From O'Connor RV
You love owning and driving your RV - more than a home on wheels it gives you the freedom to adventure. Taking your home with you, like a speedy turtle, is comfortable, convenient and affordable and with the proper maintenance, your RV can create the best memories for you and your family for many years.
One of the most important parts to be diligent about is your RV’s electrical system. You need it to run basically everything in the vehicle, and it’s a horrible feeling to suddenly be without it. If you do notice some issues, such as lights that flicker or appliances that malfunction, don’t venture out anyway in hopes the issues disappear. Your grand adventure may soon turn into a disaster.
Finding out what that issues are (before they become bigger) doesn’t require you to be an electrician. With these few basic steps you can do some troubleshooting and find the problems for yourself:
Understanding Electricity
Although we said you don’t need to be an electrician do make sure you do know a little about electricity before you begin. The Watt is a unit of power - just remember this equation: W= A x meaning Watts = Amps x Volts. Now make sure you know the wattage of your RV. And if you stay under that amount while operating your appliances, you’ll avoid most issues. If you do go over, you might start to see some short-circuiting.
Understanding the Power Sources
Your RV actually has two electrical systems - the 12 volt system which could have one or more batteries and the 120 volt system that charges from your generator. The 12 volt is responsible for the larger, important electrical items in the RV - like the lighting, refrigerator, furnace and water heater. The 120-volt system runs items like your tv or smaller appliances. Whether you have a 12-volt, or two 6 volt batteries, your RV will use a 12-volt cell to function correctly. Always keep an eye on 12 volt system so you know your discharge time.
While the RV is plugged in, your 12-volt battery will automatically charge, but when you aren’t plugged try not to let the battery go below 50%. The lower the charge goes, the greater chance it could be flawed and harder to get back up to 100%.
Know Your Amps
RVs usually have a 30 or 50 amp power cord that you use to plug in at a campground or resort. A 3 pronged plug is a 30 amp, while a four-pronged plug is a 50 amp. 50 amps definitely provide the RV with more power but some places may only have 30 amps available. It would be wise to have a converter if you do have 50 amps - you don’t want to be without power for the night. Before you do get set up and ready to plug in, it is wise to have a polarity tester in the RV. This will help you determine if it is safe to hook up. If you do plug in to a faulty system you risk the chance of frying your RV’s electrical system. Get the tester.
Use Caution Around Wiring
Before working with anything electrical, remember to be safe. Turn off the power before touching any wires and use coated electric tools to make any adjustments. (If the idea of touching any wires scares you at all, ask the professionals to do it for you. Yes, it might cost you but making sure your RV’s electrical maintenance is done correctly will pay for itself. If the job is done wrong, you could end up paying much more than if you asked the professional first.) With those cautions in mind, checking out the wires for any damage is one of the first things you should do when troubleshooting. Make sure there are no frays and that all the wire connections are tight and secure. If you still find yourself without power check the electrical panel next you might have just blown a fuse or tripped a circuit.
Know Your System
Try to be aware of what appliances take up the most power. If your battery charge is running low, then it is nice to know what appliance you could do without until you can charge it back up again. The biggest electricity hogs are likely your fridge and your toaster, which are not always easy to give up, but you’d be surprised how much your hair dryer and and microwave can use too. Your hair might not look as nice as usual, but you’ll be able to keep your drinks cold.
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