We had been at the CG in Dumfries, VA since the end of October without any electrical problems, although electrical management was called for as we only had a 30 amp hookup. We arrived back to the rig and turned on the electric auxilliary heater we had used many times before in the past months.
Immediately, our Progressive Industries surge protector killed the power to the rig. This unit also gives you an "error" code to give you a clue as to what the problem was that caused the shutdown. The unit indicated "low voltage". Actually 88 volts. I went out to the pedestal and could smell a burning electrical smell (although the 30 amp breaker had not tripped). I flipped the breaker to OFF and disconnected our line. We are using a 30 to 50 amp pigtail because of the 30 amp availability.
You can see how badly burned the neutral was in the pictures below.
Well, it was going to be too darn cold to go without heat for the evening, so we decided it was time for our monthly exercising of the generator. We notified the campground office of the problem and they gave us the OK to use the generator for the night. Out of courtesy, we notified our neighbors on each side who were very accommodating and sympathetic to our plight.
We pulled out bright and early at 10:00 AM (hey, we're fulltimers now). No PDD here (Sorry Paul, but I had to throw that one in).
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| Topping off with propane |
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| Ready to Roll |
We drove to our anticipated destination for the night at Dillon, SC only to find that the CG was full. Imagine that on a holiday! Our stupid mistake for not making a reservation. No problem. Onward we drove to Swamp Fox Campground near Florence, SC. We used our newly acquired Passport America to obtain an overnight rate of $22.40 including taxes. Not a bad place to stay the night, not sure about longer term.
On 1/2/13 we got off to a much earlier start. Left shortly after 9:00 AM and drove for 5 hours to just north of Jacksonville, FL. We're spending the night at Pecan Park RV Resort. It's now 67 degrees, but a light rain. Again, using PA, we're paying a total of $23.73. This is a nice park with all pull thru sites on concrete pads. Seems to be a lot of longer term stays here, but enough room for overnight folks as well.
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| Us at Pecan Park RV Resort |
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| Neighbor (Prevost) at Pecan Park RV Resort |
Hey, can you really see the $1.25 million difference in those rigs above.
Tomorrow we have approximately five more hours of driving to our home for January at Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort in Panama City Beach, FL.
No worries, you'll have plenty of time to get infected with PDD. ;c)
ReplyDeleteGood thing you were using the 50-30 amp adapter, much cheaper to replace than your surge protector. I had a similar experience and toasted the adapter. I carry two, so I just tossed the burned one.
Safe travels, enjoy that warming trend as you head further south. And congrats on starting the full time life!
Hi Steve, congrats on your retirement and your new travels. You'll love the weather here in Florida in the winter! We are at 76 today near Tampa. We have one of those parks not too far from us, its in Wesley Chapel, Florida, off of Old Pasco Road in Pasco County. If you get down this way, let us know. Safe travels! Joe Ryan
ReplyDeleteHey Steve,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the retirement. If you give it a decent try, you can get used to it!
If you get to Texas, look us up. Now that I know your blog address, we'll be watching how you do at the fulltiming thing.
Richard & Patsy
I can't really see much difference between the two rigs (at least on the outside)except the other one is dual axle.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting on the road ... no difference that I can spot b/w the rigs ... I think I'll save my $s and stick with the Phaeton ;-) If you're traveling I-10 today, it's going to be a rainy one. Perhaps we can meet at a halfway point sometime in the next two weeks ... we're heading to Ft Pickens today.
ReplyDelete