Unplug your RV before working on the electrical system

Never rely on simply turning off the circuit breakers. That could be a deadly mistake. (Feb 2023)

Dear Readers:

Here is an important reminder from a reader to unplug your RV from the pedestal outlet when working on any internal RV wiring. Never rely on simply turning off the circuit breaker on the pedestal while still having your shore power cord plugged in.

What happened? (from a reader)

Something odd and dangerous happened to me yesterday that I had never considered.  I needed to replace a bad breaker in my trailer, so I turned off all the breakers on the campground pedestal, and also tested the trailer breaker box to double-check that there was no 120v power in the trailer.

I was partially done with the project, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone behind my trailer.  Apparently, one of the breakers on my pedestal controlled an outlet (on a different pedestal) on a tent spot behind me. The person in that spot called the campground because they had lost power, and the maintenance guy came over to fix the problem by turning on the breakers.

Wow, if I hadn’t noticed him, it could have ended badly for me. In the future, I will actually be unplugging my trailer from the pedestal to give one more layer of protection.

Why was this dangerous?

Well, if you’re working on the wiring inside of the RV (like changing a circuit breaker), you’ll typically be handling bare conductors.

Now, I’ve been working in electrical panels for more than 50 years. I mentored under the local VocTech Master Electrician instructor. I was taught to assume that ALL wires were electrified, and never put two hands in a panel. So, learned to keep my unused hand in my back pocket to avoid a hand-to-hand shock.

That’s because a hand-to-hand shock is extremely dangerous. The fault current will go through your chest, and your heart is right in the middle of it.

Always disconnect from power and keep control of the plug

What the reader did was just turn off the circuit breaker in the pedestal and assume that his RV would remain de-energized. What he didn’t count on was someone walking up to the pedestal and flipping the circuit breaker on. That could have been a deadly mistake when he didn’t unplug his RV.

So, the first rule is, ALWAYS unplug your RV from any power source. NEVER rely on just a circuit breaker to keep you safe.

What is a LOTO (LockOut/TagOut)?

At the very least, unplug  the RV from the pedestal and bring the shore power plug up next to your RV. That way nobody accidentally plugs it back in. If you need additional safety from accidentally being plugged in, then there’s LOTO (Lockout / Tagout) devices for RV power cords. See below…

Lockout/Tagout a shore power plug

You can buy one from Amazon HERE.

Industrial Power LOTO

Another thing I learned when doing industrial power back in the ’70s is that you can’t unplug a big packaging machine with a power cord. They are hard-wired into a disconnect switch that allows you to completely remove them from the electrical service.

But what happens if someone else accidentally flips on the power handle while you’re (literally) inside of the machine working on the electrical system? That’s when I learned all about the Lock Out/Tag Out hasp (LOTO).

What about multiple electricians working on a single machine?

All electricians or mechanics who could work on this huge machine had their own safety padlock and key. A LOTO hasp like the one pictured below was put on the master disconnect switch. It could hold up to six of these locks. That meant up to six electricians or mechanics could be working on the machine at the same time

When you went on duty to work on the machine, you added your own lock to the LOTO hasp. And when you left the job site, the last thing you did was use your key to remove your lock. Only when ALL locks were removed was it deemed safe to turn the power back on. It was a fireable offense if a supervisor used his master key to remove a LOTO lock without the electrician who owned it standing beside him to confirm that the key was lost.

Now, I don’t think this sort of LOTO hasp is needed for an RV owner working on their own RV. However, it would be a great idea as a way to lock out a section of the campground power when new pedestals are being installed, for example.

One last thing…

They also make a single breaker lockout that could be handy when you don’t want to shut down the entire breaker panel to work on one branch circuit. For example, I used something like this when I would take an electrician up in a lift to work on the fluorescent lights 40 feet up in the ceiling. These types of LOTO devices are available in all sizes for circuit panel maintenance work.

Or, as a quick fix, you can use a piece of painter’s tape with your name and LEAVE OFF printed with a magic marker. Not as good as a keyed LOTO device, but certainly a lot better than nothing!

Some of the products above have affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. But feel free to find your best deal anywhere you like.

Let’s play safe out there…. Mike