First to hook up 50A trailer to 7.2kW propower!

[daemonic3]

Well, it won't be me...

This is supposed to plug into my truck that is still sitting on its a$$ in Dearborn for no apparent reason. I can't wait to get this thing hooked up and experiment with the appliances and determining wattage and which circuit each AC is wired to. Plus what the thresholds are for kicking the engine on vs silent (battery) operation, etc.

The picture is a simple 12" dogbone connector (to give better strain relief than a solid adapter). It converts from the truck's 30A plug to the standard 50A trailer plug. Then I got a 15' extension cord. 10' is probably enough but I got 15' just in case. I have to go from the rear of my trailer (32' hitch to bumper) and the default cord is 30'. I also have a 50A surge guard that is about 18". My plan is to go, starting at the truck: dogbone, 15' extension, 18" surge guard, 30' shore power cord. This is 47.5' total length to go up and over the tailgate, down to the ground, and back up to the shore connector without too much strain.

I had hoped to share any findings and learnings as I did this as an early adopter but at this point I'll be the last adopter to do it. Same with hooking up the trailer with the reverse guidance and experimenting. If anyone else has done this stuff yet let's see it!

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[uavmx]

Are you (or anyone) considering running a cable permanently from the rear to the tongue? This could allow people to run power while towing, or 2, not having to run a cable everytime you use the truck/trailer. Then you could have a seperate cable when using shore power.....I'm considering this option....

 

[daemonic3]

Are you (or anyone) considering running a cable permanently from the rear to the tongue? This could allow people to run power while towing, or 2, not having to run a cable everytime you use the truck/trailer. Then you could have a seperate cable when using shore power.....I'm considering this option....

I saw a post somewhere where they added a marine grade shore power connector to the front of their airstream, with an interlock switch to select front or rear as the live feed. So it can definitely be done and could be useful, especially if you want to run A/C while driving or save on propane for the fridge (if not a 12V fridge).

For me, I will wait to see how often I actually use the feature before committing to a permanent mod. If I am dry camping, I won't care about dragging out the cord since I have to do a bunch of setup anyway. So the only benefit would be quick rest stops to chill and eat for an hour. Saving 5 minutes of prep and repacking cord on each end of 1hr might be nice.

(Full disclosure: we have not taken our trailer dry camping, we have moved into glamping and it feels hard to go back. This truck opens the option of dry but with partial electric, and there are great state parks we can try on weekends with our tank sizes)

 

[Waxer]

It won't be me either. I am in the same boat - all ready to go with the dogbone connection, surge guard, and extension and no truck yet (March 15 is my hope based on dealer). Being able to modify to have a clean connection to the front of the trailer and not have to go up and over the tailgate would be ideal, but electrical is not my strong suit so I am not sure if that's in the cards. I am probably most excited to get the new truck and plug it into the trailer and see how it behaves. Game changer for boon docking and having more than the solar panel without lugging the generator.

 

[daemonic3]

It won't be me either. I am in the same boat - all ready to go with the dogbone connection, surge guard, and extension and no truck yet (March 15 is my hope based on dealer). Being able to modify to have a clean connection to the front of the trailer and not have to go up and over the tailgate would be ideal, but electrical is not my strong suit so I am not sure if that's in the cards. I am probably most excited to get the new truck and plug it into the trailer and see how it behaves. Game changer for boon docking and having more than the solar panel without lugging the generator.

I gotta go up and over the tailgate regardless, as I can't drop it or it hits my tongue jack. And BOY was it a pain to lift 100 pound labradors up and out over a half-open tailgate just so they can have a pee break. They will be much cooler and comfortable in the trailer now anyway.

When did you order yours that hasn't arrived yet? I started with a stock order on 2nd week of September, thinking I'd get one of the first trucks in November and DEFINITELY before the year ended - LOLOLOL

 

[Matt604]

@daemonic3 , what brand/source is the cable and dogbone you have? It looks far more flexible and manageable than the Camco ones i've seen online.

I'm not optimistic but anyone know of a way to wire this while keeping your tonneau and tailgate all locked up?

 

[Rich55Marshall]

Well, it won't be me...

This is supposed to plug into my truck that is still sitting on its a$$ in Dearborn for no apparent reason. I can't wait to get this thing hooked up and experiment with the appliances and determining wattage and which circuit each AC is wired to. Plus what the thresholds are for kicking the engine on vs silent (battery) operation, etc.

The picture is a simple 12" dogbone connector (to give better strain relief than a solid adapter). It converts from the truck's 30A plug to the standard 50A trailer plug. Then I got a 15' extension cord. 10' is probably enough but I got 15' just in case. I have to go from the rear of my trailer (32' hitch to bumper) and the default cord is 30'. I also have a 50A surge guard that is about 18". My plan is to go, starting at the truck: dogbone, 15' extension, 18" surge guard, 30' shore power cord. This is 47.5' total length to go up and over the tailgate, down to the ground, and back up to the shore connector without too much strain.

I had hoped to share any findings and learnings as I did this as an early adopter but at this point I'll be the last adopter to do it. Same with hooking up the trailer with the reverse guidance and experimenting. If anyone else has done this stuff yet let's see it!

Oh, man, thanks a million for this thread! I'll be towing an Airstream Basecamp which has a 30 amp / 120 volt shore power connection. Hopefully I'll be able to source an adapter to go from 240 volts in my truck to 120 volts for the Airstream.

 

[daemonic3]

@daemonic3 , what brand/source is the cable and dogbone you have? It looks far more flexible and manageable than the Camco ones i've seen online.

I'm not optimistic but anyone know of a way to wire this while keeping your tonneau and tailgate all locked up?

Yep! They are RVGuard from Amazon. Everything from etrailer and amazon seemed comparable so I picked them because I liked the bright green color and LED. They sent the cord with a cool re-useable bag with RV's all over it.

Oh, man, thanks a million for this thread! I'll be towing an Airstream Basecamp which has a 30 amp / 120 volt shore power connection. Hopefully I'll be able to source an adapter to go from 240 volts in my truck to 120 volts for the Airstream.

Those things are everywhere, I suggest the dogbone for less stress since the plug comes out horizontally from the truck. But you just need the 4 prong to 3, where it has only one hot leg.

 

[fourZero]

Oh, man, thanks a million for this thread! I'll be towing an Airstream Basecamp which has a 30 amp / 120 volt shore power connection. Hopefully I'll be able to source an adapter to go from 240 volts in my truck to 120 volts for the Airstream.

Any 4 prong plug to 3 prong 30A plug will automatically only provide 120VAC. I got this and run my Salem 26DBUD on it. You can't provide 240VAC with only 3 prongs, that dogbone is only pulling one phase.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MJSX63C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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