I went back and added the 2 strain relief screws and thickened the 30amp cable with black electrical tape to better fit the sleeve after watching my edited video... Sorry about the miss. Also, if you wondering "why", watch this video I posted a few months ago. ua-cam.com/video/b-cUMNTFu18/v-deo.htmlsi=G9MZEJ0pg-Slt7dE
haha yes, I was Exactly wondering "Why?". I had forgotten that video, thanks for the link back to it. I re-watched the video and have the same thought, I understand their design has no stress on the pins, but what about the cable? Wouldn't it be better with a right angle down so the cable drops straight vs 'leaning' out of the plug? Or is that one of those technically correct however irrelevant in practical use things?
Too bad theres not a 90 degree cable to drop down relieving stress from the connection point. Looks like it's a more durable connection though i wonder about the availability of replacement in emergency situations as none of the campgrounds I've been to so far carry these. Thanks for the how-to seems to be a pretty straightforward swap out.
I have the 30 amp version that I installed on my 2014 Keystone Energy Toy Hauler. Only gripe is my trailer originally had the h hard wired cable. So the hole is much bigger than the Smart Plug plug. Had to relocate my shore power inlet.
I’ve replaced my 50A twist connector with the 50A Smart Plug after seeing a video where an infrared thermometer was used to show the difference in heat at the connector when running the AC and microwave. The SmartPlug connectors have a bigger contact area and as a result are much cooler under heavy loads, so less chance of a fire. That’s in addition to the ease of connection vs getting the twist lock connector on straight.
Looks like you didn’t attach the cable stress clamp, black pieces you slide into the orange cover but didn’t screw together to take the pulling stress off the screws in the plug. 😮
I did this to my Brookstone 398MBL after I saw how cheaply made the factory twist lock was also it had stripped screws holding the wires in. So glad it did. Very solid and excellent quality. I moved my power connection to the side as well. I ran into issues at a couple parks with my power cord not being long enough. Only downside is having to drag out the big cable when its stored at home. I normally use the 50a twist to 20 adapter.
Good video! I could personally see a use for this as my wife has a hard time correctly connecting our 50 amp plug. She has difficulty keeping the threads from being crossed and or the plug is not swiveled the few degrees needed to complete the connection properly. As for your Brookstone, I think the Smart Plug could fit on it if you installed it at a 90 degree angle. The cover lid would not be a rain guard but it probably wouldn’t be needed.
you forgot to put in your Stress relief screws to hold your cable into your plug! now the connections at the plug can move around and come loose, cause hot spots or even Burn.
Other than the twist vs clip style of connection. Is there an actual "Smart" feature to this plug? Does it integrate with an app or anything? Thanks for these videos.
I just added it after seeing your video the same one in your video.. there was no strain relief in mine and one of the lugs to tighten down the power connectors stripped… safe to say I wasn’t very happy with it after the install…
JD Where did you get your 30A to 50 a cable? I been looking for a short version for the generator to RV about 15 foot long but had to give up looking and in the process of creating one. From another JD in CC ;-)
Hi JD , Good videos! I have a question hope you or someone else can help me, heading to SPI soon, thinking about switching house battery to lithium,22 truck and tt, will it harm my truck alternator?
If I understand what you're asking, switching the house battery in the RV to a lithium iron phosphate battery must also be done in conjunction with a charge controller that supports lithium chemistry. If doing this, you might as well get a solar charge controller to support future solar editions. A good quality MPPT controller would be my suggestion.
It always worries me when I do electrical on my channel. That's definitely not my area of expertise and I open myself up to a lot of criticism. Well deserved criticism
That rubber band is so the screws don't get lost in shipping id screws come loose in shipping. you'd be better covering the back with a few layers of +33 tape. or another insulating boot like the original was but bigger.
Because I already have a 50 amp cable with the smart plug attachment on it. This is only to keep the batteries maintained and to possibly run one AC unit.
