30 amp vs 50 amp

[Sandi]

Hey all!
We are thinking about going to a campground that only has 30 amp service. Can anyone tell me what the restrictions will be on the Solitude?

 

[cuttinchief]

You know I dry camp a lot and plug my honda 6500is generator. I use an adapter to 30 amp and plug in my generator. My honda has a 120v side that will let you run up to 55amps by adding all running items. I believe you will have no problem if you let you AC s start and run by themselves.it takes a lot to start these items along with other things that create heat. Toasters,coffee pots etc. you should be able to run most everything.Starting things at the same time will be a problem so just stagger your start ups.

 

[Dave and Monica]

[quote author=Sandi link=topic=310.msg1998#msg1998 date=1391208535]
Hey all!
We are thinking about going to a campground that only has 30 amp service. Can anyone tell me what the restrictions will be on the Solitude?
[/quote]

You'll only be able to run 1 A/C and need to manage the number of appliances you have running at any point. You may want to run the WH on propane only. If you're running A/C, you can still run a another appliance at the same time...microwave, toaster, electric kettle. Adding a second appliance will most likely trip the 30A breaker at the post.

I had an PI hard-wired surge protector with the digital readout on our previous camper and could easily see the amps drawn and in that way, prevented a lot of overload trips. I'll likely be installing a 50A version in this camper.

Dave

 

[Renee]

Hey Sandi,
In October, we camped in a State park that had 30amp service only.

We were able to run only 1 AC at time. Which it wasn't too hot, so the living area air during the day and the bedroom air at night worked out ok.
I did have to manage appliances...lights, TV, fridge, computers all ran smoothly.
However, appliances that drew a lot of energy caused problems. I could for example, run the air and heat water using the electric water heater, but running the micro/convection oven at the same time would flip switches. Usually, I could only run 2 "large" power hunger appliances at the same time without interruptions, but many times turning on the 3rd caused problems.

I don't know why, but sometimes I could run 3 if I only ran the 3rd appliance for only 10-15 mins. (I could heat up a cup of something in the micro if I did so quickly.)

 

[austint513]

Hi Sandi,

We have camped in 30 amp campgrounds for several years with 50 amp rv's and have certainly learned how to live with it. It is more convenient to have a 50 amp service but it is not difficult to not use the high amp items for a few minutes when working with 30 amp.

Renee gave very good suggestions on things to turn off. Toaster, hair dryers, microwave, electric HW, A/C are all higher draw items. With the 10 gallon HW tank we can just turn it off while using some of the other items, then turn it back on.

For the A/C in our Solitude we will run the LR unit during the day, switch to the BR unit for about 30 minutes before turning in, then let the LR unit run during the night to reduce noise in the bedroom - the ducting system still lets cool air vent to the bedroom.

Austin

 

[Sandi]

Thank you to everyone for all the replies and great suggestions! It sounds like it is just a juggling act in electrical management! Actually I am good after I have my shower and my coffee!!!!

I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a safety issue or would do any damage to the unit. The sharing of ideas and experiences on this forum in invaluable.