Lazy Daze Owners' Group

After a short 2 day process, power for my RV has been installed on the family farm. I think things went so quickly because of the shut-down and some trades not working as much as they normally would at this time of year (both the electrician and the electric company guys). We decided to connect the 50, 30 and 20 AMP so that 2 RVs can have service at the same time if needed (unlikely though) or if I upgrade in the future (also unlikely).

The first step was for the electrician to build a 15-foot tall conduit pole for the wiring and the 100 amp power and meter boxes. That took about 2 hours yesterday.

This morning the workers from the local electric company (Blue Bonnet) arrived to attach the conduit pole to the existing power pole and connect the power. In this case, the electrician did not give them enough tails to connect to the "bucket" but they made it work. They needed 5 to 7 feet of tails. The actual work took a bit over an hour because the bucket made the work go so much more quickly and safely than a ladder.

The electrician was on site while the Blue Bonnet guys were working and started prepping the GE 50/30/20 AMP box I purchased from Home Depot. Once they left he spent about 90 mins installing my box. It took him a little longer because the pole is on the cow side of the fence and he had to keep climbing over or going around the barbed wire fence (a literal pain).

Once the install was completed, I brought out my Surge Guard 30 AMP surge protector to check the connection. Not good. We kept getting a flashing caution red light. I showed the electrician how the surge protector was supposed to react/work when the connection is good by connecting the surge protector to a dog bone and then to the regular 110v outlet from the garage. He then figured that he needed to make a change to the ground and neutral wires (I forgot exactly what he said he did). When he made that change, and we re-connected the surge protector, it worked as normal. We also tested the 50 AMP service using an adapter and the surge protector and it worked fine as well.

The price is just under $1000 for everything (including the $157 + tax box I bought). I don't have the exact figure yet.

I am about 80 feet from the power and I could move closer to it,  but I like the spot I'm in better. :-)

Yay! Nighttime AC in humid Texas without the generator!

Thanks for the idea, Chris. I'll pick some up the next time I'm in town. :-)

I have some twinkle LEDs that I use from time to time and now that I have regular power I may try those under the hood as well.

I do move once a week to go to a nearby state park to dump my tanks (they are open for day use in Texas).

Two thoughts ...
1. You were very lucky you had a 15k pole near your 'home'.  Someone in the past must of paid a 'pretty' penny getting it there.
2. Congratulations on double checking the hookup.  It's a very common mistake to reverse the neutral and ground. 

glen