This is an ongoing issue that is not new and the Smart Plug isn't the only solution. 8-10 years ago a member of our Open Range forum posted about the dangers of the Furrion twist lock power cable being supplied with our Campers. He personally experienced a near fire and knew of several more near misses. His solution was to use a Camco style push in 50amp plug. He was a retired Ford engineer and had a well thought out explanation about how to avoid the issues with the twist lock power plug. I used a 14-50p 45 degree plug manufactured by ConnTek and the corresponding female receptacle on my camper to fix the problem on our 5th wheel. Just wanted to throw out a more cost effective solution.
I didn't read all the comments, so this might be a repeat: Do NOT use a broccoli ruberband to "protect" against contact the screws. Use electrical tape. That's what its designed for.
What is the purpose of the jumper wire ? It should have 2 50A 120 V legs from the outlet. Red / black / white / green. Theoretically it is only 15-20A per leg with the jumper. Essentially what you have is a 30A cable not a true 50A service cable.
Correct this is a 30 amp cable. It's just used to maintain the batteries and to allow me to use some appliances independently. I have a 50 amp cable already.
The way I see it is that putting a 50 amp connector on your 30 amp rv the way you wired it (jumpering both hots) could be a big problem under one scenario. That is that you can take a true 50amp smart plug cable and plug it into a 50 amp pedistle and the other end will plug into your RV. Then both 50 amp legs that have 240 volts between them will be shorted together. As long as you use your own cable it will work but not the way the manufacturer intended. You should have used the 30amp smart plug on your RV and cable. Then no problem.
I take back what I said. What confused me is your RV is normally 30amp. You must have the optional 50 amp service. Also you are using an unusual cable that is 30 amp at the pedestal and 50amp at the RV. In that case yes it needs a jumper across both hot legs at the RV end of the cable. Essentially it is a long 30 to 50 amp dog bone. Again I apologize for my previous comment.
My concern with this is, is that not a cable meant to only have 30amps going through it because the load end was a 30amp connector. But now you will have 50amps. I hope the wire gauge is big enough. That one hot is doing the work of 2 basically.
First question is why use a 30 amp cord instead of a 50 amp? Second question is wouldn’t adding the jumper potentially overload the circuit if you don’t have it set up right from your shore power? I don’t believe the adapters you buy to go from 30 to 50 have the jumper. I’m not claiming to be an expert but from what I understand about electrical you just made it where the camper can try to pull 240 when it’s only wired to 120. I mean I understand what you did and why you did it I’m just a little confused about whether most should do it or not. And if it will work without overloading anything.
The dog bone adapters do indeed bridge the legs. Otherwise, many components on the RV wouldn't function. You simply have to watch your current and not overload the cable.
@@BTBRVReviews ok gotchya. I understood that you would have to watch what you use by doing so I guess I just didn’t realize that they bridged from factory as well. I’m still kinda curious though why not just use a 50 am cord. I understand that the test probably won’t be until next summer but won’t you run into issues doing the test with both acs running?
@@JustinG9698I have a 50 amp cord for it. I use this 30 amp cord just to keep the batteries maintained, and able to function the refrigerator microwave or air conditioning independently if I need to.
Say hello to burning you trailer down! It is 50 amps with two hot leads ( red and black ) wire in the cable. You are now pulling 50amps through 1 wire in the cable that is only rated for 30 amps.
What's so "smart" about this plug, looks just like another 50 amp RV plug to me?? If you are out camping and something goes wrong with it, I'm sure you can't easily find another one nearby like you could for the standard plug. I guess if they sent it to me for free, I would make a video on how to install it too.
You obviously don't watch my channel enough if you think I'm fixated on Goodyear tires. It's a quality tire compared to many of the tires that come on RVs. But yes there are absolutely a ton of other reputable brands.
@@jamesmatthews4840this is why I switched mine out, I couldn’t get it to twist on that much, it just allowed the outside part to spin and it didn’t feel like the actual connector was twisting on.
I went back and added the 2 strain relief screws and thickened the 30amp cable with black electrical tape to better fit the sleeve after watching my edited video... Sorry about the miss.
Also, if you wondering "why", watch this video I posted a few months ago.
ua-cam.com/video/b-cUMNTFu18/v-deo.htmlsi=G9MZEJ0pg-Slt7dE
haha yes, I was Exactly wondering "Why?". I had forgotten that video, thanks for the link back to it.
