Having just bought our first RV and undertaking its outfitting, I am wondering what proportion of RV parks and campgrounds with 30 amp service have receptacles that take a male plug having two angled and one round prong versus the male locking plug. Is one type of receptacle more prevalent than the other?
Welcome to the forum. All I can say to your question is that in all the years we've been RVing and staying at many different RV parks and campgrounds the only 30 amp we've seen and used is a three prong receptacle as you mentioned. Two angled flat prongs and one round. I have personally never seen the "male locking" type plug you mentioned. Perhaps a few others will respond and let you know what they've experienced............... Travel safe, BankShot............(aka Terry)
Been camping >50 years, never seen one that didn't provide this outlet for 30 amp service. And I've never seen a socket in a campground that would take a locking plug. One thing you might want to pick up though, is a female 30 to a male 50 amp adapter. That will let you plug your 30 amp power cord into a 50 amp outlet. Campgrounds that provide a 50 amp outlet usually also provide a 30 amp receptacle, however, fairly often the 30 is old and worn out.
Welcome to Campground Reviews. You are finding that there is a wealth of information stored in the noggins of your co-users and they are happy to share. I will add my two cents to the discussion as well. I have never encountered a Twist Lock 30 amp service in a Canadian, American or Mexican RV Park. This type of plug is used for mostly commercial applications. I doubt if it will ever be common in RV Park for shore service. As Bama Camper suggested, you should carry a 50 to 30 adapter and as well, a 15 to 30 amp adapter. Another very worthwhile accessory is a Surge Guard / Voltage Protector. Most inexpensive ones are single use only. I recommend a little more expensive one that will also let you know if the service has been wired correctly as well as protect you from a surge. https://www.amazon.ca/Portable-RV-S...otector&qid=1607093327&sr=8-7&tag=googcana-20 Enjoy you RV! Stay warm, Stay safe. Darrell
The locking plugs you referenced are used in marine applications. The idea behind them is that the constant motion of boats and floating docks will eventually cause non locking plugs to loosen and fall out of the receptacles. Continuous movement is really not an issue in a parked RV.
To answer your question, I've never seen twist locks in RV applications. I have used them in construction to connect spider boxes, units that split the 30-amp service down to several 20-amp outlets.
Marine style twist-locks (Marinco, etc) are common on the RV end for towables and some motorized RV's, but not on the park end. The only twist-locks I've seen on the far end of an RV cord were for generator hookups and were usually custom made or adapters.
Thanks to al of you for your replies. I asked the question because I have a very long marine cable with male and female locking ends, and I wanted to know whether some park pedestals might accommodate the male end. I've ordered an adpter that has the standard male end with a female locking end, so I will be able to use my marine cable if I need the extra length.
