Shore Power Basics: 50 Amp, 30 Amp, and the Dogbone
Campground power, in plain words
Shore power is the pedestal at your site, and the two numbers on it, 50 amp and 30 amp, do not mean what they look like they mean.
50 amp is not a little more than 30
A 30-amp service gives the rig one leg of power: about 3,600 watts to run everything. A 50-amp service gives two legs: up to about 12,000 watts total, more than three times as much. That is why a 50-amp rig on a 30-amp site has to make choices: air conditioner or microwave or water heater on electric, not all of them at once.
Dogbones step down, not up
The adapter shaped like a dogbone lets a 50-amp cord plug into a 30-amp pedestal, or a 30-amp cord into a 50. It changes the plug, not the power. The pedestal still only gives what it gives, and the rig has to live inside that number.
Before you plug in
- Look at the pedestal. Burned, loose, or damaged outlets are a no, however tired you are.
- Use protection. A surge protector at minimum; a power management unit that watches for low voltage and wiring faults is better. Low voltage hurts air conditioners quietly and expensively.
- Plug in with the pedestal breaker off, then switch on. Unplug the same way, breaker off first.
The line we do not cross
Plugging in a cord is camping. Opening a pedestal, rewiring an inlet, or changing breakers is electrical work, and electrical work belongs to a qualified RV technician or a licensed electrician. That rule protects the rig, the campground, and you, in that order of convenience and the reverse order of importance.
Related: why we run a SmartPlug inlet, and who should install one.
