Discussion Zone For Rv Park Owners Or Operators Options

[Parkview]

Hello all,

A previous post suggested a topic on this site for input from RV park owners only, and a moderator suggested to me that we try it. So here goes.

To get the ball rolling: I retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1998, and our family decided to build an RV Park on property that had been in our family since 1900. We began construction immediately and opened 3 years later on March 1, 2001 Since we had been RVers for about 25 years, we thought that would be no problem. We learned very fast that we didn't know near as much as we thought we did about building, owning and/or operating an RV Park. However, since we opened, we have learned a great deal, and it has been a great experience, although not always totally smooth sailing.

We have met thousands of new friends and few people that we wish we had never met. 98% or more of our visitors are absolute delights to deal with. In my opinion, our challenge as owners is not to allow our experience with the other 2% affect how we deal with the 98%. It is very easy as an owner to sit down and draw up 4 pages of rules because of the problems we have had with the 2%ers, but I try to consider how every rule or policy might impact the other 98%, who would cause no problems even if we had NO RULES..

That is my start to this topic. We encourage input from other park owners, operators or employees on any subject regarding owning or operating a park. We also welcome input from those of you that are not owners or operators if you have pertinent discussion or questions to add. This topic is not meant to closed to any discussions around operating a park; my comments above are just to start the discussions.

Thanks and Merry Christmas to all,

Doug

[pianotuna]

Hi Outfishing,

A 30 amp site offers up to 3600 watts if it is maxed out.

A 50 amp site offers up to 12000 watts if it is maxed out.

Potentially the 50 amp may consume about four times as much energy. Even with the low rates in Alberta that still costs a lot more.

At the same time, the trend is towards 50 amp service in RV's, so I believe planning for it and having 50 amp breakers would be a forward thinking thing to do.

50 amp is not two phase. It is two legs--just as an electric stove is.

[Denali]

50 amp is not two phase. It is two legs--just as an electric stove is.

Actually, 50 amp power for RVs (and electric stoves) is two-phase. The two legs are 180 degrees out of phase. That's why the neutral conductor isn't twice as big as the two hot legs--the return current will never exceed the draw of one of the hot legs.

You can verify that the legs are out of phase by measuring the voltage across the two hot legs. It should be 240 VAC.

Wandering a bit off-topic, that's also why those of us who use a Cheater Box with two 30 amp outlets need to watch our total current draw. If those two outlets happen to be in phase, we could theoretically draw 60 amps down the neutral line. On a cold morning, we sometimes draw up to 75 amps when connected to 50 amp power.

Oh, and thanks for calling it "amp" rather than "AMP". As you know, "amp" is simply short for "ampere", not an acronym for something else, like "IBM".

[docj]

Actually, 50 amp power for RVs (and electric stoves) is two-phase. The two legs are 180 degrees out of phase. That's why the neutral conductor isn't twice as big as the two hot legs--the return current will never exceed the draw of one of the hot legs.

Most residential homes are fed with single-phase power (sometimes called split-phase.) The power company runs three wires into the home which comprises of two hot wires and a neutral wire. The neutral is actually a center-tapped feed off the transformer. Voltage measured across both hot wires is 240 VAC. Voltage measured from any hot to neutral is 120 VAC (split-phase). So, a regular 120 VAC circuit is fed with one hot and the neutral (split-phase). A dryer or oven is fed with both hots which provides 240 VAC (single or full-phase).

Some people mistakenly believe that a 240 VAC circuit is "two-phase," but they are wrong; it's actually the full phase of a single-phase circuit whereas the 120 VAC feeds are half-phase (split-phase).