Utilizing electric car charger for power to RV

[mickandpolly]

first, let me apologize for having almost zero Electrical background. Second, I’m not looking for the “science” behind my questions…hopefully just yes or know type answers. Third I apologize if this has already been discussed but my searches didn’t show anything!

Some background:
1. I have a 2022 GD Imagine 2670 MK
2. I have an electric vehicle charger outlet wired into my garage. The outlet is a NEMA 1450R and it’s wired to a 50 Amp fuse in panel box. I’m attaching pictures of both.
4. My goal is to provide power to the RV that is 125’ from the charger outlet. I have two AC’s and all the other goodies, but I don’t HAVE to run both. I would like to power fridge, lights, water pump, Microwave but can manage not having everything come on and run at once.
5. I don’t think I have the skills to make my own cable so I hope to buy what I need.

My questions are:
1. Can I use the electric car charger outlet to provide 50 amp power to RV without modifications.
2. My plan is to use a surge protector at charger outlet to 50 amp 25’ cable to a 100’ 50 amp cable to the RV. I know I might loose some “power” but based on my needs above will that work?
3. Due to the weight of the 50 amp cables could I use a “converter cable” down from 50 amp at surge protector to 30 amp 25’ and 100’ 30 amp cables to RV. I would hope to power one AC.

Hope this makes sense and thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Soundsailor]

Wondering if this post is helpful.

 

[Soundsailor]

Could this adapter be what you need?

 

[sande005]

Running 125' of 50 amp cable, especially with 3 connections, will be too much. It mostly depends on how big the wire is. Usual "good" 50 amp, 50 ft cable is 6 gauge. Cheap versions may be as light as 10 gauge. But for that length, it should be at least 4 gauge - which means custom and an even larger/heavier cable to wrangle.
Going lighter will be less "power" (volts) in your terms - but that less is used up in generating heat. With the connections also being possible places for even more heat build up, you have the settings for a pretty good fire to start.
Same idea with a 30 amp connection, except the wire size will be about what a standard "good" 50 amp cable uses - so still heavy and hard to manage.
Given the cost of the cables involved, you might want to get a quote from an electrician for a proper outlet near the RV....

 

[TomPanning]

Due to the weight of the 50 amp cables could I use a “converter cable” down from 50 amp at surge protector to 30 amp 25’ and 100’ 30 amp cables to RV. I would hope to power one AC.

I’ll let others reply to other aspects of your questions, but whatever you do: DON’T CONVERT DOWN TO A 30 AMP CABLE FROM A 50 AMP OUTLET!!

Your outlet has a 50 amp breaker, and your RV has an internal 50 amp breaker. If you have a cable only meant for 30 amps, that cable will stop being a cable and become a fuse! Circuit breakers prevent electrical fires by tripping before the amperage gets too high for the wires, but doesn’t work if you use wires that are too small, which is what you’ll be doing. And with the appliances you’re talking about, over the distance that you have, it will be a matter of “when” not “if”.

(If you’re wondering why it’s ok to use the 30-to-50 dog bone adapter to plug your RV into a 30 amp outlet: it’s because the 30 amp outlet has a 30 amp breaker.)

 

[traveldawg]

Running 125' of 50 amp cable, especially with 3 connections, will be too much. It mostly depends on how big the wire is. Usual "good" 50 amp, 50 ft cable is 6 gauge. Cheap versions may be as light as 10 gauge. But for that length, it should be at least 4 gauge - which means custom and an even larger/heavier cable to wrangle.
Going lighter will be less "power" (volts) in your terms - but that less is used up in generating heat. With the connections also being possible places for even more heat build up, you have the settings for a pretty good fire to start.
Same idea with a 30 amp connection, except the wire size will be about what a standard "good" 50 amp cable uses - so still heavy and hard to manage.
Given the cost of the cables involved, you might want to get a quote from an electrician for a proper outlet near the RV....

I think Sande005 has a good suggestion to get a quote from an electrician. But most likely an electrician is going to want to run a new branch circuit complete with circuit breaker, etc.

125 feet of SO cable is probably between $700 and $1000.

Probably OK to run 30 amps out there, but then you are limited - and it's along run and still expensive.

Another thought that comes to mind is that 125' of any cable is a LOT of cable to lug around, let alone sit on the ground for any amount of time.

How about some 4/3 underground wire that you can put in a buried conduit between the house and the RV? Nice RV electrical box where you have it parked and a pigtail at the house to plug into your charger box?

 

[RV2600RB]

Might be cheaper to run a separate 50a service to a pole next to the rv.
Rich

 

[Butcher]

I agree with everything written. You should make certain everything is rated properly.

