30 amp power inlet failure on 26rlss Northtrail

[rayschilke]

Today much to my dismay I found that I had no power to any of our 2016 North Trail 26LRSS outlets ,A/C, or microwave. I trouble shot the electrical supply and all was good going to the RV. I called Jeff Couch's guys and they had me check the bathroom GFI and that was good. Being 1200 miles away I figured I was off to get service here in Florida. The service tech up there in Ohio then told me to pull the power inlet as a wire probably fell off. I did it while he stayed on the phone and sure enough not only was 1 wire off (black wire) but the white wire was very loose.I noted that the plastic was melted where the wires entered the receptacle and the wire appeared to have charring on it. I rigged the wires to see if the inverter and alternating current worked when hooked up and the A/C kicked on and all was perfect.

Now my question....
Is there a better 30 AMP power inlet that will fit my electric cords that is better than this OEM part. This part is very possible the cheapest made electric Item I have ever seen. I am still under Warranty as I got the RV in April but I don't care to deal with the hassle of contacting Heartland for a part that looks like this. If anyone can steer me to a better product I would appreciate it greatly. I am finding it is good to be handy when owning an RV.

Thanks

 

[danemayer]

Maybe someone else has ideas on a better receptacle. But I'm not sure the receptacle is to blame for the wires being loose.

I'm wondering how you had power in the bathroom when the black wire at the inlet was disconnected - or maybe you meant something else when you said the GFI was ok.

 

[Bones]

I saw these online and thought they were pretty cool. here is camping world link and the link to the web site Smart Plug I would like to make this modification to my RV.

 

[rayschilke]

The gfi had no power but was not tripped. The receptacle is garbage not the gfi. When I attempted to re attach the wires the set screws came out of 2 of the wire retainers.really don't want to put something like that back into the rv.

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Bones that a good looking item. I may have to go to a local marine supply store and check them out

 

[Bones]

The gfi had no power but was not tripped. The receptacle is garbage not the gfi. When I attempted to re attach the wires the set screws came out of 2 of the wire retainers.really don't want to put something like that back into the rv.

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Bones that a good looking item. I may have to go to a local marine supply store and check them out

If you get the plug let us know how it works.

 

[rayschilke]

Well folks I ended up getting a new outlet from Amazon. I bought the inlet for $53.00 with free shipping and it was the ParkPower 301ELRV 30A Power Inlet, White with Stainless Steel Trim.
The inlet was slightly larger in diameter than the OEM part but I just had to reem out the hole for it with my dremel tool to slide it right in nice and tight. The new inlet is very sturdy as far as wire connectors and feel of the material used. It was well marked and color coded for proper wire connection. The original part was about half the weight of the new one and the set screws for wire attachment were very weak and "cheesy" (for lack of a better word) and 2 actually fell off. The new inlet also snaps closed very securely and looks nice as well. An added bonus is that the new outlet has a thread pattern that makes it much easier to attach the securing screw on ring when hooking up the electric. It lines up the threads every time without any cross threading.

I feel much safer and confident with this install. I guess this would be a good upgrade for North Trail owners. Seeing the charred wire really concerned me as I think that a fire in an RV would spread fast.

As a side note I went with this outlet as I didn't want to have to take a chance that I would have to change my electric hook up cords. Those are pretty expensive.

Safe Travels to all

 

[TravelTiger]

Post a pic when you get the chance!


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[wdk450]

Post a pic when you get the chance!


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Traveltiger:
I looked it up on Amazon and copied this picture.

It looks a lot like the 50 amp connector most of us have.

 

[rayschilke]

Wdk450 that is the one. It is in appearance similar to the original part but the material it is made with is thicker, the set screws that hold the electric wires are actually set up as a clapping mechanism as opposed to a small screw to hold the wires in place. The OEM part was inferior in every way. It literally was falling apart. I am sure the 50 amp inlet is much sturdier than the 30 amp they used on my RV.

Don't get me wrong we love our rv and are glad that we bought heart land. But they really need to take better care and ensure that if you are going to use a cheap plug that at least make sure the wires are secure at the initial build. The customer has no way of knowing that a potential danger is lurking behind the wall of their bedroom.
My original post advised that the tech told me on the phone"check the power inlet as a wire probably fell off". Now that I have had time to think on it the tech saying that to me was not really the sign of a smart technician but a statement made by a man that saw this in another rig in the past. Just a heads up to those with 30 amp inlets.

Happy travels

 

[JohnD]

Have you got any photos of the bad part that you replaced?

 

[avvidclif]

Wdk450 that is the one. It is in appearance similar to the original part but the material it is made with is thicker, the set screws that hold the electric wires are actually set up as a clapping mechanism as opposed to a small screw to hold the wires in place. The OEM part was inferior in every way. It literally was falling apart. I am sure the 50 amp inlet is much sturdier than the 30 amp they used on my RV.

Don't get me wrong we love our rv and are glad that we bought heart land. But they really need to take better care and ensure that if you are going to use a cheap plug that at least make sure the wires are secure at the initial build. The customer has no way of knowing that a potential danger is lurking behind the wall of their bedroom.
My original post advised that the tech told me on the phone"check the power inlet as a wire probably fell off". Now that I have had time to think on it the tech saying that to me was not really the sign of a smart technician but a statement made by a man that saw this in another rig in the past. Just a heads up to those with 30 amp inlets.

Happy travels

Sounds like a smart tech to me, he directed you straight to the problem. How he acquired that info doesn't matter.

 

[rayschilke]

I will check the trash and see if I can find the old inlet and get pics on here. I agree that the tech was wise for using knowledge he had to guide me to the problem. What I don't like is if he learned this through other RVs having improperly secured wires it show a quality control problem with the manufacturer. I suspect he has seen this before and that is how he had the experience to guide me there. The way he directed me there was spoken in a way that sounded as if he suspected in a strong way that a wire "fell off". I have never liked to learn things by mistakes or mishaps. I am very pleased with his help and guidance but think that where the problem was born was with the manufacturer. If he gained his knowledge by prior bad QC then it does matter. I certainly could have just fixed it and NOT posted the issue on this site but felt that the danger of fire or failure might be something that members of this group may use to trouble shoot their own problem or prevent this from happening to them. I know that little issues like loose trim screws or misaligned cabinet drawers will happen but the electric thing really bothered me.

Safe Travels