Lightweight 50A Smartplug cable

[NickA]

Our Airstream has a 50A smartplug inlet and came with a stupidly heavy 30ft cable which I really hate using. Does anyone know of a shorter version (say 15ft) that I could extend with a longer cable if needed? only thing I can find is this (https://www.etrailer.com/Marine-Powe...ug/SM83VR.html) but $500 for a 4 ft adapter is insane! Seems like the smart plug ecosystem is pretty limiting when it comes to cable options. Any help much appreciated. Apologies if I'm not the first to ask this, but I can't find any other posts with lightweight cable options supporting a female smart plug end for the trailer!

[vanderwielen]

Originally Posted by NickA

Our Airstream has a 50A smartplug inlet and came with a stupidly heavy 30ft cable which I really hate using. Does anyone know of a shorter version (say 15ft) that I could extend with a longer cable if needed? only thing I can find is this (https://www.etrailer.com/Marine-Powe...ug/SM83VR.html) but $500 for a 4 ft adapter is insane! Seems like the smart plug ecosystem is pretty limiting when it comes to cable options. Any help much appreciated. Apologies if I'm not the first to ask this, but I can't find any other posts with lightweight cable options supporting a female smart plug end for the trailer!

Most folks complain about the stiffness, not the weight. unfortunately, for your 50 amp service you need 6/4 cable. You'll need to build a cable. I'd suggest SOOW cable at $150

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M7W74P6...n_title_1&th=1

Then add the split phase smart Plug at $240

And finally, a 50 AMP 'normal' plug at $15.

the only weight savings is a shorter cable.

[10Smiles]

As @vanderwielen says, the only way to get it less expensive is to build your own. Still going to be expensive (copper is heavy and expensive). Then you need to build, or buy, an extension cable (with standard plug and receptacle) for when the new short cable is, well, too short.

[G8trwood]

Cut at 15’ from the SmartPlug end. Put standard 50amp male and female on respective pieces. You then have a 15’ smart plug cord and a short extension cord. Smartplug does have a good warranty, so if it is a new one I would need to think twice.

[SunchaserV]

Marinco makes all sorts of different lengths of 50-amp cords. FYI, I carried a 50' 50-amp cord on our boat. Each docking was a workout.

[PaulBristol]

I agree with TRWood. Cut the Smart Plug cable. Follow his instructions.

Next add a new standard socket on the leftover 15' piece. Now you have a short, light Smart Plug cable plus a 15' standard extension cable.

Standard plugs and sockets are cheap and plentiful. Spend a little more and get reliable long lasting connectors. Especially pay attention to the clamping design where the new plug takes in the cable. Good mechanical support is required. Get plugs designed for multi-stranded cable. They have different electric connectors.

https://www.amazon.com/240-volt-50-a...lt+50+amp+plug

https://www.amazon.com/MICTUNING-Fem...xfdGhlbWF0aWM=

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

[Mollysdad]

IF your power cable is the monster grey stiff cable better suited to supporting a bridge, then it may be worth it to purchase a new cable. I shopped e-trailer hoping to see a 'smart plug' Mighty Cord, but they were $500! My goodness Smart Plug is mighty proud of their connector. It was $300 for the plug only!
For comparison, my replacement cord (dumb plug) was about $150, now $260. My grey cable was given garage duty.
To add insult to injury, the Smart Plug does not appear to be available in a 90º form factor, which puts less strain on the Airstream outer skin.
Amazon: $434
https://www.amazon.com/SmartPlug-50-...f-cd087fee0848

[kb0zke]

I was pleased to see that our trailer came with a Smart Plug. We have the standard 50A shore power cord and I carry a 25' 50A extension cord in the electrical tub, along with various adapters.

[waninae39]

the weight of the cable is based on how much copper is used.
+ more weight, more copper lower lost power
- less weight , thinner use of copper, higher losses

why use cheaper cables? use the best quality cable/connectors you can get

[Glen Carter]

Depends on your needs. If you don't need 50A, get a 30A cord and put the 50A smartplug female connector on it. You can even do that with a 20A ... you just have to restrict what you turn on.

[JeffKim]

Originally Posted by Glen Carter

Depends on your needs. If you don't need 50A, get a 30A cord and put the 50A smartplug female connector on it. You can even do that with a 20A ... you just have to restrict what you turn on.

Yes, we have 30A and never have run out of power. I think it would work planning for the occasions when there two A/Cs might be needed and then lugging the 50A cord along or take both if there's room.

Edit: Yikes, the adapter isn't exactly cheap $333. There is a plain 50A connector for $117. I'd guess it can be wired for 30A, but would require more electrical knowledge than I have.

[DIDJA]

Originally Posted by G8trwood

Cut at 15’ from the SmartPlug end. Put standard 50amp male and female on respective pieces. You then have a 15’ smart plug cord and a short extension cord. Smartplug does have a good warranty, so if it is a new one I would need to think twice.

My concern here is that if you need to use bothhalves to reach, the middle connection will likely be laying on the ground. Potentially in a puddle of water if the campsite is not graded/ sloped well. Not a good thing.

