2010 QuickSilver 6.0 - Power Cord Question

[buddy300]

My wife and I just purchased a 2010 QS 6.0 and are confused about the power cord needed.  On the outside of the camper, it has a regular power plug in but looking in the book it says it has a 30A connector.  As we were cleaning it all up in our driveway over the weekend, I just plugged in a regular extension cord into it and the A/C and the 12 volt power worked just fine.  I did keep the A/C on low as I did not want to cause any issues due to still trying to figure out what we need for a power cord.   The owners manual is showing just the A/C will take 15A to run so I am a bit confused as to what I need.  The largest cord I see at like home depot/lowes is a 15A cord but when I look up any type of RV/camper power cord, it has the different connector on it.  I do see you can get adapters to convert it but wanted to see what everyone else is using before jump the gun and purchase the wrong thing.  Thanks in advance for any and all replies..... 8-)

[david]

[p]Despite what the book says, your QS 6 sounds like it has a standard household type power cord. That cord is good for 15 amps which is what most household outlets can supply. Check the main breaker inside your camper. I will bet it is 15 amps also.

Fifteen amps is marginal to power the A/C and the 12V converter. The breaker, either the one in your house panel or the 15 amp one in the converter may trip. But maybe not, if you have the 9,500 A/C as it draws 12 amps, again despite what the book says.

I know this sounds a bit crazy and I think that LL was foolish to provide a camper with A/C and a converter with only a 15 amp cord to supply the power.

But I suspect it can be fixed, but with some significant rewiring and connector change out. You could upgrade the main breaker in the converter from 15 to 30 amps, replace the main AC feeder inside the camper from the male power plug to the converter with 10 gauge which will carry 30 amps, replace the male power plug with a 30 amp one and use an RV 30 amp power cord.

Doing all of this won't make it any easier run the A/C and the converter from your household outlet- it will still be limited to 15 amps, but it will let you plug into 30 amp power at campgrounds.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Or if it does run ok on 15 amp power at your house, you can just buy a 30 amp male to 15 amp female adapter that will let you plug in to most campground power outlets.

David[/p]

[daplumbr]

All the campground power pedestals I've used have a 15 amp standard outlet with a circuit breaker, as well as the 30 amp RV outlet. Just get a long 12 (or at least 14) gauge extension cord with standard household type plugs and you'll be fine. Carrying an adapter for a 30 amp RV plug would be good insurance, but I think you'll be able to use power everywhere without it. You air conditioner in the QS may be a small, low amp draw unit that will use much less than the owner's manual states. Since you purchased a used unit, are you certainly you have the owner's manual for the year and model of your camper? 

[buddy300]

Thank you David and Merlin for the feedback.  I got the model number of the unit and did some research last night.  It is a GE AWE05LMS1 which is a 5200 BTU and draws 5.3 amps.  I did not pull the camper out to check out the breakers but I will next time I pull it out.  From what both of you said above, yes I will get a 12 gauge 15A extension cord and I should be good to go.  I will also take your advice and get a adapter as a backup in case a regular outlet is not available.  Thank you all again for the information and we are very excited to get out and test out our new camper.