Another Almost Catastrophic Failure!

[MidwestCamper]

That's the reason Rob why I'm so anxious to replace my shore power plug/socket with the SmartPlug you referenced. My twist lock connector wobbles a bit. By chance, I was in West Marine getting some electrical stuff and there was that same product you mentioned. While I was looking at it, a guy behind me said that that was the best investment he's done to his boat (I guess that's what you call a 45' Carver). I asked him why he thought that and he said, "It's too bad I don't have those two twist lock shore power plugs to show you. They get wobbly loose and then it's burnt contact time. I've had a SmartPlug system for two years and it contacts as solid as the first day I installed it." He went on to say that despite his boat being in the water all the time and exposed to salt air, he's never seen any corrosion. He asked what kinda boat I had and I said it was 38 footer. What brand? I said 5th wheel and he let out a laugh.

Last year I called the folks at SmartPlug and got a hold of an engineer/product designer because I wanted to pass along an idea. And that was to make the socket on the RV side such that it sloped at a 45 degree downward angle. This, I felt, would relieve the stress of having the socket/plug being at a right angle to the RV. Oddly enough, he said they were kicking that idea around and had some parts made up for testing and that possibly it might make it to production in 2019. He added, however, that they've done some extensive testing to their current design and they feel it's robust enough to last a very long time. I asked him if they had done any mean time between failure (MTBF) cycle testing and he laughed and said I must be an engineer. But yes, they had a test rig that plugged & unplugged the SmartPlug. I don't recall the exact number of cycles, but it was in the 1500+ range before they noticed any slop in tolerances.

I too was kinda skeptical about cutting off my shore power twist connector and mating the SmartPlug to it. The dude assured me that even a caveman could do it (his exact words).

And no, I haven't done the conversion yet. It's some where on the list that has tile back splash, install "surge protector", install TV in basement, install disc brakes, and on & on & on.

Tom

If the space is available this may be a good reason to go with a cord reel and eliminate the plug all together. Thinking where this would go on an Imagine? Under the dinette maybe.

[MidwestCamper]

Jim (MidwestCamper) . . . that quote from TucsonJim was an earlier guess at the cause, before we found the burned end on Paul’s shore power cord.

Rob

I took care of this earlier. Thanks

[Country Campers]

If the space is available this may be a good reason to go with a cord reel and eliminate the plug all together. Thinking where this would go on an Imagine? Under the dinette maybe.

Jim

I am tempted to see if I have room to just stuff the cord in a hole like I did on our previous TT, it was only 30 amp though. Going to check into that , maybe tomorrow.
My only dilemma is I bought an adaptor to go to 20 amp , short cable that plugs into camper and I can just use a light extension cord.

Brian

[MidwestCamper]

Jim

I am tempted to see if I have room to just stuff the cord in a hole like I did on our previous TT, it was only 30 amp though. Going to check into that , maybe tomorrow.
My only dilemma is I bought an adaptor to go to 20 amp , short cable that plugs into camper and I can just use a light extension cord.

Brian

Brian,

Sometimes simplicity is the best policy. My last camper worked this way as well where the plug sat under an access door. The cord was just pushed into a boxed in area of the camper. Never had an issue with this method. So this furrion cord connect is concerning.
If money is not a factor (it is for me) there is the power retractable model.
https://www.amazon.com/Technology-Re...omotive&sr=1-7

[ncitro]

Brian,

Sometimes simplicity is the best policy. My last camper worked this way as well where the plug sat under an access door. The cord was just pushed into a boxed in area of the camper. Never had an issue with this method. So this furrion cord connect is concerning.
If money is not a factor (it is for me) there is the power retractable model.
https://www.amazon.com/Technology-Re...omotive&sr=1-7

I would imagine any system that has the cord on a reel would mean you would need to unwind it all the way every time you use it. I have seen bad things happen when cords heat up when being used while on the reel.

[GENESIS]

If the space is available this may be a good reason to go with a cord reel and eliminate the plug all together. Thinking where this would go on an Imagine? Under the dinette maybe.

During our window shopping at an RV show earlier this year, we looked at a 5er Pinnacle and it came standard with an electric cord reel (was at the back of the RV). Additionally, there was a pretty good size LED light above it to ease night time hookup. That attention to detail is what sets some products apart from others. And no - I'm not implying anything negative about GD's products since they too pay attention to details. HOWEVER.....in my former life in the biz jet gig, although we were, by all counts, the leader in the industry, we continuously bench marked other companies in many different areas. So......since a Pinnacle is at the same price point as the Solitude, if Jayco can find a way to include a nicety like the cord reel without it adversely affecting the pricing, IMHO I'm pretty sure GD could do the same. I've never heard, but I hope that GD does bench marking.

Tom

[GENESIS]

Tom, good info.
After reading Rob's latest post I decided I'm going to try the SmartPlug.
Have one on the way B50ASSYPB | 50 Amp - Combo Kit

You cheap bastid.....you shoulda got the stainless steel version.

Tom

[gbkims]

You cheap bastid.....you shoulda got the stainless steel version.

Tom

Good thing I went for the cheaper one, as I kinda forgot I'll need a different way to connect 120V extension cord when at storage.
Working on an idea for that.