50a

[kb0zke]

When did Airstream switch from 30A to 50A electrical service? Was it done across the board, or top of the line the first year, next level the next year, etc.?

[jdalrymple]

Not all AS are 50 amp. Typically, units with two a/c units from the factory are the ones wired for 50 amp service. Although other options like electric water heaters and the like may require 50 amp service too.

[Lance M]

Not all are 50a. The long trailers with two ACs are 50a. All others are 30a standard.

[Jammer]

As others have noted 50a service is only installed on rigs with dual air conditioners.

I have heard that the first few rigs manufactured with dual air had 30a service. It's possible to run both air conditioners from a 30a shore power connection as long as there are no other loads. When I am stuck doing that I even run the fridge on propane to avoid popping the pedestal breaker.

On rigs with single air conditioners it is possible to exceed 30 amps if you run the electric water heater and the air conditioner at the same time, plus a few other loads. But Airstream doesn't offer 50a service for these trailers unless you also get the dual air conditioning.

[kb0zke]

We're more interested in the longer coaches anyway, and dual air is almost a necessity for us. Since everyone else has long since gone to 50A service, I assumed that Airstream had, too.

[jdalrymple]

I don't believe there is any universal switch to 50 amp. I do agree that folks seem to want more and more electrical items in their RV of choice which may require 50 amps, but there are still a lot of new units with only 30 amp service.

I have seen several 34' Airstreams with second Air Conditioners added with a separate 20 cord to power the added AC. This eliminates the need to make changes to the main breaker box.

Best Regards,