It didn’t work - ProPower ground fault with travel trailer?

[Matt604]

Hi all, hoping I missed a simple step. Upon trying out the generator mode for the first time I didn’t get very far.

Using a Camco adaptor off of Amazon, plug that into the truck, plug my 30a trailer cord into the trailer and then plug the other end into the adapter and then turn on generator mode on the 12” screen. Resulted n ground fault message.
What did I do incorrectly?

I also got this message once.

 

[Matt604]

I have an update after service appointment at the Ford dealership. The tech's informed me it is a wiring problem on my travel trailer. Next step is to bring it to an RV tech to fix what was loosely described as improper wiring on some trailers. This was not stated confidently or specifically but beleive they are doing the best to of their knowledge. I have seen on this forum the ProPower work successfully with a travel trailer and to this point unaware that travel trailers can we wired that different when it comes to grounding. But nonetheless i'll look into this next step and report back after that.

 

[boots]

I have an update after service appointment at the Ford dealership. The tech's informed me it is a wiring problem on my travel trailer. Next step is to bring it to an RV tech to fix what was loosely described as improper wiring on some trailers. This was not stated confidently or specifically but beleive they are doing the best to of their knowledge. I have seen on this forum the ProPower work successfully with a travel trailer and to this point unaware that travel trailers can we wired that different when it comes to grounding. But nonetheless i'll look into this next step and report back after that.

What year/make/model trailer do you have?

 

[Matt604]

@boots , my tt is a 2013 (Forest River) Rockwood Mini Lite 2306. Bought it new and used it a lot over the years w/o issue.

Also note i've used the ProPower successfully on the 20A receptacle with both a large air compressor and a vacuum.

I'm thinking the issue is both truck inverter and trailer inverter are providing ground and don't like it. But at a loss why others have gotten their trailer 30A connection to work 'out of the box'. I am going to test with a gas generator over the weekend for comparison.

 

[Jcartwr97]

Just picked up a 2021 Forest River Cherokee 274BRB today and having the same issue with the dog bone adapter. Please let us know if you find a solution as that was one of the big reasons I went with the Pro Power.

 

[Jcartwr97]

Well, I think I figured out my problem. Apparently when the dealer was prepping the trailer they turned on the electric water heater with no water in it and burned out the element. Shut off the breaker to the water heater and everything else runs fine on the generator. Found the outside switch in the on position. I guess I get to call the dealer tomorrow and tell them they are giving me a new heating element.

 

[jeffcrum]

Glad you found it. Sorry the dealer broke your new trailer!

 

[kmayer]

Well, I think I figured out my problem. Apparently when the dealer was prepping the trailer they turned on the electric water heater with no water in it and burned out the element. Shut off the breaker to the water heater and everything else runs fine on the generator. Found the outside switch in the on position. I guess I get to call the dealer tomorrow and tell them they are giving me a new heating element.

Glad you know the problem and it’s not one of those issues that takes forever to figure out.

 

[TeeRoy]

I'm having this same problem, don't think it's my hot water heater, already tried turning each of the breakers off. I don't have a battery connected to my trailer currently going to try with one connected to see if that may be the cause. Otherwise I think I may have to start searching for a ground on the trailers main electrical. I have a 2008 Starcraft 30ft bunkhouse. When I plug in to one of my GFCI outlets it usually trips as I turn things on, but when I connect to a non gfci house outlet I can run most anything, that's why I think I may have a ground on the entire system. If anyone has any recommendations on where to start I'd appreciate it. Otherwise I'll report back if I find anything.

 

[Jcartwr97]

Confirmed the water heater element was the culprit, pulled it out this afternoon so I can take it over to the dealer and swap it out. Melted almost all the way through on one end.

 

[Matt604]

I'm having this same problem, don't think it's my hot water heater, already tried turning each of the breakers off. I don't have a battery connected to my trailer currently going to try with one connected to see if that may be the cause. Otherwise I think I may have to start searching for a ground on the trailers main electrical. I have a 2008 Starcraft 30ft bunkhouse. When I plug in to one of my GFCI outlets it usually trips as I turn things on, but when I connect to a non gfci house outlet I can run most anything, that's why I think I may have a ground on the entire system. If anyone has any recommendations on where to start I'd appreciate it. Otherwise I'll report back if I find anything.

