How much feet of power cable?

[Larry Mac]

How many feet of 30 amp power cable will I need to carry with my TT?
Will 50’ be enough and can I get two 25’ lengths?

[craigav]

My engineering skills tell me that you will need enough length of cable to reach from the RV to the power source.

Not to provide a useless answer, I have found that I rarely need any extension cord however I do carry a 25' extension and rarely have I needed to use it (fyi, my rv already has a ~25' cord). My suggestion is to consider where you plan to stay most often, and if any of those places require a long extension, most all commercial (and State\National) RV parks will not need any extension cord, but perhaps you would need one when staying with friends or family as that is where I have used mine most.

I will add that for you to have any hope of safely running your A/C from any outlet that is ~50' away, that you certainly need a heavier gauge 30a extension cord over a smaller cord (due to line loss being more with a smaller extension cord), even if the outlet is only 20a that you are plugging into.

~CA

[Jagiven]

In the last 10 years, I have only needed a single extension cord 3 times!

[Murff]

In the 7 years I have had my White Hawk, the 25 foot 30A extension cord has never left the original packaging.

If I didn't have it, I would have needed it at least 3 times like Jagiven.

Murff

[dvspl]

I've only used my 25' extension cord a couple of times in the last two years of lots of campsites. Glad I have it, though, because I need it to reach the outlet in my garage at home!

[Larry Mac]

Originally Posted by craigav

My engineering skills tell me that you will need enough length of cable to reach from the RV to the power source.

Not to provide a useless answer, I have found that I rarely need any extension cord however I do carry a 25' extension and rarely have I needed to use it (fyi, my rv already has a ~25' cord). My suggestion is to consider where you plan to stay most often, and if any of those places require a long extension, most all commercial (and State\National) RV parks will not need any extension cord, but perhaps you would need one when staying with friends or family as that is where I have used mine most.

I will add that for you to have any hope of safely running your A/C from any outlet that is ~50' away, that you certainly need a heavier gauge 30a extension cord over a smaller cord (due to line loss being more with a smaller extension cord), even if the outlet is only 20a that you are plugging into.

~CA

Thanks
So I’ll probably just get one 25’ length of 30 amp. Is 10 ga enough to get the full 30 amps over the 25 ft? Is there ever a need for a smaller length of 30 amp extention?
btw in a pinch if I could get my truck closer, I do have a generator. So with that could I get by with what comes with the TT and one 25’ or (smaller ?) extention?

[craigav]

Originally Posted by Larry Mac

Thanks
So I’ll probably just get one 25’ length of 30 amp. Is 10 ga enough to get the full 30 amps over the 25 ft? Is there ever a need for a smaller length of 30 amp extention?
btw in a pinch if I could get my truck closer, I do have a generator. So with that could I get by with what comes with the TT and one 25’ or (smaller ?) extention?

I haven't seen any manufactured 30a RV extension cords other than 10 awg (and that is what I have). However if I did find one that was say 8awg, and if the cost wasn't much more I would think that would be a better choice as with a longer cord you will get more line loss, and with a larger conductor (8awg) you could negate some of that loss. I wouldn't be concerned with 10 awg though as it is rated for 30a.

You really would do best to use the shortest cord you can, so if you had 25' already and only needed 5' more then a shorter extension would have value. However not enough value for my usage that would make me want to purchase a shorter extension cord. Perhaps if there was somewhere I camped at a lot and I needed 5' more of a power cord then I might consider purchasing a short extension cord, or maybe I would swap out my RV's 25' cord with a 30' cord and never use any extension.

BTW, while on the subject, if you only needed 5' more but had a 25' extension, be sure to still uncoil the entire cord and don't use it all coiled up as it could build up too much heat being in a coil, so stretch it out in any case. ~CA

[Larry Mac]

Thanks for that tip!

[dxrobertson]

Originally Posted by Larry Mac

Thanks
So I’ll probably just get one 25’ length of 30 amp. Is 10 ga enough to get the full 30 amps over the 25 ft? Is there ever a need for a smaller length of 30 amp extention?
btw in a pinch if I could get my truck closer, I do have a generator. So with that could I get by with what comes with the TT and one 25’ or (smaller ?) extention?

Good decision, the proper RV 25' extension is handy.

Dont think any need for shorter extension, 25' covers shorter.

I would say same applies for generator as with shore power.

Also good to have are adapters both ways 30AMP to/from 15/20AMP as well as a standard "orange type" extension cord just in case you encounter some extreme distance; you could still have electric just being careful on the amps you are using with this connection.

[kirkelli]

I carry a 25' 30 Amp and 40' 50 Amp and never came close to being short.

[JFlightRisk]

We frequent a NY State Park, that have shared power pedestals between adjacent sites. If we can't reserve the right ones the pedestal is on our awning side, we end up using the attached cord plus two 25' extensions. There have been times we've gotten fellow campers out of trouble when their cord didn't reach.

[Happy wife / happy life]

I have two 25’ 30 amp cords. I have never had to use the second cord ,but there is nothing wrong with having a back up just in case the first one fails or helping out someone in a pinch.

[TaftCoach]

Needed one one time in a Canadian park and luckily they rented them for a couple dollars. I think I'm order of backups and extensions I use water maybe once a year and I've never needed my sewer or electric.

[Larry Mac]

Thanks for the help on the power line. It helped me a lot make some decisions.

So how about the black tank hoses. It would seem to me you don’t want to be caught short.

Is 20 ft and maybe another 5-10 extention enough? Or would we need 40 ft?

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by Larry Mac

Thanks for the help on the power line. It helped me a lot make some decisions.

So how about the black tank hoses. It would seem to me you don’t want to be caught short.

Is 20 ft and maybe another 5-10 extention enough? Or would we need 40 ft?

a 20' and a 10' Rino is what i carry. Nice to have both sizes as most of theme you'll only need one or the other,.. Both will fit into your sewer house storage, I also have a Mercator with a 50' garden hose,. I've used the full length of that a few times sneaking a dump into Porta Potties, :-)

[Happy wife / happy life]

I have two 10’ sewer hoses. I have only used one the other is a back up. I carry two fresh water hoses, one 10 footer and one 25 footer. I don’t Remember ever using the 25 footer. Now I have a baby trailer ( 16 foot— about 20’ tongue to bumper) so I am able to get it very close to the services. I also use a collapsible black water hose ( silver bullet 25’) that is very easy to store in a small plastic bucket.

[bucko]

I never had one until I stayed at a mom and pop campground. Some idiot parked their second car right next to the power pole for our site. The owners were too nice to have this car towed, so they gave us a 25' 30A cord to allow us to connect. After we broke camp, they told us to keep it for our troubles.

I use it occasionally when I connect to our 30A house outlet, as I keep the RV on the outside of the driveway, and its current cord won't reach.

[Tunce the traveler]

What you really need to carry is a 50 to 30 AMP adapter for your power panel hookup. From over use at the power panel the 30 side can be sloppy resulting in arching your power cord. The 50 AMP plug-in side gets little use giving you a good connection.
Remember to always turn the power supply off before you plug in your cord.

[Dkastner]

We have never been far from the power outlet that required the full length of the cable.

We have a 20' sewer hose that is two 10' sections and have only been required to use one section. The main dump stations for parks are designed to be right next to your trailer as you empty the tanks. Dump ports located at your campsite are usually close enough as well. The only instances where longer sewer hose runs are needed (that I have noted) are for larger RV units.

Fresh water supply is a different story. The supply spigots can be located longer distances from the camp site, requiring a second hose.

[thirdktm]

Usually, 25 feet is enough.
Once, I used both of the 25-foot cables I carry.