I re-watched the video and have the same thought, I understand their design has no stress on the pins, but what about the cable? Wouldn't it be better with a right angle down so the cable drops straight vs 'leaning' out of the plug? Or is that one of those technically correct however irrelevant in practical use things?
Hey JD. This is on our list of upgrades for the Access 30BH. Thanks again for another grear video.
Too bad theres not a 90 degree cable to drop down relieving stress from the connection point. Looks like it's a more durable connection though i wonder about the availability of replacement in emergency situations as none of the campgrounds I've been to so far carry these. Thanks for the how-to seems to be a pretty straightforward swap out.
I have the 30 amp version that I installed on my 2014 Keystone Energy Toy Hauler. Only gripe is my trailer originally had the h hard wired cable. So the hole is much bigger than the Smart Plug plug. Had to relocate my shore power inlet.
I’ve replaced my 50A twist connector with the 50A Smart Plug after seeing a video where an infrared thermometer was used to show the difference in heat at the connector when running the AC and microwave. The SmartPlug connectors have a bigger contact area and as a result are much cooler under heavy loads, so less chance of a fire. That’s in addition to the ease of connection vs getting the twist lock connector on straight.
Great comment! You just sold me one!
Just ordered a white version. Keep showin me stuff i need.
Looks like you didn’t attach the cable stress clamp, black pieces you slide into the orange cover but didn’t screw together to take the pulling stress off the screws in the plug. 😮
Came here to say this.
Me too.😂
Correct, I missed that, and only noticed it when I was editing the video. It has been added since. Thank you for the great observation!
If you don't end up with extra pieces, did you even do it right. 😂
I did this to my Brookstone 398MBL after I saw how cheaply made the factory twist lock was also it had stripped screws holding the wires in. So glad it did. Very solid and excellent quality. I moved my power connection to the side as well. I ran into issues at a couple parks with my power cord not being long enough. Only downside is having to drag out the big cable when its stored at home. I normally use the 50a twist to 20 adapter.
The 2 leftover screws were supposed to hold strain relief on the wire inside the plug.
I totally miss that during the install. But added them after reviewing the video. Thank you
Good video! I could personally see a use for this as my wife has a hard time correctly connecting our 50 amp plug. She has difficulty keeping the threads from being crossed and or the plug is not swiveled the few degrees needed to complete the connection properly. As for your Brookstone, I think the Smart Plug could fit on it if you installed it at a 90 degree angle. The cover lid would not be a rain guard but it probably wouldn’t be needed.
I’ve seen other content providers do this. Great upgrade!
It would be nice if the plug was 90° so the cord could drop straight down
you forgot to put in your Stress relief screws to hold your cable into your plug! now the connections at the plug can move around and come loose, cause hot spots or even Burn.
Fixed. Thanks
Other than the twist vs clip style of connection. Is there an actual "Smart" feature to this plug? Does it integrate with an app or anything? Thanks for these videos.
Smart Idea maybe?
No it does not but you can get a smart Bluetooth capable surge protector
I just added it after seeing your video the same one in your video.. there was no strain relief in mine and one of the lugs to tighten down the power connectors stripped… safe to say I wasn’t very happy with it after the install…
How do you power both air conditioners with only 30 amps?
JD Where did you get your 30A to 50 a cable? I been looking for a short version for the generator to RV about 15 foot long but had to give up looking and in the process of creating one.
From another JD in CC ;-)
I originally purchased it off Amazon about 6 years ago. I have yet to find the same product listed anywhere.
I really like this product. Isn't it similar to the plugs in the electric vehicles?
Proper wiring order!!! I love it!!!!
Is your strain relief weather tight? It seemed loose, perhaps because it's designed for a 50 amp wire the 30 amp gauge is thinner than expected?
Fixed
The kit comes with two sizes of the sleeve too, they have the bigger one for 50 amp and the smaller for 30
@@bounderchrisI used the smaller one
It’s pretty cool but gets expensive if you have more than 1 cord
I like this plug a lot.
