Electrical question, 'suicide cords'
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Junior User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 99
Likes: 4
From: Sacramento
Electrical question, 'suicide cords'
I have a vintage trailer (1962 Aljo) that we recently inherited from my wife's parents. It's our first trailer so my 'old trailer knowledge' is weak. To plug the trailer into 110 power or to run a generator, there is a 3 prong Female plug (just like in a house) on the outside of the trailer. The old male-to-male cord that her dad had made was fraying so i went to the hardware store to buy or make a replacement. There they told me I was making a "suicide cable" and I should never have to buy or make one, that they shouldn't even sell me the parts, etc.
I made one anyway of course and everything works fine, but is there something wrong with that setup? Was the female plug added on at some point, or was that common back then? Or is the whole male-to-male plug No-No just to keep idiots from doing stupid things in their house?
I made one anyway of course and everything works fine, but is there something wrong with that setup? Was the female plug added on at some point, or was that common back then? Or is the whole male-to-male plug No-No just to keep idiots from doing stupid things in their house?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,142
Likes: 25
Are you sure that the outlet on the side of the trailer is in fact the "power in" outlet? I would check to se if there is another connector or outlet that is your power connector and is a male connector on the trailer. I have repaired many, many travel trailers from '65 on and have never seem a female input socket unless some one changed it and couldn't find the correct male outlet. If you can not find another power connector at least replace that connector with a male outlet, they are not hard to find.
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 10,060
Likes: 491
From: Bristol, TN.
Change the setup. Having an exposed hot male is a sure fire way to get a shock sooner or later. 120 volts hurts like a mother if you are well grounded when you "accidentally" touch the male end. Just a bad idea!
Steve
Steve
Laughing Gas
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 793
Likes: 29
Creative solutions were done 'back-in-the-day'. Well, they are still done, but that is a different topic.
My vote is to convert the trailer's plug to a male twist-lock and the cord to a female twist-lock (on the end that connects to the trailer). Reasoning is that the trailer connection will hold the cord and insulate from the weather much better than the common 15 Amp plug.
Consider checking the polarity of each outlet inside the trailer as, given the creativity of the main connection point, it will not surprise me if polarity is not consistent / correct through out the wiring. Not trying to insult, just making an observation from an outsider's perspective.
Also, make sure that each outlet has proper grounding as stray current will do funny things including harm to people in and around the rig. If the rig has proper grounding throughout and stray current occurs, it will most likely travel back through the ground wire and probably not look for an alternative path back to the transformer / generator (wherever that is for a given location).
My vote is to convert the trailer's plug to a male twist-lock and the cord to a female twist-lock (on the end that connects to the trailer). Reasoning is that the trailer connection will hold the cord and insulate from the weather much better than the common 15 Amp plug.
Consider checking the polarity of each outlet inside the trailer as, given the creativity of the main connection point, it will not surprise me if polarity is not consistent / correct through out the wiring. Not trying to insult, just making an observation from an outsider's perspective.
Also, make sure that each outlet has proper grounding as stray current will do funny things including harm to people in and around the rig. If the rig has proper grounding throughout and stray current occurs, it will most likely travel back through the ground wire and probably not look for an alternative path back to the transformer / generator (wherever that is for a given location).
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 10,060
Likes: 491
From: Bristol, TN.
Creative solutions were done 'back-in-the-day'. Well, they are still done, but that is a different topic.
My vote is to convert the trailer's plug to a male twist-lock and the cord to a female twist-lock (on the end that connects to the trailer). Reasoning is that the trailer connection will hold the cord and insulate from the weather much better than the common 15 Amp plug.
Consider checking the polarity of each outlet inside the trailer as, given the creativity of the main connection point, it will not surprise me if polarity is not consistent / correct through out the wiring. Not trying to insult, just making an observation from an outsider's perspective.
Also, make sure that each outlet has proper grounding as stray current will do funny things including harm to people in and around the rig. If the rig has proper grounding throughout and stray current occurs, it will most likely travel back through the ground wire and probably not look for an alternative path back to the transformer / generator (wherever that is for a given location).
My vote is to convert the trailer's plug to a male twist-lock and the cord to a female twist-lock (on the end that connects to the trailer). Reasoning is that the trailer connection will hold the cord and insulate from the weather much better than the common 15 Amp plug.
Consider checking the polarity of each outlet inside the trailer as, given the creativity of the main connection point, it will not surprise me if polarity is not consistent / correct through out the wiring. Not trying to insult, just making an observation from an outsider's perspective.
Also, make sure that each outlet has proper grounding as stray current will do funny things including harm to people in and around the rig. If the rig has proper grounding throughout and stray current occurs, it will most likely travel back through the ground wire and probably not look for an alternative path back to the transformer / generator (wherever that is for a given location).
Steve
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Junior User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 99
Likes: 4
From: Sacramento
Thanks Much! As usual, FTE tells me what I really need to know!
Yes, the trailer has lived an active, much-modified life! And my father in law, who bought this trailer new in '63, had mad Get-R-Done skills, usually thinking way, way outside the box!
To give you an idea, his daughter's car when we first got married was a '79 Trans Am (6.2L engine, T-tops, think Smokey and the Bandit). One day the T-tops got stolen, so during that same rainy weekend on the north coast he built us new T-tops out of wood and plexi-glass! While not quite as aerodynamic as stock, they leaked WAY less than the originals!! We kept them on all winter...
Thanks!
Yes, the trailer has lived an active, much-modified life! And my father in law, who bought this trailer new in '63, had mad Get-R-Done skills, usually thinking way, way outside the box!
To give you an idea, his daughter's car when we first got married was a '79 Trans Am (6.2L engine, T-tops, think Smokey and the Bandit). One day the T-tops got stolen, so during that same rainy weekend on the north coast he built us new T-tops out of wood and plexi-glass! While not quite as aerodynamic as stock, they leaked WAY less than the originals!! We kept them on all winter...
Thanks!
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Laughing Gas
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 793
Likes: 29
Last thought. If there is no GFCI, consider strategically placing protection whether by an upstream outlet or a GFCI breaker. But, do not put two GFCI components in the same circuit. One GFCI element will protect everything downstream of it in that curcuit.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2010
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If you have to use a suicide cord to power the trailer you are likely backfeeding a circuit. It can be done, but it can easily be done wrong and cause lots of bad things to happen. For instance, if you are backfeeding through the main panel and there is a remnant of the original trailer power cord tucked up under a cabinet somewhere, it could very well be hot. I urge caution, and a fire extinguisher.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,441
Likes: 8
Modern trailer use a reverse outlet for shore power. Ace should have them. Otherwise, just be careful with the suicide cord. Plug it into the trailer 1st, then plug it into an outlet. Which is how your supposed to use an ex cord anyways. Get everything plugged in 1st, then make the cord hot last.
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Apr 23, 2003 05:44 PM