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Member
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| I have 2002 silver star that has 20amp inlet. Can anyone tell me how to convert it to 30amp inlet since so many park are 30amp? I like to try to do it myself. tks michelle. Littel hx. Bought it with no LV QTRS had that put in. I assume the traielr came with 20amp? |
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Location: Northern Utah | Changing the end of the plug is not a big deal. But the wiring support 30 amp? It would be foolish to run 30 amp into a system designed to only handle 20amp. You could melt a wire, short out a system, cause a fire. You need to have somebody quailifed look at your trailer and determine if the wiring, breaker panel, ciruit breakers etc can handle 30 amps. |
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Veteran
Posts: 236
Location: Little town in Pa | Please listen to painted horse. Running 30 amps through a wire rated for 20 amps is a good way to burn your trailer down and whatever or who ever is inside. |
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Expert
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Location: Arkansas | So it came from the factory as a shell, and you had an LQ put in later? Perhaps whoever did the LQ can give you a heads up on the wiring capacities, the amps being pulled by whatever appliances, and also change it over to the 30amp hookup.....but surely in doing the LQ they would have recognized the need for the 30am hooikup, unless they left the 20 on there to protect the wiring etc from overload. Also, need to not overload the amp rating of the power converter in it.... coming back into camp from a ride to find the trailer in a ashpile would definitely put a crimp in the day,...
Edited by flyinghfarm 2009-04-13 4:11 PM
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Member
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| Yes I bought it as a shell but had AC/Heat with it so I am assuming it was already wired since that came with it. So I assume it was wired for 20amp. Not that I have problems just most place have 30amp to hook up. Is it okay to plug into a place that provides 30amp hook up with a 20amp trailer? |
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Location: Central Arkansas | It sounds like it has the outdoor extension cord type power source plug. If this is the case, you may just need a 12 gauge cord (with the ground intact) then use a $5 RV plug adapter to plug it into a 30 amp plug. That is how we do our DR trailer. We also have the RV plug adapter that reduces our LQ trailer cord down to a 110 plug. Some places we go don't have 30 amp service. We always have a electrical voltage test lite plugged in to make sure we stay in the "green" as to not damage our electronics. |
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Member
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| Correct it has outside plug. I do have converter plug when I hook up but I have to get new cord, 20amp, because it was burnt and the plug that is on the outside is burnt, so not sure if I could plug a 20amp in 30amp with adaptor. Not sure what is a 20amp/ 110 volt and what is 30amp how many volt that is. All new to me. |
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Veteran
Posts: 171
Location: Henderson, TN 38340 | Plugging into a 30 amp service with an adaptor, or changing the plug to a 30 amp plugs is basically the same thing. The trailer is only going to draw what the appliances need. If you have a 20 amp fuse, that will limit your draw. My question is how did the current cord get burnt? What kind of fuse box do you have. What size fuses or circut breakers do you have? |
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Expert
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Location: Northern Utah | The stuff inside the trailer may be rated for 30 amp and you just had a 20 amp cord. It may be as easy as a new cord or a new adapter. But you need somebody knowledgeable to look it and tell you. If you don't have the skills, please hire somebody qualified to do this. I just worry that If I tried to give directions over the internet, either I or you would miss something and ruin your trailer. Any trailer repair shop and probably most trailer sales offices probably have somebody on staff that in a couple of minutes could give you some advice when they are looking directly at the parts. |
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Member
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| You know I think I will hire someone to look at it. Was just trying to get idea why the plug burnt. Not sure about all the fuses and breaker box inside will have to look. I think I will call the guy that did the LQ and go from there. Thank for all your help. |
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Location: Central Arkansas | We had a plug once that showed signs of arching. It turned out that the hookup at the campground had been wired wrong. Now I use a voltage indicator device in my trailer and check the reading "before" I turn any electronics or appliances on. I have one in both trailers. They are only a couple of bucks and well worth it. My Bloomer even came from Select with one in it. I knew right then that RT Smith was on top of his game! |
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Member
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| okay found the book and the AC/heat strip is a duotherm that came with travel and it says its a 115 volt AC and 12 volt DC so what amp would that be? |
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Expert
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Location: Northern Utah | Start with where the wire enters the trailer and trace it through the trailer. What gauge is the wire? The wire should enter the trailer and go into a distribution box. Some sort of a Convertor/Circuit Breaker. What is that box rated at? If that box is rated at 30 amp we can convert to a30 amp plug. If it is rated at 20amp it will accept the higher amp power and break it down into the lower amps and distribute the power. But if the wire coming in and the panel are not rated to handle 30 amp. You should not be using 30 amp. |
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Member
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| Okay sorry took so long to back with you but I looked last night after work and the breaker box has (2) 15amp breakers. So does this mean the trailer is wired for only 15amps or does this mean 2, 15amp would=30amp and the trailer is wired for 30amps???? |
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Expert
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Location: western PA | Originally written by bluelagoonacres on 2009-04-16 6:13 AM
I looked last night after work and the breaker box has (2) 15amp breakers. So does this mean the trailer is wired for only 15amps or does this mean 2, 15amp would=30amp and the trailer is wired for 30amps???? It means that you have two circuits in your trailer, that are each protected to 15 amps of maximum current. This means your trailer probably has internal 14 awg wiring. They may or may not, be an indicator the total amount of current your shore cord is capable of providing. The only way to know the capacity of your shore cord, is to determine the size of its wiring; IE the wire gauge. Gard |
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Member
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| Okay what I can see each 15amp is connected to two different wires at 600 volts each joing together to 120volt wire. Does that help to tell me what amp the trailer is wired???? |
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converting a 20amp inlet to 30amp inlet