Our 2023 Airstream came with a 50 amp smart plug. It is so much better than the old twist on type.
Hi JD , Good videos! I have a question hope you or someone else can help me, heading to SPI soon, thinking about switching house battery to lithium,22 truck and tt, will it harm my truck alternator?
If I understand what you're asking, switching the house battery in the RV to a lithium iron phosphate battery must also be done in conjunction with a charge controller that supports lithium chemistry. If doing this, you might as well get a solar charge controller to support future solar editions. A good quality MPPT controller would be my suggestion.
You also didn't install the strain relief screws to hold the power cable to the plug.
Wow you got guts doing electrical on UA-cam. Makes the towing weight police look tame. 👮
It always worries me when I do electrical on my channel. That's definitely not my area of expertise and I open myself up to a lot of criticism. Well deserved criticism
a electrian told me to never twist wires that u can break stands off when crimping them or screwing them in a socket
You forgot the two screws that hold the cord from being pulled out of the plug
Won't this prevent you from using that inline soft start product you showed recently?
No, because the other end of the cable is your standard 30 amp connection or 50 amp connection.
For that much money, I'm surprised you don't get a proper cover for the back of the receptacle.
I love it, but it’s a little expensive. I’m not sure if the value is there I’ll probably give it a shot.
That rubber band is so the screws don't get lost in shipping id screws come loose in shipping.
you'd be better covering the back with a few layers of +33 tape. or another insulating boot like the original was but bigger.
This video wasn't very clear. What's the "advantage" to doing this? Thanks for showing us this new "upgrade"!
Please look at the pinned comment and the video link
@@BTBRVReviews that explained it, thanks again!
Why did you use 30 amp cord?
Because I already have a 50 amp cable with the smart plug attachment on it. This is only to keep the batteries maintained and to possibly run one AC unit.
If this new smart plug is such a wonderful improvement, why are RV makers currently not putting it on their newly made rv's???
This is an ongoing issue that is not new and the Smart Plug isn't the only solution. 8-10 years ago a member of our Open Range forum posted about the dangers of the Furrion twist lock power cable being supplied with our Campers. He personally experienced a near fire and knew of several more near misses. His solution was to use a Camco style push in 50amp plug. He was a retired Ford engineer and had a well thought out explanation about how to avoid the issues with the twist lock power plug. I used a 14-50p 45 degree plug manufactured by ConnTek and the corresponding female receptacle on my camper to fix the problem on our 5th wheel. Just wanted to throw out a more cost effective solution.
What the rubber band for?
Cover up contact points.
UL rated 220v rubber band.
Now $249 plus tax and shipping. Well into the $350 Range with really no change. Still have to connect.
Cool upgrade, but for $200 I think i'll just keep screwing my cable in.
ua-cam.com/video/b-cUMNTFu18/v-deo.htmlsi=G9MZEJ0pg-Slt7dE
There’s a $500+ version.
I didn't read all the comments, so this might be a repeat: Do NOT use a broccoli ruberband to "protect" against contact the screws. Use electrical tape. That's what its designed for.
What is the purpose of the jumper wire ? It should have 2 50A 120 V legs from the outlet. Red / black / white / green. Theoretically it is only 15-20A per leg with the jumper. Essentially what you have is a 30A cable not a true 50A service cable.
Correct this is a 30 amp cable. It's just used to maintain the batteries and to allow me to use some appliances independently. I have a 50 amp cable already.
The way I see it is that putting a 50 amp connector on your 30 amp rv the way you wired it (jumpering both hots) could be a big problem under one scenario. That is that you can take a true 50amp smart plug cable and plug it into a 50 amp pedistle and the other end will plug into your RV. Then both 50 amp legs that have 240 volts between them will be shorted together.
As long as you use your own cable it will work but not the way the manufacturer intended.
You should have used the 30amp smart plug on your RV and cable. Then no problem.
I take back what I said. What confused me is your RV is normally 30amp. You must have the optional 50 amp service. Also you are using an unusual cable that is 30 amp at the pedestal and 50amp at the RV. In that case yes it needs a jumper across both hot legs at the RV end of the cable. Essentially it is a long 30 to 50 amp dog bone.