[jeffmc306]

Amazon sells a Valterra bulk 25’ 50A cord with just the male end so you could start with that and make it any length you want by adding a SmartPlug.

Rather than build my own, I took a 25’ Valterra Mighty Cord that I used with the original connector and cut the female (trailer side) off and added a SmartPlug to it. The Mighty Cord was lighter and more flexible than the old grey Marinco 33’ cord.

I did make a 15’ extension cord from the old Marinco that I carry in case we need more than 25’.

[SunchaserV]

C'mon guys, eat your Wheaties. We all lift much heavier hitches and other stuff around. Other than spending money, buying some short 50amp cords seems the answer.

[Sunny Falls]

Our 17 feet, 3,500 pound max weight Casita trailer was originally only 30A 120VAC 3,600 Watts and used a non-detachable "pull-through" shore power cable. We upgraded it ourselves to 50A 120/240VAC 12,000 Watts. We use 240VAC for our 6500 Watt propane/electric 6,500 Watt Tankless Water Heater and our 3,500 Watt Induction Cooktop. We also created 20 foot 30A and 50A detachable shore power cables using the original 30A non-detachable cable and a new Mighty Cord 50A & 25 Feet Long Shore Power Cable. If we are DryGlamping, we don't take any shore power cables. If we are DockGlamping and know we will only have 30A shore power, we only take our 30A detachable shore power cable. Otherwise, we take our 50A detachable shore power cable and adapters to also enable using 15/30A shore power if needed.

We used our new Mighty Cord 50A & 25 Feet Long Shore Power Cable by cutting it to enable wiring it between our Progressive Dynamics PD55K000 120/240VAC Split-Phase Staggered Bus Bar AC Distribution Panel and an added Marinco 6373EL Stainless Steel RV 50A 120/240VAC Locking Male Power Inlet. We wired the remaining longer length section, which then became our detachable 50A shore power cable, to an added Marinco 6364CRN 50A 120/240VAC Locking Female Connector. We also placed a Marinco 7715ELN Cover on this Marinco 6364CRN 50A 120/240VAC Locking Female Connector to enable creating a water resistant connection. All of these components use the Marinco “Easy Lock” System thereby eliminating any need to thread spin/tighten the detachable shore power cord connection or thread spin/tighten the power inlet cover and thereby risk damaging the threads by potentially cross-threading them in the process. Some photos of our 50A detachable shore power cable arrangement...and more photos and details may be found by Googling our trailer name if interested.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[G8trwood]

You can also buy a 30amp mighty cord and put a 50@ smartplug end on it. I use one all the time for when we are on 30a service . Light weight and no adapter. Just remember 50a is really 100a vs 30amps so be load conscious

[Sunny Falls]

Originally Posted by G8trwood

You can also buy a 30amp mighty cord and put a 50@ smartplug end on it. I use one all the time for when we are on 30a service . Light weight and no adapter. Just remember 50a is really 100a vs 30amps so be load conscious

Yep, that is precisely how our 30A shore power cord is configured...a standard RV shore power pedestal male plug on the pedestal end and a 50A NEMA Twist Lock female plug on the trailer end. But being sailors, we prefer ABYC approved standard plugs that lock in place and are waterproof. We are not fans of SmartPlug or fans of proprietary stuff in general. But when we know we will be hooking up to a mix of 30A and 50A (which we prefer/seek out when paying for a hookup), we take our 50A shore power cable and a 30A adapter...which is less weight and space consuming then taking BOTH the 30A AND 50A shore power cables. We don't want to use any propane at all when we are paying for a hookup.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[uncle_bob]

Hi

One thing to be very careful about:

If you go shopping for 6AWG cable, you can get copper or you can get aluminum. You might think it would be easy to sort the two out. If it's aluminum, it's likely copper plated aluminum. That makes it look pretty. It does not help with the fact that you need 4AWG in aluminum to carry the same current as 6AWG in copper.

The most common place to run into this is buying pre-made stuff. Extension cords are very likely to be copper plated aluminum these days.

Bob

[D-Rod]

Originally Posted by NickA

Our Airstream has a 50A smartplug inlet and came with a stupidly heavy 30ft cable which I really hate using. Does anyone know of a shorter version (say 15ft) that I could extend with a longer cable if needed? only thing I can find is this (https://www.etrailer.com/Marine-Powe...ug/SM83VR.html) but $500 for a 4 ft adapter is insane! Seems like the smart plug ecosystem is pretty limiting when it comes to cable options. Any help much appreciated. Apologies if I'm not the first to ask this, but I can't find any other posts with lightweight cable options supporting a female smart plug end for the trailer!

So, my 2018 Classics both came with that standard bitch heavy grey cable and like you, hated it!!!!! I even considered buying the updated black cable which AS switched out for the trailers but waited. We now have a 2024 Classic and I will say that this black cable is much more pliable and lighter even in cold climate conditions. My 2cents.

[mythbuster88]

Since we never use both ACs, except for an occasional system check, we use the 30 Amp.
And in some cases only use a 15 Amp.
Just have to be careful.
We carry an assortment of adaptors and extension chords for all possibilities.