Longest electrical hookup?

ChanW

OK, all you folks with massive campground experience... 

Other than when you're "way out back" at Aunt Sandra's and Uncle Joe's, what's the longest electrical hookup you've ever needed?

We stayed at a campground in Ontario, where the blurb on their website said we'd need a 120'  cord, but we actually only needed about 35'. 

We'd brought plenty of #12 cord, that we didn't end up needing, but it ends up weighing quite a bit, so I'd prefer not to carry what we don't need...

I'd also be concerned with voltage drop with those longer cords.

And actually, I spoke to the administration at the park before we went up there, and they do have loaner cords for those who are "caught short". That's nice, and darn considerate.

???

Deltaboy59

But how do you connect to the rv if it is a locking male plug... Standard 30 amp cord will not fit the t@b...best to have a spare.

Cyclonic

I have stayed at a lot of campgrounds, and I have never needed anything near that long.  Unless the campground was very poorly or cheaply constructed, or you are hooking into someone's home, I don't see you hardly ever needing anything but the standard cord to plug in.

Cyclonic

Delta, if you do need to extend your cord, you can use your standard 30amp, followed by a 30-20amp adapter, and then a standard extension cord.  Using this set up, I don't think, would be very good for your electrical system, so I would try not to do it if at all possible.  I would rather not take the chance and simply not plug in.

Michigan_Mike

I've had to stretch out about 75-80' in a remote (spare) lot in Wiuldnerness SP in Northern Michigan and connected two 30 A cords at the Rolling Home Rally in Ohio due to the layout of the lot.  I carry two 30A cords and some extra 25' extension cords.  I agree, you will experience some voltage drop and should be okay if you're not overloading things with AC, larger appliances, etc.  Lightshould work just fine.

In most setting you should do just fine and it is always a good idea to size up the lot and consider the electric hook-up in advance of your final placement of the trailer.....  That should be "rule #1!"  

ChanW

I dunno Mike, we might be doing this camping thing all wrong, but... 

At this point for us, the most important criteria for placement has been the view! I think we'd even just switch to propane, rather than compromise that! (Well, and then there's the 'how the Tab looks from the road' aspect of our placement, too)

Priorities, priorities ;-) 

Seriously, though, it's hard finding that line that defines what we need and what we can do without. For some winter trips, I didn't want to take a chance, so we had all sorts of stuff we never needed. 150' extra of #12 extension cord for example!

Cyclonic

Yes, totally all wrong there Chan

No, I agree with you, and seeing some of Mike's setups, I think he would too.  The T@B is small enough that positioning is easy.  I don't have to worry about slide outs or length, I fit in every site, and sometimes turning the trailer 90° works great, I have even backed it in and then turned it completely around so the door faced my friend's door at the next site over.  I do also take power connections, water and sewer into consideration, but to me they are not as high a priority either.

Everyone is different when it comes to how they camp and what they get out of their trailer, I often am in a place for just a night and do very little set up, others spend weeks in place.  The versitility is there to make all of that an option, which is really nice.

TABaker

I carry an RV 30 amp extension cord, but have only used it a couple of times.  One was at Tearstock this year.

Michigan_Mike

I camp wherever I end up when traveling out west.  I camped on the AZ & NM border in the Apache NF this past spring while driving up through the mountains and pulled off the road into a secluded spot and set up camp under the stars, with no one else in the area.  No electric, nothing...  Other than the beautiful starlit night!  I also was able to watch Air Force jets practicing maneuvers for about an hour and dropping aerial flares.  It was awesome!

Point being, I enjoy all aspects of the teardrop, the versatility of it and ability to set-up anywhere on a moment's notice...  I am more aware of the fact that my electric hook-up is on the driver's side of the trailer and campground too, after several screwed up set-ups that I was lucky enough to be able to run my power as the cord was within reaching distance.  I don't always use the electric either as it's much easier to fire up the 12 volt LED lights, watch TV and charge things up via the vehicle, while on the road the next day.  

Verna

I actually am looking forward to winter camping in the Southwest. I don't really want to worry about how far from electric my SS is since I don't expect to have many electrical hookups. But, I carry a 10' heavy duty extension cord (originally for use with an A/C unit for my 4-wide), a 25' and a 50' "normal" extension cords, in addition to a 25' 30 amp cord, and adapters to work with these cords. If that's not enough, then I'll do without electrical, if it's above freezing. Otherwise, I'll figure out something. I really don't want the extra weight of another 30 amp cord, but it's something to consider.