That said, if I was only going to plug in the trailer to keep the basic power on, I would never ever use 50A. I probably would never even get to 20A. If I knew that, I would not have a problem with a 30A cable.

But then again, I flew hang gliders for 20 years, so running off a cliff with a kite attached to me is another decision I thought was ok.

 

[TomPanning]

That said, if I was only going to plug in the trailer to keep the basic power on, I would never ever use 50A. I probably would never even get to 20A. If I knew that, I would not have a problem with a 30A cable.

It’s tempting to think that: “I know I’m never going to draw more than 30 amps, so it should be fine to use a 30 amp cable even though it’s a 50 amp breaker.”

That makes sense, because 99% of the time, when a breaker trips it’s because we’re trying to use too many appliances on a circuit (e.g., trying to run the toaster and crockpot at the same time). However, the other big thing that a circuit breaker protects against is a short circuit. Appliances and wires connections can (and do) fail in ways that cause short circuits. Just realize that if you’re using a 30 amp cable on a 50 amp circuit, if there’s a short circuit, you’re depending on your ability to smell the electrical burning before it starts a fire (because that breaker won’t trip, even while the electrical fire burns your RV to the ground).

 

[Butcher]

I don't know but right now, I would have to run both A/C's, microwave, electric water heater, coffee pot, hair dryer, and the converter running full speed to charge the lithium batteries, just to get close to 50A. The only time I have plugged my unit in at home, it's to use the A/C to sleep at night. I have no problems plugging into my 20A outlet at my home.

I suspect if I did have a short, there are many breakers that would probably trip before the 50A. Again, I live on the edge and I highly recommend people not to. I have even taken off a mattress tag.

In the automotive field, if a wire burns up, it's called a fusible link.

 

[mickandpolly]

All, thanks for input. I probably should have described how the camper will be used: basically as a guest bedroom with a bath. Maybe 6 weekends during the months of May-September and we’re at 9000’ in Colorado so minimal heating/cooling needed. No cooking but will use frig/frz someone’s ( propane? ) and hot water ( propane ). I’m considering solar but was really hoping for simple plug in solution. Trenching is not an option due to driveway location and costs. Any changes in advice?

 

[Bungy]

Trenching is not an option due to driveway location

Difficult ($$$) but not impossible.

 

[lineman1234]

All, thanks for input. I probably should have described how the camper will be used: basically as a guest bedroom with a bath. Maybe 6 weekends during the months of May-September and we’re at 9000’ in Colorado so minimal heating/cooling needed. No cooking but will use frig/frz someone’s ( propane? ) and hot water ( propane ). I’m considering solar but was really hoping for simple plug in solution. Trenching is not an option due to driveway location and costs. Any changes in advice?

Is running overhead an option? If so, PM me and i can help with that, as well as underground can be an option depending on how much money one wants to toss at it and what the ground type is....
Electric, cable and phone companies will dig a small hole beginning and end of run, use a directional boring machine and install wire and or a flexible pipe under a highway, driveway or what is needed.
Some places even rent the equipment, so if a person was to ask around, one might find a company or person that could run the equipment to do the underground.

As always, call for a cable location before digging a hole or installing underground. Many places are free of charge for this locating of utilities.

 

[dbphillips]

Run a 20A extension out from a 20A circuit to your 50A RV cable, then disconnect and plug into a generator when air conditioner is needed?

 

[SolarPoweredRV]

All, thanks for input. I probably should have described how the camper will be used: basically as a guest bedroom with a bath. Maybe 6 weekends during the months of May-September and we’re at 9000’ in Colorado so minimal heating/cooling needed. No cooking but will use frig/frz someone’s ( propane? ) and hot water ( propane ). I’m considering solar but was really hoping for simple plug in solution. Trenching is not an option due to driveway location and costs. Any changes in advice?

Due to the cost of getting a cable long enough and large enough for that 125 foot run, I would recommend (based on your usage) to simply get a generator and run it whenever you need to charge the batteries or run the Air Conditioner. I would also recommend you increase the size of your battery bank to around 300 to 400 amp hours. This will give you plenty of power to run all the 12v items in the camper and allow you to run the furnace at night if it gets cold. If you don't need to run the Air Conditioner you could easily get through a whole weekend without running the generator.

Alternatively, you could run a 20 amp cord out to the camper to charge the batteries instead of running the generator.

As long as you don’t have an inverter that is capable of running the Air Conditioner your guests will be forced to start the generator for A/C.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I have even taken off a mattress tag.

How long did it take for the FBI to show up?