Is anyone supplying power to their 30a panel by back feeding an outlet in the garage

Lots of random posts makes it hard to keep up.

Summary....

1. Never use a male plug of any type/fitment to feed a voltage source into a female plug
2. Always use a transfer switch to control two different voltage sources to the load
3. Always use heavy enough gauge wire/cable to be able to supply the maximum current going to a device
 
I hear the Warning!! I knew what I was doing wasn't the "Recommended/Best Practices" way of doing it is that I was doing. I knew all of the issues with my design and thought that I'd just take precautions to not cause myself any catastrophic issues, but after hearing all these concerns I guess I'd never know when my wife would hit the Inverter on switch when I hadn't removed the deadman's plug or something. She'd have no idea what the possible issues might be before hitting that switch.

So I will probably run the 10/2 down the length of my trailer to a transfer switch just behind my panel, but boy wouldn't have my solution been faster than messing with the underbelly.

I laughed at the reference to "CODE" above because we all know that these trailers really don't meet any "CODE". I bet I'll find 10 things that I need to tidy up once I drop that coroplast to run that electric wire to the panel.

And thanks all for pushing me to do the right thing, in this case anyway!!!!
 
I hear the Warning!! I knew what I was doing wasn't the "Recommended/Best Practices" way of doing it is that I was doing. I knew all of the issues with my design and thought that I'd just take precautions to not cause myself any catastrophic issues, but after hearing all these concerns I guess I'd never know when my wife would hit the Inverter on switch when I hadn't removed the deadman's plug or something. She'd have no idea what the possible issues might be before hitting that switch.

So I will probably run the 10/2 down the length of my trailer to a transfer switch just behind my panel, but boy wouldn't have my solution been faster than messing with the underbelly.

I laughed at the reference to "CODE" above because we all know that these trailers really don't meet any "CODE". I bet I'll find 10 things that I need to tidy up once I drop that coroplast to run that electric wire to the panel.

And thanks all for pushing me to do the right thing, in this case anyway!!!!

I am usually not one to be "forceful" when asked about things and what I think, except in instances that can cause injury/death/fire/etc. And the bottom line is that it is your trailer, not mine....so I try to walk a fine line but I'm also wanting to get a point across if it involves dangerous activity. And just as a suggestion, make sure you use the 10/2 w/ground (you probably already know that)

I might actually be surprised if you only found 10 things that need to be tidied up when you drop the coroplast. I had the rear section of mine down last fall when I installed a Class III hitch on the rear for a bike carrier and saw insulation that need work and wiring that I tidied up, as well as sealing a hole that looked like a perfect place for a mouse to get through. Good luck with your project and I hope everything works out great for you.
 
I may as well join in. I won't jump on the safety bandwagon, Jammer. I think you got enough of that.

How about we focus on a few other things.....

You said "... Thus allowing the use of all the 110/120 outlets and appliances in the camper...".
  • A 2000W inverter won't cut it as far as powering ALL the outlets AND Appliances.
  • My (properly wired) 2000W inverter complains when using an electric skillet; it work, but it complains (short beep to alert of an overload for a second when the heating elements cuts on).
  • I finally rearranged things so the outlet the DW uses for the electric skillet isn't on the inverter. oh - and this is when I am on shore power (but things still go through the inverter).

So don't get delusional about what you can do with just 2000 watts. Maybe a single appliance, one at a time, but not much more since you'll have may only 600 watts left after a skillet, hair dryer, or coffee pot. Still it can be enough for what you want.

I'd suggest if you want some inverted power for when you are not on shore power you might consider putting your inverted as close as you can to you batteries (hopefully at least 200+ amp hours worth), use some 4-0 cable run an extension cord to what you want to use (as I don't think it will be many things for very long). I'd run it in some PVC conduit under the trailer and forget trying to run it all the way through the underbelly.

Other option is to put the inverter in a location as suggested above and run some properly sized AC wiring to and from your electric panel (which I assume is in the other end of the trailer) and the inverted and make a proper install.

Nothing is easy anymore - everything is a project..... We just don't know how big a project until we get into it.....
 
I may as well join in. I won't jump on the safety bandwagon, Jammer. I think you got enough of that.

How about we focus on a few other things.....

You said "... Thus allowing the use of all the 110/120 outlets and appliances in the camper...".
  • A 2000W inverter won't cut it as far as powering ALL the outlets AND Appliances.
  • My (properly wired) 2000W inverter complains when using an electric skillet; it work, but it complains (short beep to alert of an overload for a second when the heating elements cuts on).
  • I finally rearranged things so the outlet the DW uses for the electric skillet isn't on the inverter. oh - and this is when I am on shore power (but things still go through the inverter).

So don't get delusional about what you can do with just 2000 watts. Maybe a single appliance, one at a time, but not much more since you'll have may only 600 watts left after a skillet, hair dryer, or coffee pot. Still it can be enough for what you want.

