Watching the RV power

Richard Charpentier Airstream, Arizona, Prescott, RV, Trials on the Road 1 Comment

RV Power supply

Dipping below 110…as the afternoon progresses it will drop even further

When the heat really starts to climb up, you know where I am?  Inside the Airstream watching the RV power.  Often times RV Parks have an inadequate power supply, and during those peak hours when the sun is really beating down you’ll find your incoming power isn’t quite cutting it.

Yesterday for instance my AC monitor was showing about 104-105.  Once the sun went down it popped back up to about 120.  What does this all mean?

Simple, you could kill your Air Conditioner pretty quickly.  See, electric devices need a certainly level of power coming in to keep them running properly.  If your power supply is less than optimal you can start destroying appliances like the Air Conditioner.

So when I see power dropping, and I hear the Air Conditioner “lugging,” I get a little concerned.  And it’s not one particular park.  I’ve noticed this across the country.  When parks get built often times the appropriate power, transformers, wiring, or shore power boxes aren’t deployed.  Instead the load gets tested outside of peak usage, and in the end guests and residents could pay the price by destroying their electronic devices prematurely.

Several years ago I met an RV’er with a Class A who actually forced a park owner to compensate them for the destruction of their Air Conditioner.  The power supply was not appropriate, a malfunctioning power supply at the site was the cause, and it was the park’s fault that the Air Conditioner went to an early grave.  On top of that, several other electronic devices were damaged, and the park owner reimbursed the RV’er for all of the lost equipment.  And yes, the RV’er was an electrical engineer, so he actually walked the park owner through the issues.

If it gets much hotter out, and the trend of insufficient power continues I think I’ll be breaking out my generator.  Just to be safe!

Are you watching your RV’s power input?

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