heating

[ScubaRx]

I would suggest running a permanent,  dedicated line down to the trailer.  If you use 150 feet of #6 wire, drawing 12.5amps at the trailer you will have a:

Voltage drop: 1.48
Voltage drop percentage: 1.23%
Voltage at the end: 118.52

Get one of these to place at the trailer. Make sure the source of electricity at your house is at least a 30amp breaker and you'll be all set. We did this 12 years ago and we can run anything we hook to it, heaters and the air conditioner.

 

Edited March 23, 2020 by ScubaRx

[Mike and Carol]

I agree with Steve on this.  Get a 30a RV plug installed.  We were parking in the driveway before and after trips using an orange Home Depot cord into the garage.  Couldn’t run the AC during the summer.  I had my electrician put in a 30a plug on the side of the house and now we can run anything.  We’ve had fellow owners camp in our driveway use it to.  It was well worth the cost.  Mike

[DJM]

Mossey,

I took the heater out of the RV and plugged it in to the extension cord. It worked the same as it did in the house. 

However I am still convinced it has something to do with the extension cord and maybe the surge protector in the oliver detecting low voltage. 

So far I cannot locate either the "surge protector" or the "inverter" although I know they are in there somewhere. 

What throws me is the idea that the surge protector interrupts the power when the voltage is LOW?   I thought a surge protector is to shut of electricity when there is too much power?   I am sure I am displaying my ignorance here. I will try to remedy my ignorance with Google and the 2016 oliver manual but presently that  is mystifying me.  BUT I am going to assume that this all has to do with the extension cord and wait until I can run a proper line out there or in the alternative take it to a park and try it there. 

Dan

[MontanaOliver]

15 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

I would suggest running a permanent,  dedicated line down to the trailer.  If you use 150 feet of #6 wire, drawing 12.5amps at the trailer you will have a:

Voltage drop: 1.48
Voltage drop percentage: 1.23%
Voltage at the end: 118.52

Get one of these to place at the trailer. Make sure the source of electricity at your house is at least a 30amp breaker and you'll be all set. We did this 12 years ago and we can run anything we hook to it, heaters and the air conditioner.

 

Yep, ^^^, good suggestion. I added three RV outlets (one 50 amp and two 30 amp) around the homestead. We have friends/family stopping by with their RVs and of course they need to hook-up to electrical. The mother/father in-law likes their twin A/C and microwave to always work.

Whether you decide to do this project yourself or hire a licensed electrician, make sure this common error is not part of life. And, if you're going to go through the effort and for very little extra cost, go with a 50 amp RV outlet. You never know when a visitor with a big 5th wheel or MH will show up and needing full juice, and it is simple to adapt down to your 30a OTT.

And just a suggestion, when you have your trench open, lay an extra run of conduit or two with a pull line pre-threaded; capped off for future use. Never know when you may want to drop a cat-6 cable for some hardwired ethernet devices,wi-fi extension, security cameras or maybe another electrical need. Conduit is cheap...trenching is not and leaves a mess.

Expensive mistake when installing 30-amp RV outlet at home- article by Mike Sokol

Edited March 23, 2020 by MontanaOliver
typo

[mossemi]

The inverter is located under the street side bed and the surge protector is under the rear seat of the dinette.  You will have to remove 2 screws to access that area.  Yellow arrows point to the inverter and surge protector.  
The inverter changes DC power to AC power allowing you to run something like a toaster on the battery power of the trailer.  The surge protector protects the trailer from incorrect AC voltage coming into the trailer, whether it is to high or to low, from whatever you connect it to.  That is why it is the first electrical component on the AC power line in the trailer.

There is a great resource for OTT information at the Oliver University.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/oliver-university/

Surge Protector

Inverter

[John E Davies]

Your surge suppressor detects high or low voltage in the “shore power”. With a too small extension cord that is way too long, your big heater kicks on, the high load drops the voltage, the suppressor disconnects. That is what is supposed to happen. Low voltage is perhaps not as damaging as a high spike, but the lower the voltage, the more amps a device has to use to operate, and it may cause great distress on motors especially. Motors have a very high “start up current”,  as much as five times the normal operating current. That is why we use “slow blow” fuses in certain places like the electric jacks. They can take a very high current for a short while, until the motor is running normally.

Does your heater have a fan motor? If the heating element is 1500 watts, that plus the high start up draw is enough to lower the line voltage past the safe threshold. I think you might be able  to get away with a 150 ft cord, if it has12 gauge or larger wires, and a 500 watt heater. Not a 1500.... no way.

But as suggested by others, a professionally installed RV power center will be the final answer, especially if you want to ever run the air conditioning.

That is a pretty pic of your Ollie, would it be possible to move it as close to the house as possible and use a shorter cord? That might make all the difference, until you can get a permanent RV post installed. BTW a 500 watt heater will keep your Ollie toasty, normally there is no need for a big unit.

I don't recall if you mentioned this already, but you do have other AC devices that are operating, for example the converter/ charger which is maintaining your batteries, and the AC heater in your fridge and water heater. You should try flipping OFF all the other AC circuit breakers except for the outlets (maybe marked “Microwave”). That might remove enough additional load to let this work properly.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

Edited March 23, 2020 by John E Davies

[DJM]

I want to thank everyone for your generous assistance in trouble shooting my particular problem and educating me on the Ollie electricity in General. All GOOD. 

Stay safe out there. 

DJM 

Edited March 26, 2020 by DJM