A friend of mine just got a new trailer and after it rained this weekend it seemed like the outside silver part of the trailer was giving off a slight shock. the horse put his nose on it and he felt it.. then we put our arm(part w/hair) on it and felt a little shock also..

So what do you think.. I say SOMETHING is not right with this... your opinion???

Is it a living quarters? Assuming that it is, check your cords and make sure that all of them have the ground pole intact. If they don't you need to replace it and that should fix your problem. If they aren't, then either the outlet isn't grounded properly, or the trailer isn't. Invest in a ground fault tester to check the outlets with. Either way, it is something that you need to get corrected.

The grounded receptacle into which your shore line is plugged is faulty. The ground wire to it is faulty or non existent.

Gard

I told her I thought it was a ground issue.. It is a brand new trailer and we were at a run this weekend and that is where she was hooked up.. My trailer was hooked up and I had no problems.

The area that was shocking was the area where you tie the horses up that is silver.

I'll tell her about the ground checker at Lowes/Home Depot.. I think she needs to have it checked.

I think your friend has several problems.  Lack of Grounding being only one issue.  Grounding will only draw the stray current to ground.  There should NOT be "ANY" current leakage to the frame of the trailer. 

PS ... touching the trailer to see if it's shocking is like searching for a gas leak with a lighted match ... Dangerous to the searcher...  Of course if the searcher is expendable, carry on.  LOL...

Wyndancer ... Your solution May work...  But then it might not ... a short ground rod doesn't comply with current electric code.  It would be a false sense of security.  An earth ground installed per the National Electric code is more likely to serve the purpose.  A tester that confirms the outlet is wired correctly IMHO is a better indicator of a working ground since the campground is a fixed installation that is legally liable for a faulty electrical system...  Most licensed electricians would not put their career and assets on the line for a substandard install.

So how do these circuit testers work? How do you know if the campground outlet is wired correctly if you use the circuit tester?  Sorry,...you have to spell it out for me! But I'd rather be safe than sorrry.

It lights up on the end to tell you. Click on the link and it will show you what it looks like.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100062242

My neighbors, who live across the street, have mainline power line towers in their back yards. On a humid night you can hear the lines crackling, and if you hold a florescent tube over your head, it will flicker.

One neighbor tried for many years to breed TBs. With the best vets and care he was never able to bring a foal to term. The same horses, shipped to his friend's farm, later produced healthy foals.

Those power lines give off a large amount of EMF. I used to work around them, and from about 20 feet and inward, it's whole different environment.

Gard

Was this when it was plugged in somewhere?

If so, check for open neutral or ground coming into the trailer...

Some facilities have electrical wiring issues...

I am going to Wally World to buy one of the testers... and in a few weeks when we go back to the same place, I'm checking it out.... That way we can determine if it is the hookups at the arena or her trailer.

Thanks guys!!.. you've been most helpful.

When I was a kid, my dad would use that term. If you drop a chain from the trailer to the ground, it should ground the trailer out so you don't get shocked when you touch it. She was working as a ground strap for the stray current that the trailer was picking up. The chain isn't as effective as a grounding rod driven into the ground, but will serve the purpose in a pinch.

lilcashseeker - When you go back to the arena, realize that you could have one outlet that is good and another that isn't. Was she using an extension cord to plug in? If so, it sould also have been in the extension cord.