Reverse polarity at the campground power pedestal

[Bill]

We all get reminded, repeatedly, about watching out for incorrect wiring at the campground power pedestal. I've done a lot of the reminding myself, in spite of the fact that over 14 or so years of TMing and hundreds of nights camping, I've never encountered it.

It finally happened. At a very nice KOA in Pennsylvania, we set up, plugged in, and settled down for a nice evening. As my wife was opening a bottle of wine for us, I happened to glance at the little 3-light tester that is permanently plugged into the outlet beside the refrigerator - and HOLY COW! - HOT and GROUND were reversed!

Reverse polarity is the wiring error that kills people, because the skin of the trailer becomes electrically hot, and you get a shock if you touch the trailer and the ground beneath your feet at the same time. Fortunately, our site had a base of nice dry gravel, so we didn't get even a tingle. The girl at the desk was skeptical when I went to the office to request another site, but the next moring the manager came to our new site, apologized, and comp'ed us for the previous night.

Point is, this can happen even in a well-established and high class campground. I have always kept that tester plugged into that particular outlet so that I can see it from outside the TM. And my rule is always to check it as soon as I connect power. And this time I violated my own rule. Not smart. IMO, everyone should spend $3 on this tester, plug it in permanently, and use it.

Bill

[Padgett]

Under $5 as an add-on, under $10 by itself. Requires reading the front of the plug.

[Bill]

About $4.50 (regular price) at Home Depot if you are near one, and almost always on sale somewhere. Whether $3 or $5, a worthwhile device.

Bill

[scrubjaysnest]

Before hooking up to shore power my DW always plugs in the 3 lite tester first

[ShrimpBurrito]

Great catch, Bill!

Dave

[hillbillyhotel]

bill ,
first of all ,thank goodness you and dw are ok,
and thank you for sharing , we must look out for ourselves, I really do not want to be a bad statistic, will stop on my way home tomorrow and get one, will not travel without from now on , and use

[Padgett]

BTW was several months ago but was a thread on the odd way various generators will show up. They are isolated so there should be no ground return, is just an isolated 120VAC source and not 1/2 of a 240 like most wiring in the US.

[Wingedryder]

I use a 30Amp portable surge protector made for campers that plugs into the shore power pedestal, that the TM then is plugged into (approx. $325).
Hopefully, that would protect us. Though I do keep a AC volt/amp meter plugged into the 110outlet just under the kitchen sink, it wouldn't be noticeable from outside the trailer.

Glad you're alright too, Bill!

[ShrimpBurrito]

Bill - Wouldn't a GFCI breaker as the main breaker in the TM prevent this from happening? If the hot and ground are reversed, it should immediately trip, right? No need to worry about forgetting to check the checker.

Dave

[Padgett]

Only if there is a good ground. If the neutral (hot) and the ground are tied together there there would be no diffeerence in potential to trip a GFCI and since the TV and the TM are on rubber tires it would not ground unless you deply a ground stake.