30 vs 50 amp electrical issue help

[ODG255]

Hello,

I recently purchased a 2023 heartland mallard 32ft travel trailer. When I bought it at dealer they assured me it was a 50 amp service during purchase and during walk through. During walk through it was already hooked up via 50 amp cord and that is the cord I was given.

We camped two nights and lost all power during the night, come to find out we were running solely on solar despite the cord being plugged into appropriate 50 amp outlet at the camping ground.

Turns out the trailer is 30 amp! Above power receptacle on trailer it states 30 amp only. This is all confusing but I figured I would ask if anyone has had similar experiences… my concern is that at some point 50 amp power went into the trailer rated for 30 amp and fried it all. Thank you for input.

[Cptnvideo]

How many A/C units on the roof? Highly unlikely it is 50 amp if only 1 A/C.

[ODG255]

sparkydave wrote:
A quick Google search on a Heartland Mallard M32 shows that it has a 30 amp connection. Since it is labeled accordingly, it seems very unlikely that it is mislabeled and the dealer just gave you the wrong cable. Most likely you tripped a breaker or a GFCI and your battery ran down.

As others have said, it doesn't force 50 amps if you plug it into a 50 amp supply, it only takes what it needs. Here's an analogy; if you plug a 60 watt lamp into a 15 amp outlet, it takes about 1/2 amp. If you plug it into a 20 amp outlet, it still takes only 1/2 amp.

I did the same google search. Which makes the presence of a 50 amp receptacle on the trailer ( regardless of power cord) very peculiar. Your theory does seem most logical, even though no breakers were tripped and I rest GCFI. The warning on the sticker just worried me because four small children sleep in that trailer.

We will see what dealer says!

[sparkydave]

A quick Google search on a Heartland Mallard M32 shows that it has a 30 amp connection. Since it is labeled accordingly, it seems very unlikely that it is mislabeled and the dealer just gave you the wrong cable. Most likely you tripped a breaker or a GFCI and your battery ran down.

As others have said, it doesn't force 50 amps if you plug it into a 50 amp supply, it only takes what it needs. Here's an analogy; if you plug a 60 watt lamp into a 15 amp outlet, it takes about 1/2 amp. If you plug it into a 20 amp outlet, it still takes only 1/2 amp.

[Matt_Colie]

ODG,
Please keep this thread up and let us know how it closes out. Too bad you don't have a good friend nearby that is "Juice Smart".
Matt_C

[ODG255]

The other end of the cord and the receptacle are 50 amp from what I can tell comparing them to pictures on the internet.

Trailer is at dealer so I don’t have access to breakers, wish I would’ve taken pictures though in hindsight.

If it’s as simple as the wrong sticker being put on there then I shouldn’t have had electrical problems… if everything worked right I would have never noticed the sticker etc.

I do appreciate all this input! This isn’t my first RV but I am admittedly terrible when it comes to electrical issues.

[time2roll]

ODG255 wrote:
If I could upload pictures on here I would but my power cord is without a doubt a four prong 50 amp cord. Dealer did admit to that. They said “I have no idea why you would have that cord”. They have gone back and forth on the trailer being 50 or 30 several times.

OK and what is at the other end of the cord? Is it hard wired to the RV?

Open the load center to observe the breakers in the RV. 50 amp has two 50 amp main breakers. 30 amp has a single 30 amp main breaker.

Please don't tell us it has a single 50 amp breaker 😞

And if connected correctly a 30 amp RV can run fine on 50 amp supply. Likewise a 50 amp RV can run on 30 amps supply (with limited power).

[ScottG]

Could have the wrong sticker applied above the electrical connection.

[ODG255]

It does have manufacture warranty. My concern is that they will do some “warranty work” get it passable then give it back. It was a big purchase for me and I don’t want electrical gremlins haunting me for the next decade.

My other option is to make them take the trailer back. Did deposit on Amex so I can go that route. I just want to know if I have enough to go off to make that happen.

[CA_Traveler]

Do you have any warranty vs a "AS-IS" purchase?

[CA_Traveler]

ODG255 wrote:
If I could upload pictures on here I would but my power cord is without a doubt a four prong 50 amp cord. Dealer did admit to that. They said “I have no idea why you would have that cord”. They have gone back and forth on the trailer being 50 or 30 several times.

It's trival to determine if the RV is 30A or 50A including post mfg modifications. Either they are idiots and don't want to face the situation.

[ODG255]

If I could upload pictures on here I would but my power cord is without a doubt a four prong 50 amp cord. Dealer did admit to that. They said “I have no idea why you would have that cord”. They have gone back and forth on the trailer being 50 or 30 several times.

[CA_Traveler]

Possible a 30A 3 wire cord and RV with a 4 wire 50A plug added.

[ODG255]

The first time the trailer was plugged in was at the dealer, so who knows if there was an effect that was ignored. It was plugged in prior to my arrival for walk through.

The only way I knew power was getting from pedestal to trailer was the power indicator LEDS that are located on both the cord and above the receptacle on the trailer. Though I didn’t have a fancy surge protector with a readout it seemed that power was definitely entering the trailer. Even during the day I couldn’t get the electric fire place to turn on (just to verify it worked) even though AC and fridges were running.

[Grit_dog]

Immediate and spectacular is a great descriptor!

[Grit_dog]

ODG255 wrote:
We will see what dealer says. My gut is that it’s a 30 amp rig and that power cord fried everything but I simply didn’t notice until night when solar drained. I have pictures of everything but the breaker box unfortunately.

My gut also says that the dealer will lie like they all do.

The last part is likely true.
However it’s evident that you’re not well versed in residential electrical.
If you could answer a couple questions that you haven’t or put up pictures you may get some sage advice.
Like if the AC power was working before the shutdown. And whether you know the difference and/or have an inverter that was keeping the AC loads up until the batteries went dead.

Do you have a friend who is handy with electrical?
It would help to know what the problem is and go back to the dealer a little more well read so u can keep ‘em honest if that’s what’s needed.
Tough to play electrical detective online.
Good luck.