Maybe a dumb Generator question

[screamineagle]

I have a 395 with an onboard Generator. If my onboard gen fails can the shore power cord be plugged into a portable generator to power the camper.

[Riverbug]

I have a 395 with an onboard Generator. If my onboard gen fails can the shore power cord be plugged into a portable generator to power the camper.

Not a dumb question. The answer is yes. Just plug it in as if you didn't have an onboard generator. The transfer switch in the rig discerns the power coming from shore or onboard generator. From shore it doesn't matter what the source of power is, it's still "shore" power to the transfer switch.

[screamineagle]

Should I make sure the breakers from the onboard are off.

[stroguy]

The ATS or auto transfer switch should protect you. But, it is always safe to disconnect the generator breakers anytime not using the generator. I have many a ATS fail in industry. Good luck.

[screamineagle]

Thank you, the reason I was curious is we had an issue where we lost one leg of the generator power, 2 ac's and all 110 power. The problem we found was the wires from the generator going to the steel quad box in the front compartment, one leg was shorted out and melted down by a bad factory connection of a large wire nut used to splice wires. The wire nut was only holding a wire by around 1/4 of the strands. Everything was melted and actually showed a charred wire nut like it had momentarily lit on fire. We dodged a bullet. We are going to a nascar event and I will be taking my portable just in case for this trip.

[Riverbug]

The ATS or auto transfer switch should protect you. But, it is always safe to disconnect the generator breakers anytime not using the generator. I have many a ATS fail in industry. Good luck.

Curious, why would you need to shut the breaker off if you use a generator at shore power rather than a pedestal? Do you shut breakers off every time you shut the generator off? I never did on either of our motorhomes in the past, never heard of it, and wonder if there was a risk I wasn't aware of? Thanks.

[stroguy]

Yes you were lucky. Hap hazard connections like that are guaranteed heat delivery units and can cause a fire. Glad you found the issue. We’re you reimbursed for the damage? Got any pics? Seen plenty of horror pics from underrated cabling or connections causing fire.

[screamineagle]

No reimbursement, never contacted them I think I have a picture I can post. Yes I do believe we were lucky. Thanks again

[stroguy]

Curious, why would you need to shut the breaker off if you use a generator at shore power rather than a pedestal? Do you shut breakers off every time you shut the generator off? I never did on either of our motorhomes in the past, never heard of it, and wonder if there was a risk I wasn't aware of? Thanks.

I was just stating in a general term it isn't a bad idea to have the generator breaker OFF in case of an ATS failure. Odds are pretty much ok that the ATS is alright, but they do fail with bad results. In industry such as a hospital or other safety or high profile business you always trust the ATS. But in an RV it is only a small matter of turning the generator breaker on when needed.

I only have limited experience in RV generators, but did get a chance to help a neighbor RV’r in Roswell with his generator issue. The specific of the failure I cannot say as his unit was a rental, but it did appear the ATS was hung up. I recommended he just continue without the generator and only use shore power.

[CoChris]

I have a 395 with an onboard Generator. If my onboard gen fails can the shore power cord be plugged into a portable generator to power the camper.

As @Riverbug said, yes you can just plug your trailer into an external generator (with the correct physical adapters). If you have an EMS (Energy Management System) in your trailer, you may need to bond (jumper) the ground and neutral wires together to get it to work. This is already done in you onboard generator and is done from the pedestal for "shore" power. If you do not jumper them, the EMS may see it as an open neutral or ground and shut off power to protect your trailer.

Chris