Plug your RV into your electrical service while it sits in your drive.
Camping can be quite enjoyable and RV camping allows you to bring the conveniences of your home on the road. RVs can come equipped with bathrooms, stoves, hot water, air conditioners and even dishwashers. With all these features it's almost like pulling your home behind your car. But you must plug an RV into a special outlet, whether at a campsite or your home. You can wire an RV electrical outlet, allowing you to plug in your RV while it sits in your driveway. This is a specific outlet and must be located on an isolated circuit.
Instructions
1. Cut a hole in an exterior garage wall for your RV electrical outlet. Trace around the template provided with your plastic "old work" electrical box. Use a keyhole saw and carefully cut around the trace lines to remove the wall board.
2. Shut off the power to your main electrical panel by turning off the main breaker at the top of your breaker box. Remove the screws that attach your breaker panel cover to the wall, exposing the wiring and breakers. Test to confirm that the electrical panel has been disconnected. Use an electrical tester and touch one prong to the back of any breaker where the black wire connects and touch the other prong to any metal on the breaker panel. If the panel has no electrical current, your tester should not light up.
3. Pull a length of 10/2 NM cable from the RV outlet location to the breaker panel. Leave approximately 6 to 8 inches of cable exposed at both the breaker panel and the outlet location.
4. Strip 6 inches of exterior sheath off of the NM cable to expose the interior wires using dual NM cable wire stripper/cutters. Strip 1/2 inch of insulation off of the NM cable's black and white wires. Complete this task at both the panel box and the outlet location.
5. Install the RV outlet electrical box. Pull the electrical cable into the outlet box through the knockout located at the rear of the box. Slide the "old work" electrical box into the hole and attach it to the wall, following the manufacturer's directions on install an "old work" box.
6. Install the 30 amp, 110-volt RV outlet. The RV outlet will be a single receptacle that accepts a specific three-prong plug. There are two slots at the top of the outlet situated at approximately a 45-degree angle. There is a center hole that holds a screw, and a half-oval opening at the bottom of the outlet. When facing the outlet it has the appearance of a sad face. Wire the outlet from the back by sliding the black wire under the screw behind one of the angled slots, and the white wire under the screw at the other angled slot. Tighten both screws to hold the wires in place. Slide the bare copper ground underneath the screw located behind the half oval opening and tighten the screw. Push all wiring and the outlet into the electrical box, attaching it at the top and the bottom with screws that were provided with the RV outlet. Cover the outlet with an RV outlet plate.
7. Install the 30 amp single pole breaker into your breaker panel. Slide the breaker into the breaker panel from back to front, attaching the back of the breaker to the panel first, then snapping the breaker over the center bus bar. Push down firmly on the breaker until it snaps into place. Slide the black wire underneath the screw located at the back of the breaker and tighten the screw to hold the wire in place. Find the neutral bar in your breaker panel. It is commonly located vertically to the right or the left of the breakers and is silver with screws down the entire length of the bar. All white wires from the panel box will be connected to the neutral bar. Slide the white wire underneath one of the screws on the neutral bar and tighten the screw. Locate the ground bar in your panel box. It resembles the neutral bar, but it contains bare copper and green wires. Slide your bare copper wire underneath the screw on the ground bar and tighten it.
8. Replace the electrical panel box cover and turn the main breaker back on.
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