I like to strip clean, but this was ridiculous!

[Johnynorthland]

Now that I got your attention! LOL!, I’m talking about my recent melted 30 amp, male end on my power cord. I keep all my connections a bright shiny copper, I always sand them down, inspect them every single time I connect/disconnect. I always use electrical contact spray on every outlet in every campground, and it still happened to me a third time!

This time when I went to put a new male end on, I stripped, 1 foot, then 2 foot, then 3 foot, finally I just threw the cable in the garbage! Black and white, (Hot and neutral), we’re totally black all the way through! I’m thinking it’s because I was parked for two months running the AC and the maintenance guys were constantly running over my cords with their mowers, it might’ve loosened my connection a little bit!? That’s the only thing I could think of, because when I went to disconnect today, between male/female, (cord to surge), it had about an eighth of an inch gap between the plug and and the surge protector. Guess I’ll have to check weekly now when I’m at extended stays! Even better I’ll zip-tie them together every time!

Sorry the story wasn’t as exciting as the headlines!, But hey, I did get my windshield chipped, driving from South Florida to Georgia today!

[Jagiven]

I doubt it was from using it for 2 months straight. The guys cutting grass with the riding mower on the other hand, that would not be good for it.

Might want to hang your excess cord from the shore power post. I have a dog, and she seems to alway wrap her leash around the cable. So I have the habit of hanging my cord over the shore power post in a loose messy figure 8. Dog does not get into the cord. People do not walk through the backside of my TT, and the loose messy figure 8 causes no harmful electrical effects that a nice neat coiled wire creates.

I let the magic blue smoke out of my oem cord this summer. I had to cut it back 6-12 inches. I have used the heck out of mine, but it never gets driven on, and I doubt walked on. When I put the new end on, I did make sure to apply plenty of dielectric grease, to keep the corrosion under control.

[PaulB12]

Not your cord or connections, could entirely be bad receptical at the power pole.
I've actually changed sites because of this.
Carry dog bones and use the 50 amp if 30 looks burnt, I've done this a bunch of times, 30 amp side gets used more than the 50 amp side.
PaulB12

[Lake Huron]

Working in communications industry, I deal with copper wires all the time. I've seen black wire exactly what you're talking about. Its caused by moisture. We have 26ga wire that runs 130v for circuits for long distances and keeps that 130v on it 24/7 for YEARS and that copper line is just as bright and shiny as the day it was made. Until moisture is introduced. Then it causes trouble. Most of the time we find the trouble spot, cut it off and re terminate it. The black wire can go back quite a ways, but most times we have no choice so we splice it anyway and everything works just fine again.

[Tunce the traveler]

I always put a 13 gal. Garbage bag over the shore power post to protect my plug and in 8 years never had a problem & I almost always use the 30 to 50 pigtail.

[Johnynorthland]

I agree with you Lake Huron, but this was a pretty expensive, factory sealed cable, I never spliced this one! So how moisture got in is beyond me. I too have worked in the electronics industry, we always used OFC, oxygen free cable. It’s vacuum sealed to prevent infuriation of anything.

I’m also in the same “camp” as you tunce, I think water might have played a role in this insistence also. I’m going to step up my game and do what you do, and also try and come up with more proactive steps to ensure everything is high and dry and Good’n-tight!

[Texaspsdx]

With the breaker off, I use a paper finger nail file and clean the plug in the electrical campground box. Amazing how much the file removes.