Firn
Well-known member
That is not a correct statement, the size of the service is based upon demand factors, not the sum of the individual sites.A Campground or RV Park's MAIN PANEL is not like your home.
(this is not referring to the pedestal at the campground site, which you plug into, but the pedestal MAIN PANEL it is fed from, somewhere on the campground property, usually within several hundred feet, and each site has it's own breaker WITHIN that main panel. The main panel generally serves several sites)
This main panel IS supportive of ALL potential breaker loads, from each and every site, not just 'some' breakers... Your home is different, as it is designed to support many loads at the same time, but, yes, can have more individual breakers that add up to more than the rated MAIN CUT OFF breaker, such as 200amps.
Campground pedestals, though, typically have a 50amp 240v outlet, a 30amp 120v outlet, and a set of 20amp 120v GFCI outlets... and are typically fed back to the Main Panel where they are under a 100amp 240v breaker, for that site's individual circuit, which is PLENTY to handle all the needs of that single site. The main panel, itself, might be under a 600amp main breaker, serving 6 different and individual sites.
Anyone who tells you that campground or RV park outlets 'share' power from a common circuit are just incorrect, though many may continue to believe that.
One of the aspects of camping is that the camper or RVs themselves, with their OWN breaker panels, can trip a breaker WITHIN the camper, when the owner decides to use too much power at one time, such as the air conditioner with the microwave with the converter with the electric water heater...all at the same time.
They then, unfortunately, 'assume' that the campground is the culprit.
Whenever a campground or RV park's site pedestal's breaker DOES trip, the owner may also automatically assume that the campground electrical wasn't designed properly. That's just bunk.
The breaker for the outlet is doing exactly what it is designed for.
Now, can there be a 'weak' or 'overused' campground breaker...ABSOLUTELY.
I've run into this many times, as I know very well that a typical 30amp 120v campground outlet can run both of my 13.5 roof air conditioners at the SAME TIME, but ONLY when the campground's 30amp breaker is newer and has not been weakened by years of use, overuse, and tripping on and off when campers are hooking up and unplugging... this is, unfortunately, very COMMON, and can add to the misunderstanding that many camper owners are faced with when a breaker trips.
I've had campground owner's jaws drop when I proved this to them. When THEIR breaker tripped, I would ask THEM to replace the 30amp breaker at my site, which they would initially balk on...
they had always 'heard' themselves for so many years that there is 'no way' you can do this... but when I convinced them to simply try replacing the 30amp breaker....'VOILA...suddenly both a/c's worked flawlessly and continuously for hours and hours on end.
'Tales' come from many places, and have for many years, and not because people aren't smart, in their own rights, but we, as humans, tend to 'spread' information that we've heard, and not what we've actually learned ourselves.
As a DIY'r, I don't take ANYBODY'S 'tales' as fact. Most of them are untrue, or off-base, at best.
Enjoy! I'm enjoying another RV park today, even using a 50amp extension cord for my camper to reach the 50amp outlet at the power pedestal...
NEC 551.73(a) identifies that for campgrounds of over 36 sites the main service may be as little as 41% of the combined load. On top of that each pedestals is not calculated as a sum of each plug on the pedestal.
The individual circuits can FAR exceed the supply.
In your own example those 6 sites can utilize a service that is 60% of the sum of all sites.
https://up.codes/s/calculated-load