RV Campground Wiring

knothead

I am looking at investing in a campground and a site has a 200 amp service pole and can be split off to service individual RV spots.

Wondering if anyone has experience in splitting off that 200 amp service into 30 amp individual sites. From the Main pole each site will have a power atachememt for a single RV at 28-30 foot distance increments.

MY question will be how many sites can I attach to single pole. Baring local rules and regulations for the electrical, best guess would work for my estimates.

Bubbles

I'm sure Mdshunk or magnettica can help you on this one

TxElectrician

551.71 requires that at least 20% of the sites be equipped with 50 amp 125/250v supply. Using the demand factors for site feeders from table 551.73 you could be in compliance having 20 -30 amp sites and 4- 50 amp sites. Do not know what part of the country you are in but in sunny central Texas a 200 amp service would not be adequate for this many spaces.

knothead

It is in Nova Scotia Canada.

We are not required to provide 50 am service, we can, but I am only looking at 30 amp service site at the moment.

And to provide power for 2 air conditioners washer dryer plus plus I would need to add metered sites and prefab poles with meters cost a min of 700 plus per unit. Plus the campground is in a area that do not see many big rigs.

Or would a better way would be to bring in a new larger transformer?Idealy I would like to add in 10-20 more sites with 30 amp 120 volt service. Plus I have found inline 30 amp usage meters for $250 a pop much cheapers the $700 a pop.

I know basic electical like not to put a fork into an outlet to see if its live but know not a thing about large scale power.


If I can do 50amp services with some 30 amp by going with a larger transformer I would in 50 amps it the cost is only slighlty larger but if it is substantially higher then I will pass.

Kgmz

We own a motorhome and have talked to other RV'ers about problems they have had with power at RV parks, etc.

First why are you wanting to meter each individual campsite? It is usually way to expensive as you have found out.

Don't know how your campground is laid out, but if it is tight you could put a post on the inside corner of 4 sites. But you have to make sure that the way they would normally park their cord can reach the pole.

The other big thing is to make sure you have large enough wire for the runs to insure that there is not a huge voltage drop to each site.


And to provide power for 2 air conditioners washer dryer plus plus I would need to add metered sites and prefab poles with meters cost a min of 700 plus per unit. Plus the campground is in a area that do not see many big rigs.

By this are you talking about these appliances in the RV? If you are then you will need some 50 amp sites. And again why the meter?

Even if you have long term campers, you can figure out the typical power usage and have it built into the bill. If they used 30 amps of power for a full hour, they would use 3.6 killowatts of power. And if your power price was 10 cents a killowatt hour, they would use 36 cents of power a hour. And if they used the full amp load for a full day they would use $8.64 worth of power for the day. But in reallity they would never use this much power in a day. So figure at worst case they will use $4 a day in power, and figure you space rent at $4 more a day.

AlamoRiver

I am a General Contractor building a RV Resort. If you would like to pick my brain some you can email me at info@AlamoRiver.com and would be happy to give you any advice as a Park Owner and or contractor. We are in San Antonio Texas.

Charlie Brown

1 800 RV Ranch

ampman

arent all rv sites 120 volt only

mdshunk

No way, Jose. The typical new RV pedestal has a 50 amp 120/240, 30 amp 120, and a few duplexes

Static Design

Bigger RVs can pulls 50a easily, I hooked up a 50a circuit and disconnect on a lake home for my customers RV. If you're only doing 30amps when they turn on there AC, pop open a cold one, flip on the tv, and then try to cook a burger on the george foreman grill there goes your breaker.

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Static Design

No, they are both. Typically they have the 30amp 120 receptacle for smaller campers such as pop ups.


edit: didn't see mdshunk post.

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ampman

arent the rv's themselves 120 volt 30 or 50 amp

Static Design

Depending on there size, smaller pop ups 120v 30 amp; the bigger boys however can be 240/120 50 amp.

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ampman

i'll be damned anyway maybe one day i can get me one of those 250 volt campers

Kgmz

Those 50 amp RV's don't actually use 240 volts, except in a very few cases. The 50 amp circuit is used as 2 separate 120 volt circuits. They are also wired so that you could use the RV on a 30 amp circuit with a adapter if a 50 amp is not available, with the first AC, all wall plugs, microwave, converter, etc on the first circuit. The second AC is on the second circuit.

ampman

this is what i read on the internet earlier , some use a 240 volt range also