Now that we are almost done setting up our deer hunting area it is time to start getting camp ready. We have 6 campers in our group so some folks are going to be over 50' from the pole. We are arguing among ourselves over what kind of cords we need. Some think 2 fifty foot 30 amp cords will work (10gauge)and others think we need to build some cords out of 6 gauge wire. Which cost 1.65 a foot plus plugs on the ends.

What does the THF world think? During season it won't be a big deal but when running the Ac labor weekend it is going to be a nightmare I think. When we were all younger and had small cheap campers we did not have that many problems but now that we are all family guys and have 30 foot campers it is a different story.

We run our 30-footer on a 10 ga 100 foot cord with no issues. Don't try to run the a/c and microwave at the same time.

Wire Size Calculator

That's a good chart. Thank you

Go to the RV dealer and buy 100' 30A extension cords. They will work just fine. Although they're going to cost you more than $1.65/ft.

I know I already said it and it was maybe ignored, maybe not, but you don't need a 30 amp cord to run it. If you want to run everything at the same time yes, but a regular 10 ga 100 foot will run your a/c all day long, I do it about 6 weeks a year. In the winter time you don't need a 30 amp, a 15 or 20 will do most anything. A 20 amp will even do the A/C if you are very careful about what else you turn on.

Red chevy


That's kind of what I thought. I am just being a little paranoid because this is my 3rd camper but the first big new one I have owned. The first campers where cash money ones. It is actually a 50 amp camper but we only have 30 amp breakers and a 200 amp pole at camp. So the three of us with 50's have to run on 30 so we don't take all the power.

Been pricing 2 thirty amp cords and comparing to buying 6 gauge wire and making our own.

I have a 100' 30 amp cord and never a problem running it all on my TT. Agree could even go with 10g if careful about combined loads. Sometimes when had camper at house cleaning or loading, would plug a regular orange extension cord, and like RC said, it would run AC, but nothing else without tripping breaker.

A "30 amp cord" is actually 10 gauge.. I wouldn't use a 100' cord, if you don't need 100'. Buy one, cut it in half, and add a plug and connector, to make you two cords.
A few things to consider - do NOT leave your cords coiled up.. lay them out in large, "S" patterns to take up space. Induction is a real thing..
Using a smaller cord, you're fine initially.. but as current continues, heat builds, resistance goes up, current goes up, then you're voltage will be decreased as load increases. This is what burns up compressors on your AC units..

You don't need 6 awg wire.. that's truly overkill, unless you're pulling power a LONG ways..
A camper AC unit will draw about 12-18 amps when running. But it may draw 25+ to start.. And every time it does, you're slowly melting the blades in a 15 or 20 amp cord.. And they usually burn up when you need the AC the most.. On a Hot Saturday afternoon..

We have a 30 foot travel trailer with single air conditioner. The start up requirement for the A/C (I checked the tag on it) is 1850 watts or if I googled and calculated right 15.42 amps. After startup it is significantly lower.

But what you must consider, as voltage goes down, amperage goes up.. At 110 volts (typical in rural areas), that unit is drawing 16.8 amps..
Have 2 or 3 AC units starting on a service, at the same time, and voltage could easily drop to 100 volts or less. which could increase the current load to 18 amps plus.. Increased amperage, increases resistance, which increases heat, which decreases voltage even further.. It's really kind of a cumulative, vicious cycle...

And as the compressor ages, its current needs increase as well.

Our TT has a 15,000 btu air conditioner. According to the surge protector we bought, and which I highly recommend that the OP buys, the amp demand of the a/c seems to run 18 or 19 amps when the compressor is on. I don't know what starting amp demand is. Our microwave is only a 1000 watt unit, so I can run it concurrently with the a/c (so it seems so far). We have the hot water heater and fridge on LP.

I am not sure how big our main Ac is. My new TT has 2 units. The main unit runs off a thermostat so it shuts on and off all the time. We were already having issues and now we have some new ones. Landowner wants us to move because he brings cattle through the area by the pole. So a new pole is getting dropped so we can start over re calculating all of this.