Again I apologize for my previous comment.
My concern with this is, is that not a cable meant to only have 30amps going through it because the load end was a 30amp connector. But now you will have 50amps. I hope the wire gauge is big enough. That one hot is doing the work of 2 basically.
I’ll save my $250.00 for something i need. Nothing smart about this plug that my current generation plug already does for me.
First question is why use a 30 amp cord instead of a 50 amp? Second question is wouldn’t adding the jumper potentially overload the circuit if you don’t have it set up right from your shore power? I don’t believe the adapters you buy to go from 30 to 50 have the jumper.
I’m not claiming to be an expert but from what I understand about electrical you just made it where the camper can try to pull 240 when it’s only wired to 120.
I mean I understand what you did and why you did it I’m just a little confused about whether most should do it or not. And if it will work without overloading anything.
The dog bone adapters do indeed bridge the legs. Otherwise, many components on the RV wouldn't function. You simply have to watch your current and not overload the cable.
@@BTBRVReviews ok gotchya. I understood that you would have to watch what you use by doing so I guess I just didn’t realize that they bridged from factory as well.
I’m still kinda curious though why not just use a 50 am cord. I understand that the test probably won’t be until next summer but won’t you run into issues doing the test with both acs running?
@@JustinG9698I have a 50 amp cord for it. I use this 30 amp cord just to keep the batteries maintained, and able to function the refrigerator microwave or air conditioning independently if I need to.
@@BTBRVReviews ohh ok. I understand. I guess I just assumed that you only had a 30 amp with the smart plug on it. My apologies
@@BTBRVReviewsmake life simple and use a 15 amp standard drop cord and you can plug it in about anywhere verses looking for a 30 amp outlet.
Say hello to burning you trailer down! It is 50 amps with two hot leads ( red and black ) wire in the cable. You are now pulling 50amps through 1 wire in the cable that is only rated for 30 amps.
Only pulling 50amps if I'm pulling 50amps. RVing is all about understanding what you can and can't run.
Isn't each leg 50amp, so could potentially be pulling 100amps through the one wire that was originally meant for 30amps?
Does that jumper have wire exposed?
Not sure why all manufacturers aren't switching these easier smart plugs.
What's so "smart" about this plug, looks just like another 50 amp RV plug to me?? If you are out camping and something goes wrong with it, I'm sure you can't easily find another one nearby like you could for the standard plug. I guess if they sent it to me for free, I would make a video on how to install it too.
This would be a totally legitimate comment if I hadn't already produced a video on specifically why the smart plug so desired on RVs.
What’s the purpose of a Smart Plug? Is it Bluetooth enabled? 🤔
I’m confused. Why did you do this? What did it accomplish?
ua-cam.com/video/b-cUMNTFu18/v-deo.htmlsi=G9MZEJ0pg-Slt7dE
What's so smart about it?
Cool idea, but I'll just have the camper made without the twist-lock.
ua-cam.com/video/b-cUMNTFu18/v-deo.htmlsi=G9MZEJ0pg-Slt7dE
Why is it smart?
Why are you so fixated about Goodyear tires? Many other options that are equal or better
You obviously don't watch my channel enough if you think I'm fixated on Goodyear tires. It's a quality tire compared to many of the tires that come on RVs. But yes there are absolutely a ton of other reputable brands.
$218.83 on E-trailer. Everyone wants to know the price.
All that money and time so you don’t have to screw the ring connector?
Over time, the twist lock connectors wears out, causing the connector to melt. Lots of videos on this. The Smart Lock is a more durable design.
ua-cam.com/video/b-cUMNTFu18/v-deo.htmlsi=G9MZEJ0pg-Slt7dE
@@jamesmatthews4840this is why I switched mine out, I couldn’t get it to twist on that much, it just allowed the outside part to spin and it didn’t feel like the actual connector was twisting on.
Why replace it? What are you gaining? Understand that you are dealing with inexperianced electricians.
Link in the top comment to an entire video talking about it.