electrical shock from the camper

[Deeredude64]

Has any one ever been shocked by their camper? Im talking about an electrical shock. We just recently purchased a 2005 forest river cardianl m-362bh 5th wheel and when we brought it home the first thing i did was plugged it into an extension cord from the house so i could run the jacks and slides from the house power instead of on battery power. When my wife went to put the leg on the front jack down she said it felt like it was shocking her. Of course i did the side i was on and didnt feel anything but when i went to the passenger side where she was at and i went to put the leg down i felt it as well. Has any one ever dealt with anything like this before?

[CatFan]

Could be a couple of things. What kind of cord are you plugging in with? Is there an adapter in the mix? How long is the cord?

It isn’t rare and is called “Hot Skin”. Could be a bad outlet, cord or adapter, could be bad wiring in the rig or it could be due to the length of the cord.

[Deeredude64]

Could be a couple of things. What kind of cord are you plugging in with? Is there an adapter in the mix? How long is the cord?

It isn’t rare and is called “Hot Skin”. Could be a bad outlet, cord or adapter, could be bad wiring in the rig or it could be due to the length of the cord.

it was plugged into a 25' extension cord then i had the adapter on it to go to the 50 camper cord. The extension cord probably isnt a heavy duty cord but its not a light duty cord either.

[CatFan]

Make sure the camper end of the cord is solidly connected. If it wiggles much, it probably isn’t in right. If the outlet it’s plugged into isn’t a GFCI, get an outlet tester and make sure it’s wired right. If that is good, check the end of the extension cord and then an outlet in the camper.

When connecting to a 50A outlet, be very careful that your 50A connector is secured properly in the camper and that the power source is good before turning anything like the AC or refrigerator on. If there is a problem with the neutral, you can get 240V applied to equipment in the camper and things go poof. Power status indicators are important with 50A service.

[RNF]

Make sure your outlet has a ground to it. I have had this happen to me when the outlet wasn't grounded.

[KRJ]

I had this happen to a rig I once had. Took me while to figure it out. It ended up being a short in the junction box where the cord entered the camper. Said camper had an onboard generator and was wired to prevent back feed and developed a short in the junction box.

[Deeredude64]

This camper has the twist lock end on the camper end of the cord. Everything feels tight when it’s connected however there isn’t a lock ring on the cord but I’m not sure if that’s an issue or not. As far as the outlet goes we live in an older house and the plug I’m plugging into is not a gfci outlet. It’s also a 3 prong outlet with only 2 wires going to it. This might be where my problem is stemming from. I have a surge protector I bought for the camper as well so next time I get in it I will have that installed inline with the camper.

[CJ1]

Could be a couple of things. What kind of cord are you plugging in with? Is there an adapter in the mix? How long is the cord?

It isn’t rare and is called “Hot Skin”. Could be a bad outlet, cord or adapter, could be bad wiring in the rig or it could be due to the length of the cord.

Cat, How does the length of the cord effect the possibility of backfeed? I know electrical seeks the path of least resistance. So does it want to energize the neutral or ground before it completes the circuit? Not questioning you, just trying to learn. CJ

[CatFan]

Cat, How does the length of the cord effect the possibility of backfeed? I know electrical seeks the path of least resistance. So does it want to energize the neutral or ground before it completes the circuit? Not questioning you, just trying to learn. CJ

It’s the distance you are from the service ground for your house. In some places, you could hook a long wire to one ground rod, and then put a second ground rod a hundred feet away and get shocked if you touch the end of the wire and the second rod.

Ground is very much local, and on the end of a long extension cord you could get shocked touching the ground lead. That’s why sub panels in outbuildings need their own ground rod.

[CJ1]

It’s the distance you are from the service ground for your house. In some places, you could hook a long wire to one ground rod, and then put a second ground rod a hundred feet away and get shocked if you touch the end of the wire and the second rod.

Ground is very much local, and on the end of a long extension cord you could get shocked touching the ground lead. That’s why sub panels in outbuildings need their own ground rod.

Gotcha, I have always put ground rods anytime I use a remote panel so this makes sense. Cj

[NRXfever]

Another possibility is an open ground on the RV itself .. I've seen a lot of that in my 17 years building rvs

[Bass Junkie]

So its only when you activate the switch to put the stabilizer down? Those are going to be 12volts. They will be fed by the converter not by a 120v circuit. The only thing typically 120v in a camper is the AC unit, the electric side of the water heater, the electric side of the fridge, outlets, microwave, and in some cases there is some 120v lights in some of them. I'm no electrician but I would guess the camper itself has an electrical issue. I've connected my camper to a standard outdoor type extension cord on many occasions and unless I try to turn something on that has to high of an amperage draw for the cord, i.e. the AC unit or microwave, it is not an issue. If it does create an issue it will just trip the breaker not shock me.