Pete1122 Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 When my motorhome is parked in my backyard with the tires on the ground which is dirt, I can plug in my shorepower to my outside outlet with no issues. When I have my motorhome parked on a slab on concrete plugged into the same outlet it will trip the GFCI in my house. Why? *Also when it is parked on the concrete I usually have the front tires on ramps, not sure if that makes a difference or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Get an AC polarity checker from a hardware store and check your house and Rv outlets. Some time if you have a GFCI outlet in the RV it will cause problems by having 2 GFCI in series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1122 Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 I dont think there is an issue with the GFCI, I'm wondering if it has something to do with how the motorhome is grounded while sitting on dirt vs concrete, all wheels down vs two wheels up. There must be something going on that will cause the GFCI to trip while on concrete vs dirt, or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Nope no connection. What WME is saying if the house outlet has a GFI and the MH also it some times can cause issues. A very good device is a little checker that has 3 lights on it they are cheap and most big box stores should have them I have one in the camper and it lives in the outlet I don't trust campground wiring they are maybe $5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 When my motorhome is parked in my backyard with the tires on the ground which is dirt, I can plug in my shorepower to my outside outlet with no issues. When I have my motorhome parked on a slab on concrete plugged into the same outlet it will trip the GFCI in my house. Why? *Also when it is parked on the concrete I usually have the front tires on ramps, not sure if that makes a difference or not. Having two GFCIs in series should not be an issue. All they do is compare current on the "hot leg" to current on the "neutral" and trip is they are not equal to each other. I have NO idea how polarity can be an issue considering you are using the same outdoor outlet each time. I also see no way for the difference between parking on dirt to parking on concrete to be an issue. You DO have dry rubber tires on the RV, correct? When on concrete, what exactly is tripping and where? A current breaker, a arc-fault detecting breaker at the house, or a GFCI somewhere? If it's a GFCI tripping, does it happen when you are stepping into the camper or does it happen when the camper is just sitting there, on rubber, with no physical connection to ground? A GFCI when working correctly, only trips in two situations . . ONE is when "hot leg" current if leaking to ground somewhere before it travels back via the neutral. TWO is when there is enough capacitance in the circuit to sort of mimic a leak to ground long enough to trip the GFCI. If your's trips only when on concrete - and rubber tires are totally isolating the camper from EARTH/GROUND, I'd suspect it has more to do with having the camper at an angle on the ramps that is affecting something. Just a guess. I can't tell from here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Are you using the same electric cords in both instances? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1122 Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Yes, same cords, same outlet, the only thing that is different is moving the motorhome 30 feet to concrete vs dirt. That and my front two tires being lifted by ramps. When parked in my dirt rv spot, I can keep it plugged in for months. As soon as it's moved to concrete and put on ramps, it trips the GFCI inside the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back East Don Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Don't know if this is likely but do a google search on electrical properties of concrete and also carbon black tire compounds. Trip currents for GFCI can be as little as 6 mA depending on class. Not saying this is it but worth looking at. Why not the dirt? What is under both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 There is a difference the MH is a sub panel it has an isolated neutral. This in it's self should not cause an issue provided the MH panel is correctly wired.Just about all houses have GFI outside outlets any more, old GFI's were a lot less tolerant of things like resistance heating, computers and other gadgets. Try plugging it into the house outlet with out a GFI.. If the outlet is an arc fault all bets are off they can be hateful devices. Moving the motor home to concrete other that flexing of the body will have nothing to do with it a GFI does not require a ground to operate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Maybe possible short that only happens when the mh is elevated by the ramps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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