How I will charge rv

[JScottH]

I just bought a Dutchman 3252 Atlas 5th wheel .Pick it up Monday. How will I charge the batteries. Will the cord plug into a standard outlet? is there a cord that plug into an outlet or will I need a special outlet at home to charge my batteries.?

[lcv800]

Most of your questions will be answered during your walk-thru. Take your time and take notes. There are a ton of PDI (pre-delivery inspection) forms you can download from this site for things to test and look for. Don't tender your check until all your questions are answered and ALL repairs or corrections are made to your RV. Trust me, once you give your check to most dealers, you're dead to them. To answer your question, your RV will come with either a 30 or 50 amp cord that plugs into a designated outlet on your unit. Congratulations on your purchase.
Rusty

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by JScottH

I just bought a Dutchman 3252 Atlas 5th wheel .Pick it up Monday. How will I charge the batteries. Will the cord plug into a standard outlet? is there a cord that plug into an outlet or will I need a special outlet at home to charge my batteries.?

Welcome to the forums!

Rusty gave a bunch of good information. In answer to your question you can plug in at home on a standard plug using an adapter to keep the batteries topped up. However you CANNOT run high draw items like microwave, air conditioners, or electric water heaters. Most of us that keep our units at home install or have installed a proper RV plug on a dedicated circuit.

Good luck with your new unit and make sure to post up some pictures of it!

Aaron

[azdryheat]

Your Atlas is a 50 amp system so you'll need a 50 to 30 amp adapter and a 30 to 15 amp adapter to get it to your house current.

What you might want to do is get an electrician to run you a 50 amp service to where your Atlas will be parked so you can run everything in the trailer.

And remember, it is not a 220 volt 50 amp service like your house. It is two 110 volt systems of 50 amps. Your house 220 volt is 2 hots and a ground. Your trailer is two hots, a neutral and a ground.

[JScottH]

O.k. I know I cannot run major items within the trailer unless plugged to 50/30 amp but can I charge the batteries while plugging into standard outlet? I will park in driveway and plug into outlet? When not at home it will stay at a storage facility.
Second point where are the pre delivery inspection documents?

Scott

[wahoonc]

Here is probably the best set of PDI documents I have seen. You can adjust the list to your specific needs. Also if you have a video camera to record the walk through that is a plus. A lot to see and do in a short period of time.

Aaron

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by JScottH

O.k. I know I cannot run major items within the trailer unless plugged to 50/30 amp but can I charge the batteries while plugging into standard outlet? I will park in driveway and plug into outlet? When not at home it will stay at a storage facility.
Second point where are the pre delivery inspection documents?

Scott

Yes, you can charge the batteries from a standard outlet. There's a PDI checklist somewhere around here, maybe someone will link it. And Aaron beat me to it

[JScottH]

Thanks , but the cord that goes to standard outlet is a cord directly from the battery charger or thebattery charger that sits on the batteries correct? That is different from a 30/50 amp cord?
When you plug those in do those charge batteries as well?
I also have 2 Honda 2200 generators with the new RIG so I understand that will power it as well.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by JScottH

Thanks , but the cord that goes to standard outlet is a cord directly from the battery charger or thebattery charger that sits on the batteries correct? That is different from a 30/50 amp cord?
When you plug those in do those charge batteries as well?
I also have 2 Honda 2200 generators with the new RIG so I understand that will power it as well.

No cord directly from the batteries. On board you have a Converter it converts 120 volts to 12 volts to power lights, furnace blower, and other 12 volt DC stuff, it also serves as a battery charger. It is typically hard wired into the camper 120 volt system, which is fed by the 50 amp cord.

Aaron

[mjcarte]

Here are other PDI:

[gwj123]

Originally Posted by azdryheat

Your Atlas is a 50 amp system so you'll need a 50 to 30 amp adapter and a 30 to 15 amp adapter to get it to your house current.

What you might want to do is get an electrician to run you a 50 amp service to where your Atlas will be parked so you can run everything in the trailer.

And remember, it is not a 220 volt 50 amp service like your house. It is two 110 volt systems of 50 amps. Your house 220 volt is 2 hots and a ground. Your trailer is two hots, a neutral and a ground.

You can buy a 50 amp to 15 amp adapter on Amazon, that is what I use to plug my RV into house current, doing that will keep your batteries charged. This way you only have one adapter to plug into the house. I would suggest to get a 50 to 30 amp adapter also, for those times you stay in parks that only have 30 amp service.

[Nickgindy]

I would just amazon and have all the adapters anyway. You may not think you will ever need them until your at a campground with a faulty plug (campground side) and you need a different plug and every store around has no idea what you are talking about.

[Texastbird]

https://www.amazon.com/LeisureCords-...15+amp+adapter
this is what I use at the house to keep the batts charged. That way the heavy 50 amp cord stays out of the weather, since you use a regular heavy duty extension cord to an outlet.

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by Texastbird

https://www.amazon.com/LeisureCords-...15+amp+adapter
this is what I use at the house to keep the batts charged. That way the heavy 50 amp cord stays out of the weather, since you use a regular heavy duty extension cord to an outlet.

That's a pretty good idea just to keep those vampire loads from killing the battery. That looks like the ONLY adapter I don't have.

[gwj123]

Originally Posted by Texastbird

https://www.amazon.com/LeisureCords-...15+amp+adapter
this is what I use at the house to keep the batts charged. That way the heavy 50 amp cord stays out of the weather, since you use a regular heavy duty extension cord to an outlet.

That is the exact same one that I have, works great.

[Orrick541]

I bought a 10 gauge 50' extension cord to go with my 50amp to 15 cord off Amazon.

[dsol]

Originally Posted by Texastbird

https://www.amazon.com/LeisureCords-...15+amp+adapter
this is what I use at the house to keep the batts charged. That way the heavy 50 amp cord stays out of the weather, since you use a regular heavy duty extension cord to an outlet.

Just bought one! Will use it to cool down the fridge the day before I leave to camp.

[Iwantlessstress]

Batteries are charged from 2 sources 1 is your light cord from your pickup to your unit so drive with your lights on. 2 you’re 30 or 50 amp plug will charge your batteries.
Another cheap way to keep your batteries up is small solar panels (can be bought at Canadian tire or other similar stores)
I added 2 extra batteries (I have 4). Combined with solar panels and a few hours of generator power you are good to go for many hours you can also wire in a power inverter but appliances like microwaves and air conditioning eats this power quickly. You are better off using your generator while using these items. Keep an eye on how much power you are using at once and you should be good. Shut off other items like the ac when using your microwave.
Good luck and good camping

[MartyG]

Originally Posted by azdryheat

And remember, it is not a 220 volt 50 amp service like your house. It is two 110 volt systems of 50 amps. Your house 220 volt is 2 hots and a ground. Your trailer is two hots, a neutral and a ground.

Not true. Both home and 50 amp RV outlets use two hots. In a home, the two hots must be different legs, so the voltage across them is 220 volts. In an RV outlet, they can be the same or different, it doesn't matter because RV's don't use anything wired across the two hots for 220 volts. Regarding the neutrals and ground, only in older homes or simple circuits like my 220V cooktop do you see appliances using no neutral. (since the cooktop uses nothing as 110v, there is no need for neutral. Only 220V and a safety ground is needed. But in complex appliances, where both 110V and 220V are employed, then you need a 4 conductor outlet, like a modern dryer outlet. The 4 prong dryer outlet is very similar to an RV 50 amp. The wiring is the same. The only difference is the dryer outlet is rated for 30 amps, and has an inverted L prong for neutral, while the RV neutral is a straight blade, and rated for 50 amps.