How To Plug in an RV (Dog Bones 101)

A new RVer recently asked us how to plug their RV into a regular household electric outlet, so we thought we'd cover the basics of connecting different types of RVs into 20-, 30- and 50-amp electric service.

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A standard 3-prong household electric outlet provides 20-amp service (sometimes also referred to as 15-amp service). Most medium-sized RVs (usually with only one air-conditioning unit) have 30-amp service, which uses a larger three-prong plug with two of the prongs at an angle. Larger RVs (usually with two or three air conditioners) utilize higher-power 50-amp service, with larger, 4-prong plugs.

Most RV parks offer both 20- and 30-amp service, with many parks also offering 50-amp service as well. But what do you do if you're staying at a park that doesn't offer an outlet to match your plug? The answer: Dogbones.

A "dogbone" adapter (named for it's resemblance to the canine treat) attaches to the end of your RV's electric cord, and steps it up or down to match an available outlet. Since 50-amp service is often unavailable at smaller or more rustic RV parks, just about everyone driving a big motorhome (like us) carries at least one dogbone -- to convert their big 50-amp plug into the smaller 30-amp size. We also carry a second dogbone to further step down to 20-amp service.

It may not sound possible to power a large motorhome on less than 50-amp service, but it's really not a problem. It's all about power management. We know that we can't run both of our air conditioners and our electric water heater element and our microwave all at the same time unless we're on 50-amp service. But 30 amps is plenty to run 2 or 3 items at once. As a matter of fact, we just spent the entire winter in British Columbia in a 30-amp site without a problem!

Even a 20-amp connection is enough for us in certain cases. It will keep the batteries charged, allow us to watch TV, run the fridge, or power our big computer, or even microwave dinner... just as long as we stick pretty much to one of those things at a time. It's all about learning how much power each appliance in your RV uses, and living within the limits of the available electric service.

We would certainly never expect to park in a friend's driveway on a hot summer day and power our air conditioners by running an extension cord to a household outlet in their garage. Larger power requirements demand at least 30-amp or even 50-amp service... or firing up the generator.

It's a real luxury on a brutally hot August day to pull into a 50-amp RV park, crank up both air conditioners, heat water for showers, and microwaving dinner... all at the same time. Just don't expect to do that without that 50-amp connection!

Here's a great article that goes into a lot more detail about this whole topic:

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Full-Time RVers since April, 2003, we share DIY (do it yourself) RV maintenance, repair, travel, upgrade and operational tips & tricks.

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[RVgeeks]

Thanks so much for the great comment and your kind words. We love RVing, and love sharing everything about it with other RVers (and RV wannabes too)!

[traderparkboy]

thank you so much, this was a perfect example of a good youtube video. no yaking for 10 minutes at the start, just solid information and great video to back it up. What a good start to a friday .

[mindonaging]

Right to the point, loved it. Finding power is one of the greatest challenges when living in an RV. Such a simple hack to save so much stress, thank you.

[sssaksena]

This helped me get a table saw (that my father in-law had gifted me last year) working. The Home depot guy didnt know what I was talking about when I said I have a three prong plug with two bottom prongs at a 45degree angle. Thanks RVGeeks.

[RVgeeks]

Sharon DeFrancesco It's kind of like connecting your fresh water hose to a fire hydrant won't allow you to take on water faster because your water hose is still smaller. No matter what you do, you cannot exceed 30 amps in your RV, because that's the most it's designed to handle. If you try to pull more than 30 amps, and the breaker in the park doesn't trip, the breaker in your RV probably will.

That said, 50-amp outlets sometimes provide higher quality power (as in more solid voltage without dropping under load). So dog boning up to 50-amps might give you a higher reading on your voltmeter, especially under load (but it might not.... give it a try). One thing is for certain... you cannot pull more than 30 amps at a time in an RV with only 30-amp service. Sorry... but no running the microwave, A/C and electric water heater all at the same time!

[RVgeeks]

Thanks for the comment. I sure would love to demonstrate how to do things on lots of different types of RVs, including older, classic and smaller models (which I love), but unfortunately, I only have one RV to work on! lol We have managed to get friends to "loan" us their rigs a couple of times (flushing water heater vid and battery maintenance vid), but theirs are pretty new too. I promise to take every chance I get to help friends with older RVs and video the results! :)

[johnwood]

Just got a new RV with 50 and found out right away 30 amp is most common. Heard of dog bones but needed this info. Thanks

[RVersity]

Always learning something. I get nervous dealing with the power and propane. I have used a few different power adapters to connect and still trying to find the best ones. Always seeing something new I want to get. Nice to know what others are using and what works (or not). Rvs are an everyday learning experience.

[staceyjohnson]

Thxs, this is exactly what I needed to know. I like the way you explained it and showed the outlets. easy to understand stand and right to the point.

[RobMilnes]

I added some steel wool around the cord...It seems to work so far. I also found a really big hole where the propane tubing comes into the water heater. It's now plugged with steel wool. Thanks for the tip!

[RVgeeks]

One air conditioner should be able to run on regular household current, but first make sure you're on a 20-amp breaker vs a 15-amp breaker for the most available amperage. Also, check the specs on your a/c unit to be sure it doesn't exceed 20 amps (it shouldn't). Plug the dogbone directly into the outlet (no extension cord). Lastly, make sure everything else in the rv is turned off, since the a/c unit will likely use most of the available power. We've done this many times. Should work fine.

[GatorPitofTexas]

Great vid. Certainly, helped me on going from my 50AMP Fifth Wheel to a 30AMP generator and even down to a 20AMP outlet. I am ordering those adapters today to keep in my Fifth Wheel RV. Thanks, Ritch

[RVgeeks]

That's the nicest comment I've ever gotten! Thank you. Just a regular full-timer here, with a pretty new, pretty big RV (with an even bigger mortgage). lol The trick to owning a bigger and newer motorhome is... debt. I will be underneath our friend's 2005 35' Winnie within the next few weeks to replace a leaking o-ring on their hydraulic jack solenoid. Maybe we should video that. Does a '94 have hydraulic jacks? ;-)

[lynn-mariehatcherpeashka]

Thankful for this simple explanation! My first RV arrives this week, and will be plugged into my house while I downsize into it. I HAD ordered the right stuff already, but I WASN'T sure that I had planned it out right! It's a relief to see that I did :-)

[janecsmith]

Great video. I found the information very useful and easy to understand. Thanks!
Peter and Jane Smith

[markwells]

Thank you for Correctly explaining the 20, 30, and 50 amp service! I recently saw 2 each You Tube Videos that were very misleading. These videos INCORRECTLY noted that 50 amps were available on each of the 2 hot wires, and when added together provides 100 amps, which is NOT the case! Thank You!

[patandersen]

God Bless you!!. Very useful and I have never seen a video other than your discuss this, and at length and detail appreciate you.

[SaraMichaels]

this was incredibly helpful after much searching on the correct plugs for our RV! total RV newbie here!

[MRpadify]

Thang you sooo much this video has been very enlightening. You guys are the best RV advice people on YouTube. Not just because you make good videos, but because you connect with your commenters.

[RVgeeks]

Those are commonly known as "cheater boxes" and although we've had no personal experience with them, there is a lot of discussion about them on the RV forums. Although they can certainly help increase available power, they do not create true 50-amp service. Might be worth reading the comments on iRV2.com if you're thinking about buying one, to see what other users have to say.