Home Power Post?

[dungator]

We are looking at getting a Reflection fifth wheel next year and are debating whether to add a 30A power pole or a 50A power pole to the area on our property where we plant to park the unit. Any compelling reason to go 50A versus 30A. Not planning to use the unit while parked at home but want sufficient power for cleaning, prepping, etc.

Thanks

[Schiefswret]

We are looking at getting a Reflection fifth wheel next year and are debating whether to add a 30A power pole or a 50A power pole to the area on our property where we plant to park the unit. Any compelling reason to go 50A versus 30A. Not planning to use the unit while parked at home but want sufficient power for cleaning, prepping, etc.

Thanks

To me it seems that a 50amp would be more versatile, option to use a variety of Dogbones, etc.

[howson]

We are looking at getting a Reflection fifth wheel next year and are debating whether to add a 30A power pole or a 50A power pole to the area on our property where we plant to park the unit. Any compelling reason to go 50A versus 30A. Not planning to use the unit while parked at home but want sufficient power for cleaning, prepping, etc.

Thanks

First--welcome to the forum!

If you're getting a two air conditioner trailer, install a 50A pole. This gives you the option to run both air conditioners and the refrigerator when prepping to leave on a trip. (If it's hot outside you'll want to run both air conditioners!)

If you live in a mild climate where a/c is not normally a concern and buying a single a/c unit trailer, a 30A will suffice.

But...the price difference between installing the 30A and 50A may be unremarkable. If the cost difference is small, the 50A will give you more options in the future.

Please follow up with what you decide (both trailer and power).

[Cate&Rob]

dungator

Depending on the distance between the power source and the new post, the cost of a 50A service might be significantly more than a 30A service because of the wire size required. From your description of intended use, I would think that a 30A line would be more than sufficient. Enough to run the fridge and battery charger plus either one AC or the electric fireplace or even the propane furnace. (the furnace needs significant 12V power for the control circuits and blower which the battery charger will replenish from the shore power)

Remember that 50A is at 240V which works out to 100A at the 120V required by the RV. Way more than you will require for the usage described.

Rob

[Yoda]

There are boxes where you could put both a 50 and 30 amp plug. To me both would be handy. If you have a guest they could use the 30.

[TucsonJim]

At my house, the power panel is at the far end of the property compared to where I park the RV. The cost of running a 50 amp service was considerably more than 30 amp. So I installed the 30 amp service. Even though we live in Tucson, I only run one AC at a time. It is enough cooling to make it somewhat comfortable when we're packing up the trailer for a trip.

Another consideration is total household power consumption. What is the size of your home's power panel. Mine is 200 amps. If I installed a 50 amp service it is conceivable that I could use 50 amps per leg, or up to 100 amps total. Of course, that would mean I was running both ACs along with several other high demand devices. Even if I was just running two ACs, that is a pretty big demand on the total household draw and I'd have to consider load shedding in the house so I wouldn't draw more than 200 amps total from the system. But if you have 400 amp service, then this is probably not an issue.

Jim

[mpking]

Since I plan on consulting an electrician this week to do the same thing, I'll report back.

I'm in the thought camp that if most of the cost is labor, then the material cost between 30amp and 50amp should be negligible. But I get to prove the theory.

[howson]

Since I plan on consulting an electrician this week to do the same thing, I'll report back.

I'm in the thought camp that if most of the cost is labor, then the material cost between 30amp and 50amp should be negligible. But I get to prove the theory.

I think the answer will be "all of the above". Each situation will probably be different so the "right" answer will change.

I had my main exterior power panel on my house replaced to accommodate a home generator connection. (Live on the gulf coast--a generator connection for the house is a good thing to have!) Wire was ran in the ground to the back of my yard and outlets/lights were installed in the garage and shed. The RV connection was also added at that time.

It was an expensive project. There was a crew of guys that dug a long trench (~100') and it took the electricians two days to wire everything, so I doubt the difference between 30A and 50A was going to make much difference in the final cost (though honestly I didn't even think to ask).

[mpking]

howson , I think the biggest factor is what TucsonJim pointed out. It may not cost a lot more to run 50 amp, but the electrician may not be able to do it due to the service size in the house. We had a hot tub installed years ago, and the electrician balked because we only had 100 amp service. (Hot Tub was 40 amp). There was a complicated (to me, the non-electrician) on how big the service size is vs the the allowed draw.

[howson]

howson , I think the biggest factor is what TucsonJim pointed out. It may not cost a lot more to run 50 amp, but the electrician may not be able to do it due to the service size in the house. We had a hot tub installed years ago, and the electrician balked because we only had 100 amp service. (Hot Tub was 40 amp). There was a complicated (to me, the non-electrician) on how big the service size is vs the the allowed draw.

I agree that could be a significant limiting factor. As I have a newer home I had (obviously) had the capacity as the electrician never said a word about it. I look forward to reading the results from your and dungator 's installs.

[subsurfcpo]

The wire used for 30 to 50 amp is the same (over rated per NEC). The boxes are comparable in price. The difference in price is the 50 amp breaker. Any price increases by the electrician is BS.

[OurNewEra]

dungator

Depending on the distance between the power source and the new post, the cost of a 50A service might be significantly more than a 30A service because of the wire size required. From your description of intended use, I would think that a 30A line would be more than sufficient. Enough to run the fridge and battery charger plus either one AC or the electric fireplace or even the propane furnace. (the furnace needs significant 12V power for the control circuits and blower which the battery charger will replenish from the shore power)

Remember that 50A is at 240V which works out to 100A at the 120V required by the RV. Way more than you will require for the usage described.

Rob

Thanks for that suggestion of the 30A. I am looking at installing a 50A box for our Imagine with 2 A/C's. I was so set on 50A because the rig is 50A. The cost of the wire for the 50A is significant for the distance I need to run from my house panel. A 30A would be perfect for what we need, plugging the rig in when prepping for trips. A 30A will provide what we need and be less costly to install. I'll run the numbers but I'm pretty sure I'll go the 30A route.

[ckreef]

Thanks for that suggestion of the 30A. I am looking at installing a 50A box for our Imagine with 2 A/C's. I was so set on 50A because the rig is 50A. The cost of the wire for the 50A is significant for the distance I need to run from my house panel. A 30A would be perfect for what we need, plugging the rig in when prepping for trips. A 30A will provide what we need and be less costly to install. I'll run the numbers but I'm pretty sure I'll go the 30A route.

Plus 30A will allow you to run one of the ac units which should take enough of the summer heat out of the trailer for loading and unloading.