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uncle_bob · 01-30-2022, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ephraim

The stock rubber boot that comes with the smart plugs is designed to fit 10ga 3 conductor SOOJ or 6ga 4 conductor SOOJ. Works well for weather sealing when you actually use that wire, but that wire is EXPENSIVE and unnecessary for storage. a cheap 16/14ga outdoor rated extension cord carries plenty of current for the converter and fridge (usually about 3-6A) and is sufficient for storage conditions.(And turning the fridge on the day before you load up). but the standard boots are too large for this. You can see that in my photo. There is lots of slop room and the connector is not sealed, nor would some dielectric grease help as the gaps are too large. To build the inexpensive storage cord, you must build up the outer diameter of the cord if you are worried about weather sealing so that the boot fits properly. I didn't worry about it since my storage facility is covered.

Hi

Worked just fine on the number 12 wire (likely CCA) extension cord I got at Home Depot when I made my "hook to the house" cord. You have a plug that costs a *ton* of money. Saving $10 on the extension cord still leaves you with an expensive project.

Bob

uncle_bob · 01-31-2022, 07:15 AM

Hi

Not quite clear how / why that last message needed to be posted 1.5 times .... sorry about that !!!!

Bob

gypsydad · 01-31-2022, 08:34 AM

By the way, tell me what the advantage of using the Smart Plug over standard cord? Lots of $$, right? Is it just that much lighter and easier to wrestle into storage? Oh, and what do you do with your old 50A power cord?

Wazbro · 01-31-2022, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsydad

By the way, tell me what the advantage of using the Smart Plug over standard cord? Lots of $$, right? Is it just that much lighter and easier to wrestle into storage? Oh, and what do you do with your old 50A power cord?

While I don't know about the weight of the cord, there are reports that the Smart Plug has better connections and is now factory standard from Airstream, so on new trailers there is no "old power cord".

Mollysdad · 01-31-2022, 10:12 AM

If I was making it, I'd start with a 10/3 extension like the Southwire from Amazon. Then lop off the female end leaving a few feet for future use. Add the Smart plug and IF it needs a heavier cable, build up a bit of heat shrink to make it water resistant.
I bought the Southwire extension for places like Harvest Host or Boondocks Welcome.

Tater · 01-31-2022, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

If I was making it, I'd start with a 10/3 extension like the Southwire from Amazon. Then lop off the female end leaving a few feet for future use. Add the Smart plug and IF it needs a heavier cable, build up a bit of heat shrink to make it water resistant.
I bought the Southwire extension for places like Harvest Host or Boondocks Welcome.

I am doing what Mollysdad mentioned. I'm putting a 50 amp Smartplug on the end for the trailer. The Smartplug I bought on Amazon has the smaller cable side rubber boot to fit the 10/3 wire. That way I can use an adapter if I want want to connect 15 amp at home.

LilPeanut · 01-31-2022, 12:14 PM

Slightly off topic but my go to cord is a custom 15’ smart cord made by chopping off the end of another brand and adding the smart plug to the chopped end. 15’ is lighter and is long enough 75% of the time.

p.s. smart plug the wife likes. Twist 50A, not so much. Smart plug is foolproof and easier in the 40 degree rain to connect in the dark.

steilkurve · 02-01-2022, 08:22 PM

So I built my 50A to 15A Smart Plug power cord. Went with a 10/3 cable cause I thought it would fit the 120V rubber seal that comes with the kit, but there was still a gap. I ended up closing it with a heat shrink tube with adhesive (1.5” 3:1 ratio). Tested both leads with my voltmeter and got 122 on each. Jumped the two hot leads as suggested above. Tried it today and it powered my AS perfectly.

Only regrets:

-The Flexzilla cord from Amazon I bought is far from super flexible as described in the listing. Steer clear of that brand!

-The 3M backed seal for inside the plug. Don’t know if it’ll get better with time (or heat) or if I did not press it in enough but it’s making the plug slightly tough to latch.

Tip:

-I thickened the cable with jacket I stripped from cable leftover to ensure the tongues keep the cable nice and tight.

Photos!

Oregon_dude · 02-02-2022, 12:06 AM

nice - thanks for sharing the pics. Looks great.

JA15830 · 03-20-2022, 03:27 PM

Brought home our new basecamp Friday. Went to plug it into the house and discovered all my connectors from the last trailer won't work. I just ordered a BF30 plug that I will put on my camco dog bone.

I appreciate all the advice given above, but I do have one other question. Why did I have to pay ninety bucks for plug that should cost ten dollars? Are the Smartplugs really ten times better than what has been sufficient for decades?

rmkrum · 03-20-2022, 05:44 PM

In a word, YES. They are much better. I installed two of them on my 2007.

uncle_bob · 03-21-2022, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JA15830

Brought home our new basecamp Friday. Went to plug it into the house and discovered all my connectors from the last trailer won't work. I just ordered a BF30 plug that I will put on my camco dog bone.