I'd suggest if you want some inverted power for when you are not on shore power you might consider putting your inverted as close as you can to you batteries (hopefully at least 200+ amp hours worth), use some 4-0 cable run an extension cord to what you want to use (as I don't think it will be many things for very long). I'd run it in some PVC conduit under the trailer and forget trying to run it all the way through the underbelly.

Other option is to put the inverter in a location as suggested above and run some properly sized AC wiring to and from your electric panel (which I assume is in the other end of the trailer) and the inverted and make a proper install.

Nothing is easy anymore - everything is a project..... We just don't know how big a project until we get into it.....

I guess I’ll unplug the two phase dust collection system when I turn on the table saw.

Sorry my sarcasm came out, I do understand that this 2000w at something less than 15 amps and what that can power. What I’m saying is I don’t want to just run a line into the camper and have one or two “special” outlets. Heck in the end I’m sure I don’t even need what I’m adding, it’s just that I like to improve things, maybe why I bought a camper.

I know I asked and I want to say thanks for the food for thought!
 
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Glad you are going the safer route. I get that you figure you would always be able to do it safely, but sometime you won't be there and someone might not know or understand the setup you have.
Anyway, dropping the corplast is no biggie. I've done it a couple times on different trailers so running the wire from one end to the other won't cause you a great deal of work.
 
I guess I’ll unplug the two phase dust collection system when I turn on the table saw.

Sorry my sarcasm came out, I do understand that this 2000w at something less than 15 amps and what that can power. What I’m saying is I don’t want to just run a line into the camper and have one or two “special” outlets. Heck in the end I’m sure I don’t even need what I’m adding, it’s just that I like to improve things, maybe why I bought a camper.

I know I asked and I want to say thanks for the food for thought!

haha.... good to know you have ta sense of humor... I just wasn't sure if you knew what you were getting into. It looks like you know what you are up against.

Hang in there.
 
I want to install a 2000watt inverter to power some or all the outlets in my 30 amp panel by plugging a cable/cord from my inverter to a near by outlet in the garage area of my trailer. Won’t that backfeed the entire electric panel? I will turn off the converter breaker so I don’t have a loop so that shouldn’t be a problem.

I’m just trying to not have to tear into my underbelly to run a dedicated wire to the panel from the inverter. I’m I missing something? Aren’t all the outlets on the same gfci circuit?

What if he just put a female 30A receptacle on the output of his inverter and plugged in his 30A power cord.
 
Danger Will Robinson

I want to install a 2000watt inverter to power some or all the outlets in my 30 amp panel by plugging a cable/cord from my inverter to a near by outlet in the garage area of my trailer. Won’t that backfeed the entire electric panel? I will turn off the converter breaker so I don’t have a loop so that shouldn’t be a problem.

I’m just trying to not have to tear into my underbelly to run a dedicated wire to the panel from the inverter. I’m I missing something? Aren’t all the outlets on the same gfci circuit?

If you have not already electrocuted yourself, or burned your house and trailer to the ground, for the love of all that is good, call a professional electrician.
 
How about going the conventional way. Wire your trailer through a Victron Multiplex inverter charger. Automatic transfer switch, all 110 outlets in the trailer live ( still have 3000 watt maxi) , simple wiring and set up
 
To enable an inverter to power the 110 outlets, I bought a 4000 watt Magnum inverter that has an internal relay which automatically switches between shore power and battery power. The shore power is routed to the Magnum and the output of the Magnum is routed to the breaker panel. The Magnum also takes care of charging the batteries when shore power is available, so you don't have to bother taking the converter online/offline. Be sure to use adequate gauge for the battery to inverter cables. 2000 watts will pull 166 amps at 12 volts. We only boondock so we use a 3500 watt generator and 500 watts of solar to meet all of our power needs.
 
Yes, that is my plan for using my 3,000-watt inverter. That way I can keep the inverter right next to the battery bank. I wish GD would provide an option for pre-wiring the inverter into the main panel, at least in my 260RD that wasn't available.

We've had 1600W of solar, Victron 3k Multiplus and 525AH of Lion Energy Lithium installed into our 2600RB. The batteries are under the bed, the inverter and solar controller on the opposite wall in the basement and both separate AC and DC breakers installed within reach in the basement. We had it all wired and installed professionally so wiring is correct gauge and shunts are where they need to be.

Honestly, unless you are very familiar with both AC and DC wiring (as done in your rig), professional installation is the way to go. A big hunk of the bill was labor, but I have support and warranty. Plus my RV insurance had no questions when I wanted it included with the policy (of course they wanted to make sure I paid the additional bill).

When we are hooked up to 30 amp shore power and the solar is producing power, the Victron controls everything so there is no feedback to the pedestal. We no longer leave the trailer hooked to the 30 amp house plug since the solar handles the power needs, plus I have the AC master breaker off since we don't need AC power in storage (home parking skid).
 

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