Category: Mike Sokol

DIY: Safe way to test the ground wire “bond” to the RV frame

RV Staff
  Dear Mike, You talk a lot about RV grounding and bonding, and I understand that the frame of the RV is supposed to be connected to the green ground wire. But exactly how is the ground wire connected to the RV frame and is there a definitive test for this? —Eddie Dear Eddie, Yes, you are correct that the... Read More

Can RV parking under power lines cause a dangerous ‘hot skin’ condition?

RV Staff
  Dear Mike, I’ve been reading about hot-skin voltages on your No-Shock-Zone site for a while and have come up with a really strange one. We unplugged from a campground and drove several hundred miles before pulling into a storage facility. But when I got out and knelt on the wet ground to check my tire pressure and touched the... Read More

Child dies from touching the family RV

Chuck Woodbury
  By Chuck Woodbury Chuck (at) RVtravel.com Please answer our poll below: Have you ever been shocked by touching an RV (UPDATE, MAY 12, 2017) — I wrote this article three years ago in response to the death of a 3-year-old boy, who was electrocuted by simply touching his family’s Airstream trailer. The trailer was experiencing what is known as a “hot skin” condition.... Read More

Hooking up 50-amp trailer to 30-amp service at campground

RV Staff
  Hello Mike, If you have a 50-amp trailer and 30-amp service is the only service available at the campground post, can you show me a wiring schematic of the adapter pigtail I would use to adapt from 30-amp service to a 50-amp trailer. When we run across this situation I am always curious how this adapter can supply power... Read More

How generator neutral-ground bonding for an RV works

RV Staff
  Hi Mike, First off, let me thank you for all the hard work you’ve put into No~Shock~Zone. It has been so educational as a new trailer owner and a new father who will soon be taking my son camping for the first time. Thank you! I am an electrical utility worker in a power plant and have a decent... Read More

Proper RV chassis grounding to prevent “hot skin” condition

RV Staff
  Dear Mike, I stumbled on noshockzone.org and it has been very informative. Thanks for the time you have put into it. I am in the process of wiring a subpanel inside an enclosed trailer and have been reading that the ground should be attached to the trailer frame. Is that the best place to attach the ground? By doing... Read More

Beware of dangerous “Reflected Hot-Skin Condition”!

RV Staff
  Hello, Mike, I just happened across your YouTube video on camper hot-skin conditions and I had to relate my first experience with it. We were at a campground that had at least 8 campers plugged into a particular 30-amp electrical leg (if that is what it would be called). We had arrived earlier in the day and had no... Read More

How often does RV hot-skin wiring occur?

RV Staff
  Dear Mike, Regarding the three essential testers (Digital Multi-Meter, Non-Contact Voltage Tester, and Circuit Analyzer) mentioned in the video from Gary Bunzer in the RV Travel newsletter recently (Three electrical testing devices all RV owners should have in their tool kit), do you have statistics (even educated guesses) on how often hot-skin wiring is actually occurring? How about the... Read More