I appreciate all the advice given above, but I do have one other question. Why did I have to pay ninety bucks for plug that should cost ten dollars? Are the Smartplugs really ten times better than what has been sufficient for decades?

Hi

Define "better"

Yes, they are easier to deal with for those who tend to forget the "rotate" part of plugging and unplugging the older connector. They are also easier to orient when you go to plug them in due to the "not round" shape. They are what the cool kids use so you will be able to hang out with them

Past that, things get a bit unclear .....

Bob

rmkrum · 03-21-2022, 09:51 PM

Bob, some rationale for my quick statement.

Contact area is larger and they connect much tighter at the contacts than the old twist-lock connector. My old twist-lock one, when I cut it off the cable and dissected it, was starting to get overheated and looked ‘toasted’ both on the metal and the wire insulation molded into the plug.

Not something I need to progress when I’m cranking air conditioning in Texas in the summertime. The SmartPlug shows no sign of damage after a rough summer running the hell out of the air conditioning.

I also really like the fact that I get a solid connection by shoving it in and wiggling gently side to side to lock the plug in. Trying to mate up the twist-lock and not cross-thread the ring was an issue all the time.

Yeah, it’d be nice if it was a bit cheaper, but I’ll take a more reliable design I’ve cheap stuff any day. I don’t like to replace stuff more than once.

uncle_bob · 03-22-2022, 06:34 AM

Hi

Contact area is only one part of the design of a connector. The form of the contacts and what they do as they mate is very much part of it. The durability of this and that part of the contact setup also matters. The only way to really know how well this stands up vs that is to come back in 40 years and see how a large population of each did in the real world.

Bob

rmkrum · 03-22-2022, 09:11 AM

True that!

**Hans627** · 06-12-2022, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steilkurve

So I built my 50A to 15A Smart Plug power cord. Went with a 10/3 cable cause I thought it would fit the 120V rubber seal that comes with the kit, but there was still a gap. I ended up closing it with a heat shrink tube with adhesive (1.5” 3:1 ratio). Tested both leads with my voltmeter and got 122 on each. Jumped the two hot leads as suggested above. Tried it today and it powered my AS perfectly.

Only regrets:

-The Flexzilla cord from Amazon I bought is far from super flexible as described in the listing. Steer clear of that brand!

-The 3M backed seal for inside the plug. Don’t know if it’ll get better with time (or heat) or if I did not press it in enough but it’s making the plug slightly tough to latch.

Tip:

-I thickened the cable with jacket I stripped from cable leftover to ensure the tongues keep the cable nice and tight.

Photos!

Just curious if you are still happy with your conversion of a 15A cord to a 50A Smart Plug? Would you change anything?

Thanks!

steilkurve · 06-13-2022, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hans627

Just curious if you are still happy with your conversion of a 15A cord to a 50A Smart Plug? Would you change anything?

Thanks!

Yes. Very pleased with it. I did change the Flexzilla cord for a Yellow Jacket. More flexible in cold. But I used the same SmartPlug.

I also built myself a 25’ and 50’ 30A cords using my old ones.

Would do it again.

Oregon_dude · 07-01-2022, 12:40 PM

Fyi… got an email from smartplug today…(amazed they remembered me)

The 50Amp to 15Amp, 30Amp to 15Amp and 50Amp to 30Amp adapters have been approved through ETL and will be available at etrailer.com and TechnoRV by the end of July. Below are the item number that you can reference when ordering.

50-15A R50044L515P
50-30A R50044L530P
30-15A R30043L515P

Thanks for your patience and being a SmartPlug customer.

Not sure if I’ll get one or not… but I will wait for the “DIY is so easy and much cheaper” comments

uncle_bob · 07-02-2022, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oregon_dude

Fyi… got an email from smartplug today…(amazed they remembered me)

The 50Amp to 15Amp, 30Amp to 15Amp and 50Amp to 30Amp adapters have been approved through ETL and will be available at etrailer.com and TechnoRV by the end of July. Below are the item number that you can reference when ordering.

50-15A R50044L515P
50-30A R50044L530P
30-15A R30043L515P

Thanks for your patience and being a SmartPlug customer.

Not sure if I’ll get one or not… but I will wait for the “DIY is so easy and much cheaper” comments

Hi

Until they get a reasonable supply out into the market and all of the backorders are filled ( at the "going price"), it's unclear what level of discounting will happen.

Bob

**Hans627** · 08-06-2022, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oregon_dude

Fyi… got an email from smartplug today…(amazed they remembered me)

The 50Amp to 15Amp, 30Amp to 15Amp and 50Amp to 30Amp adapters have been approved through ETL and will be available at etrailer.com and TechnoRV by the end of July. Below are the item number that you can reference when ordering.

50-15A R50044L515P
50-30A R50044L530P
30-15A R30043L515P

Thanks for your patience and being a SmartPlug customer.

Not sure if I’ll get one or not… but I will wait for the “DIY is so easy and much cheaper” comments

Any updates on availability? I can't seem to find any information on the 50-15A.