Exactly what cord do I need to use the 7.2kw generator??

[Sentinel1201]

I want to power my RV off of my 7.2KW generator in my 21 Powerboost. I see the 4 120V outlets in the bed, however they say 2400W max on them. My dometic AC, microwave, fridge and Keurig in the RV may pull more than that.

Can someone point me to exactly the cord I need to buy to hook up to the NEMA L14-30P outlet in the bed so I can pull the full 7200 watts? The other end of the cord I want a female regular household style 110V outlet as that will hook up to my RV's shore power socket.

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[Wslinky]

What amperage is your trailer? If it uses a 15/20amp plug (standard house) then you should be fine plugging in to the 110 outlet. Your trailer will have a breaker that won't let you exceed that amperage anyways.

For 30amp I bought https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08RBNC...abc_BEAHVED92RZHCTA84H7C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 which works great. Since the trailer is only 110 you are still limited to 3100 watts.

 

[Sentinel1201]

What amperage is your trailer? If it uses a 15/20amp plug (standard house) then you should be fine plugging in to the 110 outlet. Your trailer will have a breaker that won't let you exceed that amperage anyways.

For 30amp I bought https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08RBNC...abc_BEAHVED92RZHCTA84H7C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 which works great. Since the trailer is only 110 you are still limited to 3100 watts.

Here is the shore power input to my trailer.

You are correct, it's a 20 amp plug. In my trailer, I have a dometic 15000 BTU AC, small microwave, Keurig, Edgestar 43Qt fridge and a few small sundry electronics. I power all of that today with my Honda EU7000 and can almost always run the AC and one other appliance concurrently without tripping any breakers. The Honda also powers my motorcycle tire warmers when I am at the track but off of a separate outlet.

I tested the truck today and with AC on max and microwave, it trips the breaker. OK yes, I can meter my appliances in the trailer to get around the problem, but I would like a setup where I don't have to and can just count on the 7200 watts. Is that not possible? Or do we in essence only have TWO 3600 watt generators??

BTW, here was the draw according to the car when AC and microwave were both going at same time - didn't hit the peak 3600, however it still tripped.

 

[imnuts]

2600W from a 120VAC receptacle is 21.6 A, so that's why it tripped as you're overloading the circuit. You may be able to get 3600W from one leg of the 240VAC receptacle, but I'm not sure how the system would react with an unbalanced load like that.

 

[Sentinel1201]

2600W from a 120VAC receptacle is 21.6 A, so that's why it tripped as you're overloading the circuit. You may be able to get 3600W from one leg of the 240VAC receptacle, but I'm not sure how the system would react with an unbalanced load like that.

When you say "from one leg of the 240VAC receptacle" do you mean using something like this??

Southwire Y-adapter in the Generator Accessories department at Lowes.com

 

[imnuts]

If it's a 4 pin plug for the 240V receptacle, there are 2 hot wires, 1 neutral, and 1 ground. If you go from hot to hot, you get 240V. If you go from either hot to neutral, you'd get 120V. What you linked is similar, but you'll want to check the wire gauge to see if it's capable of handling 30A before using it.

 

[BLoflin]

Couple of thoughts. Assume your A/C in trailer is a 13.5KBTU (smaller RV A/C).

A/C running is about 13amps. Compressor start up can be 20A and remember the compressor cycles off and on randomly thru out the day.

Microwave is about 12 amps running and can be 15+ briefly during start up.

Keurig is about the same as microwave when it is heating the water.

Fridge is lower, and can be on propane (usually).

So if you have truly mean you are running all those concurrently thru a 20Amp plug/connection you are way over code and safety, even worse depending on the wiring size in the trailer and the size and length of you external extension cord.

Now on using the truck. If you pull from the 30A 240 plug you can get 7.2KW to drive a 240V load.

However, if you have 120V load only (like most trailers), then you get 30A x 120V = 3.6KW. But you get 2 of them, coming out of that 4 pin plug (with the right dogbone adapter). Or if you use the 120V plugs on the truck, you can get 20A at 120V = 2.4KW on each of the 2 circuits.

