Design units have a Short Cut Breaker and if so, where might it be on a 260RD? In 40 plus years, I have never experienced what my friend did....

Well mine should not be the last word on this, but other than the breakers in the electrical panel in your trailer - which are all related to shore power and 120-volt systems - the ONLY re-settable breaker that I know is common on GD trailers is a 50-amp one usually found in the front compartment above the battery in fifth-wheel trailers. I believed it was related primarily to the operation of the landing gear, but maybe it does more than that.

In recent years GD has been upgrading the breaker to 80 amps in some trailers (esp. those with hydraulics) because the 50-amp breaker was inadequate. The newer ones are self-resetting; no button to push.

So, I hope you get a more-authoritative response about your trailer but if it's nearby you can poke your head into the front compartment and look to the left above the battery, on the back or side wall.

[terryriddle]

I have a 2020 Reflection 260RD.. I went up and looked all around in the front compartment and did not see anything that looked like a fuse area, other than the leveling control board on the ceiling with a 35 amp Littelfuse for each of the electric leveling legs. There are a number of wires that go into the back wall, including the two off the battery, but that is it. But had to ask...what on a newer one would result in an auto resetting? Just curious.

[MarkRizRV]

My wife and I have camped for years with travel trailers and 5th wheel. We recently purchased the Reflection 260RD. A friend recently had a issue that seemed to point to the battery, but just today it was determined he needed to push the small reset button on his Short Cut Breaker. All these years, I have never heard of such an animal. Everything worked when plugged into an outside electrical source and when his truck was hooked up with the engine running. But without either, he had no interior lights, slide, etc...no 12 V applications worked..period. Someone told him about this thing called a Short Cut Breaker...and after hours trying to find such..he called the manufacture who immediately said you need to reset the Short Cut Breaker.. He was told where to look and found a very small black box on the frame with a black button the size of a pencil earser..which he pushed and now everything is working. It was implied all RV units have such a element. Does Grand Design units have a Short Cut Breaker and if so, where might it be on a 260RD? In 40 plus years, I have never experienced what my friend did....

Where exactly was it located. I have a 230RL which should have the same thing you are talking about. We had this rv for two years and have not seen this as of yet
Mark

[JCR GD]

Never heard of such a thing (except the one Mark mentions.) Certainly not on the frame.

[terryriddle]

I have no idea where it is located or even if Grand Design has an animal referred to as Short Cut Breaker. I have been pulling travel trailers and a 5th wheel for forty plus years and never experienced what my friend did with his travel trailer. But IF I ever did, wanted to see if GD had such an element. It was "implied" that all RVs have something like a Short Cut Breaker...but not sure that is correct. He found his on the frame under the hot water heater..a black box about two inches in diameter with a button the side of a pencil eraser. He pushed the button and the problem he had for almost a year was eliminated... Sounded like it was a surge protector of some sort.

[traveldawg]

Sometimes those small metal circuit breakers near the battery have reset buttons on the side. Sometimes the way those breakers are oriented it is hard to see the reset button.

I'd ask our friend to show you exactly what he had to press so you know what to look for.

Here is an example of the breaker I referred to: https://www.delcity.net/store/Manual...CABEgL4EfD_BwE

[boyscout]

I have a 2020 Reflection 260RD.. I went up and looked all around in the front compartment and did not see anything that looked like a fuse area, other than the leveling control board on the ceiling with a 35 amp Littelfuse for each of the electric leveling legs. There are a number of wires that go into the back wall, including the two off the battery, but that is it. But had to ask...what on a newer one would result in an auto resetting? Just curious.

Temperature. If the circuit is overloaded the breaker pops, but after a short while it cools and closes itself again, no button push necessary.

Still not clear if you have something like that to learn about... hope you don't discover on a dark and stormy night that you do! If it's a consolation there aren't a lot of reports here of trouble with a breaker like this (except for a while that 50-amp one I told you about in a previous message). Good to be prepared, but probably not worth losing sleep.

[huntr70]

Temperature. If the circuit is overloaded the breaker pops, but after a short while it cools and closes itself again, no button push necessary.

Still not clear if you have something like that to learn about... hope you don't discover on a dark and stormy night that you do! If it's a consolation there aren't a lot of reports here of trouble with a breaker like this (except for a while that 50-amp one I told you about in a previous message). Good to be prepared, but probably not worth losing sleep.

Those auto reset breakers only apply to hydraulic auto leveling.

The S series, G series, and Reflection all have electric, so no auto reset breakers.

There are no such "short cut breakers" on Grand Design units...never heard of them.

[terryriddle]

Those auto reset breakers only apply to hydraulic auto leveling.

The S series, G series, and Reflection all have electric, so no auto reset breakers.

There are no such "short cut breakers" on Grand Design units...never heard of them.

I was incorrect, they are called Short Stop Breakers, but like you...I have never in over 40 years with RVs heard or had to reset one.