Based on my experience you should still be able to narrow down the ground fault to one AC circuit or two if you are unlucky. Start with all AC breakers off and add one back at a time. The ground HAS to be on one of them. Might be complicated if it is on your converter which fronts all the 12V circuits. Also check your bathroom and outside receptacles which may have GFCI built into them and be already tripped. I don't know if the truck is going to detect one of those tripped receptacles as a ground fault but i made sure they were in working order when tracking down the ground.

 

[Matt604]

Update on my situation as the OP...

Using the AC breaker panel in the trailer i was able to track down a ground fault in the hot water heater circuit. It took some trial and error but eventually i had the ProPower running everything in the trailer given the hot water heater circuit was turned off. Microwave and air conditioner tested and worked flawlessly and could verify on ProPower display. My LED lights and super fans do not even draw enough wattage to show up on when all are turned on.

Of note, i also tested running the trailer with a Firman 3600W gas generator on the 30A receptacle. This worked with no issues and specifically with no ground faults like the ProPower. So assuming ProPower has as a sophisticated EMS protecting it that your typical gas generator doesn't bother to use. I did verify that both the gas generator and the ProPower implement a bonded neutral so on that point is a valid comparison. I expect my trailer has been in this state for years and wasn't doing any harm to anything but i guess good idea to protect ProPower.

The hot water heater is the typical electrical and propane version so i will now take my time to repair the electrical components and just use it in propane mode for time being. I expect i can replace the heating element and/or the electrical switch/wiring all off Amazon for <$50 to get it 100%.

 

[NoCo150]

Okay here is a dumb question. I just got my truck and was planning on using it to sometimes power a small RV we have been looking to get. I came across this in the Manuel
" It is important to note that you can not plug your 30-amp RV into that plug because it puts out 240 volts. RVs are intended to run on 120 volts. At this moment you can only plug into the standard 20 amp outlets.” from reading here it seems you all are plugging directly into the 30amp plug? I thought it was going to be simple. I dont know anything about electric other than is shocks you…

 

[BLoflin]

Okay here is a dumb question. I just got my truck and was planning on using it to sometimes power a small RV we have been looking to get. I came across this in the Manuel
" It is important to note that you can not plug your 30-amp RV into that plug because it puts out 240 volts. RVs are intended to run on 120 volts. At this moment you can only plug into the standard 20 amp outlets.” from reading here it seems you all are plugging directly into the 30amp plug? I thought it was going to be simple. I dont know anything about electric other than is shocks you…

The "240" plug in the back of your truck is 4 pins. One is Gnd. One is Neutral. The other two are HOT (HotA and HotB).

From either Hot to Neutral is 120V @ 30 amp max. From HotA to HotB is 240V @ 30 Amp max.

So if you need only 120V then make sure and get a plug/dog bone that just gives you Gnd, Neutral, and one Hot (either A or B). You can get a splitter that will give you two 120V circuits, one will be HotA to Neutral and the other HotB to Neutral.

 

[UGADawg96]

Okay here is a dumb question. I just got my truck and was planning on using it to sometimes power a small RV we have been looking to get. I came across this in the Manuel
" It is important to note that you can not plug your 30-amp RV into that plug because it puts out 240 volts. RVs are intended to run on 120 volts. At this moment you can only plug into the standard 20 amp outlets.” from reading here it seems you all are plugging directly into the 30amp plug? I thought it was going to be simple. I dont know anything about electric other than is shocks you…

If your RV has a standard 30amp 3 pin power cable, then you need one of these so you can use one side of the 30amp 240v circuit to only pull in 120v off the A or B side.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-55338-...ocphy=9011568&hvtargid=pla-450167261883&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024E71B...olid=2JC33DK80B9RH&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

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