My suggestion, regardless of the truck, you need to split the loads in your trailer, and install another connection. You would have A/C and other lesser loads (like fridge and TV, etc) on one circuit. Then the kitchen stuff (microwave and kitchen plugs for coffee maker, InstaPot etc on the other circuit.

This is to make your trailer functional and to safety code for concurrent appliance use.

Then you might could get away with a regular (but heavy duty) 120V standard plug extension cord x 2 from each leg in the truck to your 2 connections on your trailer. Or if you wanted to have a bigger margin, get the dogbone that plugs into the 240V truck connector and manifests into 2 120V plugs.

If you can't or don't want to rewire your trailer, then I suggest getting the 240 to x2 120V dogbone and connecting one side into your trailer connection. Then use the other size with a second extension cord and run it into your trailer and plug the Microwave and Coffee Pot into that 2nd extension cord.

 

[Sentinel1201]

An update on this. Since making this thread, I have had two more days at the track pulling the same loads off the generator without issue. All good now and here's my setup that's working well:

1. First thing I did was turn the temperature of my overhead AC to 80% - it was originally running at 100%. That keeps the compressor cycling optimally and seems to be keeping it from freezing up, which I think was the primary cause of the surge/overload.
2. I now have the trailer/AC and my tire warmers drawing from both banks (30 amp receptacle for one and the 120V receptacle right below for the other seem to draw from separate banks). For the 30 amp receptacle, I have this connecting to this connecting to this. Basically, it's stepping down the 30 amp to a 15 amp and using the right extension cord rated for 15 amps. Trailer AC seems to be doing fine on the 15 amp, as long as I am not making it freeze up.

Also FYI - I ordered this soft starter but once it showed up the warning label in the package clearly said it was not meant for ACs. So I returned it.

 

[PJBecker]

I want to power my RV off of my 7.2KW generator in my 21 Powerboost. I see the 4 120V outlets in the bed, however they say 2400W max on them. My dometic AC, microwave, fridge and Keurig in the RV may pull more than that.

Can someone point me to exactly the cord I need to buy to hook up to the NEMA L14-30P outlet in the bed so I can pull the full 7200 watts? The other end of the cord I want a female regular household style 110V outlet as that will hook up to my RV's shore power socket.

This is the cord I purchased. I just got home from a 3 day music festival in Mi. I powered my camper. It has a 15,000 btu a/c, a small mini fridge, the rv fridge, 3 fans in a tent and sound system for the campsite. My Powerboost ran this continuously from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning on about 5/8 tank of fuel. This is what I bought the truck for and it did not disappoint.

Pete

 

[don.mullins]

This is the cord I purchased. I just got home from a 3 day music festival in Mi. I powered my camper. It has a 15,000 btu a/c, a small mini fridge, the rv fridge, 3 fans in a tent and sound system for the campsite. My Powerboost ran this continuously from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning on about 5/8 tank of fuel. This is what I bought the truck for and it did not disappoint.

Pete

That one appears to no longer be on Amazon. I grabbed a single 30TT dog bone, but then I saws this one In your post. This would be useful when boondocking with others.

 

[Sentinel1201]

OK, so after 3-4 track weekends using the generator to power trailer and tire warmers, I am happy to report my setup is working reliably.

1. I use the 240 outlet to power the trailer, but use these cords to step it down to 15 amp / 120V trailer shore power input.
   
   Amazon.com: Camco Heavy Duty 12" 30 Amp Locking 4-Prong Male / 30Amp Standard Female PowerGrip Generator Adapter (55382): Automotive
   
   Leisure Cords 30 Amp Male to 15 Amp Female Dogbone Adapter RV Electrical Converter Cord Cable (30A Male - 15A Female) - - Amazon.com
   
   Amazon Basics 10-Foot 3-Prong Heavy-Duty Indoor/Outdoor SJTW Lighted Extension Cord - 15 Amps, 1875 Watts, 125V - Orange - - Amazon.com
   
   
2. I then use the 120V right below the 240 to power my tire warmers. I use this cord reel mounted to the truck for quick extension and stowaway. The 240 and 120 right below it seem to be on the opposite banks and so I don't have any issues tripping breakers.
   
   
   

Oh, I also have an Edgestar compressor fridge wired direct to battery under the hood and grounded at the power outlets with anderson connectors.