RV is shocking me!!

[tcamper]

I have a 2017 Solitude 310GK and twice over the pact week I was shocked when I touched the RV. Both times it was raining.
The first time was when I reached up to open the door (I have an RV Lock) I simply grabbed the handle and was shocked. It was a fairly significant shock.
The second time was when I was placing my BAL lock on my Trailair hitch pin. This time it was more of a tingle.
This has only happened these 2 times, and it was raining both times. I am not aware of any loose connections and my 50amp source cord is sound and making good connections.
Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.

[LV Naturist]

It's called a "Hot Skin Condition" and is normally caused by a weak or open ground to the post. See this Youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8h64X33aKg

John

[JCR GD]

Search "RV hot skin" on Google or the like and you'll get some interesting and possibly injury saving info. Can be very dangerous.

Edit: thanks John

[howson]

I have a 2017 Solitude 310GK and twice over the pact week I was shocked when I touched the RV. Both times it was raining.
The first time was when I reached up to open the door (I have an RV Lock) I simply grabbed the handle and was shocked. It was a fairly significant shock.
The second time was when I was placing my BAL lock on my Trailair hitch pin. This time it was more of a tingle.
This has only happened these 2 times, and it was raining both times. I am not aware of any loose connections and my 50amp source cord is sound and making good connections.
Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.

From Mike Sokol's book, RV Electrical Safety:

While RV's as wired from the factory are inherently safe; they can become silent-but-deadly killers if plugged into an improperly wired extension cord or campsite outlet. This is because RV's are basically a big cage of metal insulated from the ground by rubber tires. It's up to you, the RVer, to make sure the frame and body of your RV is never electrified due to poor maintenance, bad connections, or a hot ground in a power plug. This so called Hot-Skin condition is what causes a tingle when you touch the doorknob or metal steps of your RV while standing on the ground.

Mr. Sokol has an entire chapter related to this condition. He states:

Well, one of the greatest dangers of RVing, perhaps second only to a fire (which is really terrifying) is getting shocked and possibly electrocuted when touching the skin of your RV.

Please don't delay--get the campground electrician to isolate the problem.

[LV Naturist]

Howard is correct, this is a very dangerous condition that must be rectified without delay. I wanted to also suggest that you install a hard wired surge protector, Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C or equal. This unit, while it won't prevent a hot skin condition, will give you an open ground error on the display which will at least alert you to the condition. It will also give you an open neutral error if that condition exists and shut off your power. An open neutral condition is also very dangerous. I recommend a hard wired unit versus a plug in unit because the hard wired unit will also protect you from defects in your power cord, where a pedestal plug in type unit won't.

John

[offtohavasu]

Are you plugging your 50 amp direct to the plug or are you using any sort of extension cord?

[tcamper]

I am using the Camco 55572 18" 50 AMP Locking Male/50 AMP Locking 90 Degree Female PowerGrip Dogbone Electrical Adapter.
Ive been using this adapter since January.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brian Smith from GD suggested it could be the adapter. He said they find the adapters to be the problem most of the time.

[offtohavasu]

This is true. There have been reports of inconsistent connections with them. Check the the plug and see if there are any burn marks.

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Terry,

There is a voltage difference between the ground you are standing on and the frame/body of your RV that obviously should not be there. It is possible that this is caused within your trailer . . . but even more likely that this is caused by the power system that you are plugged into.

You can measure this voltage difference with a voltmeter between the trailer frame and a spike driven into the ground. I would do this and then plug into a completely different power source and re-measure. This will tell you whether the problem is within your cord and trailer or within the power supply.

Even if you have a 120VAC short circuit to the frame within the trailer, a properly functioning supply system ground should take this current back to the source and pop a breaker.

Be careful with this problem . . . It can be seriously dangerous.

Rob

[tcamper]

OK guys, I have followed RV Doctors advice and checked everything he suggested.
Again .... my RV is in my driveway at my home and plugged into a home 50 amp receptacle that was installed several years ago by a licensed electrician.

I have used a DMM, a Non-Contact Voltage Tester a Circuit Analyzer and a PI SSP50XL surge protector ... and my source plug passes all test.

I used the DMM and registered close to 120 volts on all RV receptacles; however the Circuit Analyzer registered HOT/NEU REVERSE, and my voltage detector registered voltage in my bumper.

I also have 2 power cords .... and the results in the RV are the same on both cords....with and without the 90 degree adapter.

It was raining again today.

I have had this RV for almost 2 years and never an issue ........ my power source is sound. I have a buddy that is an electrician but he is not an RV person who is coming over tomorrow or Wednesday.

Where do we start looking??

The RV is disconnected from power at this time .... until the electrician arrives.