Some RVers think that if their RV is wired for 30 amp service they cannot use campground sites wired for 50 amp service. One member of our discussion group wrote this:

Most of the places we go we just plug into the 30 amp spots. My question is, would it hurt anything if we plug into the 50 amp spots? At one of the campgrounds we want to go to the best spots are 50 amp.

I suspect if we could remember back when most RVs were wired to use 20 amp service and manufacturers were beginning to build RVs with 30 amp service we would see the same confusion when campgrounds started to upgrade power pedestals with 30 amp receptacles.

When RV Parks and Campgrounds label a site as 50 amps it simply means the site has 50 amp service available. That important to know for RVers who have rigs wired for 50 amps but it doesn’t mean that 30 amp or even 20 amp service isn’t available at the site as well. Ninety-Nine percent of the time the ’50 amp’ power pedestal will have all three outlets… 50, 30 and 20 amp … available.

The 50 amp and 30 amp power outlets are not the same so on the rare occasion when 30 amp service is not available you will have to use a 50 amp to 30 amp adapter if you still want use the site.

See: Using a 50 to 30 Amp RV Power Cord Adapter at RVbasics.com for more information.

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