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Andyrpod190 
Groupie 
Joined: 03 May 2020 Location: NH Online Status: Offline Posts: 40 |
 Calendar Event: 2021 RPOD 190 water/electric ?Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 10:30am |
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Hi...
I am getting my RPOD 190 delivered most likely in late June and wanted to know everything needed in order to hookup water / electric from the house. I understand that I should get a Water regulator for connecting to city water? I also read that I should also have a surge protector as part of the electrical connection regardless of where we are camping. We opted for a 100 watt solar factory installed with an additional battery so we will have 2 batteries wired together. So my question regarding electrical to the house is what do I need my electrical to install for an outside outlet (off what size breaker) to connect my RPOD 190 so I can fully utilize anything in the RPOD when on house power? Since this is our first camper not sure what the RPOD comes with for a cable and the requirements to run the ac/heat, and convection etc... in the camper to the house properly. Would appreciate feedback for a seasoned tent camper but NEW RPOD camper! Thanks in advance!
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Pod People
Senior Member 
Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1067 |
Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 10:52am |
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Hello Andy, The RPod will come with a power cord approximately 20'. One end will screw into the pod and the other end is a 3 prong 30 amp male plug. In order to plug into a standard 12-20 amp home receptacle, you will need a 30 amp to 15 amp reducer similar to this https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cable-095449008-Adapter-Extension/dp/B00ARZZ2VA/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=30+to+15+amp+reducer&qid=1591803886&sr=8-1 In order to fully utilize the home power for all R Pod uses(A/C and M/W), you will probably need to have a 30 amp circuit and receptacle installed. Some units have been able to use either the A/C or the m/w with a standard home 15-20 receptacle, but you cannot count on that-try it and see. Certainly a surge protector will help protect the electrical system in the pod. There are lots of choices with lots of price ranges on this item. Research this before you purchase anything. They range from simple surge protectors to very complete systems for power management and voltage regulation. As to water-you will need a drinking water quality hose, a pressure reduction valve and most people use some type of canister filter. Look back on this forum-it has a lot of great information from a group of seasoned owners. almost every imaginable topic has been covered. Read and learn , but mostly enjoy your new pod Vann |
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Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp
Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 10:55am |
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Welcome and congratulations! I hope you have many fun adventures and make many great memories with your RPod. First off, you do need a pressure limiter when connected to city water to keep the pressure to about 50 psi or lower. Some water supplies can get up to 100 psi which would be way too much. Consider it insurance against blowing out water line connections or bursting water lines. Surge protectors are a good idea. If you are confident of the shore power connection, it may be somewhat optional. But it is better to be safe than sorry. I have encountered at least one shore power pedestal that was bad, so a surge protector with the ability to display the status of the connections (lights as a minimum to indicate proper connections and ground) is a very good idea. You can spend more and get one that will boost the voltage if the particular park is experiencing a brownout from the load. Surge protection only is relatively inexpensive. More functions equal more cost. How much you spend depends on how much additional functionality above simple surge protection you desire. Are the two batteries the same? Are they both Pb-Acid or is one of them different such as LiFePO4? If the same chemistry, are they the same voltage? Are they 6V or 12V? If 12V, they need to be wired in parallel to maintain 12V supply. If 6V, then they need to be wired in series to deliver 12V. If you have an electrician install an outlet, make double sure that a 30A RV 110V outlet is installed. Verify that he/she does not install a 220V appliance outlet. Other than that, your RPod will come with the proper cable. You may need an extension though depending on how close to the location where you park your RPod the outlet will be installed. When I installed my 30A RV outlet, I installed it next to the main breaker box and I needed to get an extension cable to be able to reach my driveway. I can run anything in the RPod with it. I hope this is helpful.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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Andyrpod190
Groupie
Joined: 03 May 2020 Location: NH Online Status: Offline Posts: 40 |
Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 11:15am |
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Thank you both for the excellent information. This really helps me a lot!
I will have to check to see if the batteries are wired in parallel or series. They should both be the same voltage I am assuming they are both 12v. We installed a 100w solar panel at my sons Yurt we built in VT and have 2 deep cycle marine batteries in that setup and it works great! I will have my electrician put in the 30A RV 110V outside outlet so that I have the ability to run everything in the RPOD just like we were at a campground and will look into surge protectors which I assume go between RPOD and cable? Or between Cable to house and outlet? Thanks again Andy
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Pod_Geek
Senior Member
Joined: 04 Dec 2019 Location: Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 259 |
Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 11:57am |
I have one of these. Highly recommended. Saved my R-Pod's butt at a KOA...bad pedestal. |
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2020.5 R-Pod 195 Hood River
2018 RAM 2500 6.4L |
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Andyrpod190
Groupie
Joined: 03 May 2020 Location: NH Online Status: Offline Posts: 40 |
Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 12:27pm |
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So looks like this is very pricey! I am sure it does a lot more than the $100 ones. Can I get away with the $100 price range?
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp
Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 1:06pm |
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The Hughes Autoformer mentioned above is what I have. I also have a Camco surge protector that I use at home. I used to use it while camping, but liked the idea of the Autoformer, so that travels with us. Both serve the basic function, but I wanted the boost function. Can you get away with the $100 price range? Probably. It will give you basic surge protection. As you go up in price, you get circuit analyzer functions to let you know the power is good. Keep going up and you get auto cut-off if the power goes outside acceptable parameters. Then comes monitoring functions, some by app and bluetooth. Boost is at the higher end of the scale. Check out the different options on the Huges Autoformers site for what the various ones will do. You can purchase other brands, but the site will give you a good idea of what you are looking at with the various brands/models.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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Pod People
Senior Member
Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1067 |
Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 1:26pm |
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I installed a 30 amp outlet at my shop to power the pod. this is the outlet/box combination that I used- it was the best one i could find for the $$$-works great. Vann https://www.homedepot.com/p/Connecticut-Electric-30-Amp-RV-Power-Outlet-CESMPS13HR/100669968
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Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 3:51pm |
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You don't need the autoformer at your house unless you're installing a very long cable run. The autoformer will boost the voltage at a campground where there are long cable runs and lots of campers drawing heavy loads has caused the line voltage to drop. A basic surge protector is fine on your house, you have more expensive electronics inside I'm sure than you have in your rPod, so whatever you're using there will work for the trailer. If you want one for travelling then that's a different matter.
Your two batteries can either be two 6V deep cycle golf cart batteries in series or 2 12V in parallel. The series configuration is preferable so if your dealer hasn't installed them yet you should request that. Either way, the two batteries should be in all respects identical (brand, voltage, type, capacity, age). Do not let the dealer mix and match.
The surge protection goes between the outlet and the trailer. |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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mjlrpod
Senior Member
Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214 |
Posted: 11 Jun 2020 at 9:07am |
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I believe the most important factor is protecting your pod from either high or low surges, or poorly wired power supplies at campsites. I camp at at place that in four years, twice has had a "brown out". That can cause a serious problem with your pod's electronics. Even if they survive it, it surely weakens them for the next time. An EMS surge protector, which is still pricey @ 250ish dollars, is more than enough protection. If you are away from the site, and a brown out, or black out occurs, than a big restart, your camper needs to be protecred in your absence. An EMS will do the job. The only way you'll know there was a problem is because the pendant will display that there was a problem. If you go the EMS route, I recommend the hardwired unit. There is no reason to leave a 250 lure hanging off a pole to invite a thief in. Also the hardwire unit makes sure you never forget to use it, or pack it back in the camper before leaving. Think ron popeel " just set it, and forget it".
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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
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2021 RPOD 190 water/electric ? - Event Date: 10 Jun 2020