We pulled out of Beaver Spring Lake Campground around 11am. I used their dump station to dump and flush our holding tanks – we won’t be on a sewer hook-up for the next week. We backtracked several miles to Oneonta and pulled into the large parking lot at the Price Chopper grocery store. There were a few other stores there as well. I went to Rite Aid to pick up a few items and also to the liquor store while Donna shopped for groceries.

We opted to stay off the bumpy I-88 and drove east on New York State Route 7. This is a typical two-lane highway that took us parallel to I-88. The highway is a mixture of 55mph stretches through open rolling country broken up by small villages along the way. Some of the villages are speed traps – suddenly, without any warning, the speed limit drops to 40 or even 30 mph. Any time it looked like there would be a settlement ahead, I kept a lookout for posted speed signs.

We pulled into the Hide-A-Way Campsites near Central Bridge, New York a little past 1pm (map). Donna’s parents live nearby and we plan to spend a week here visiting them. We’re in a long pull-through gravel site and didn’t have to drop the trailer. The check-in process was efficient and the people at the office were friendly. The layout of our site is strange though. We have a picnic table and grassy area on the driver’s side of the coach where the power and water hook-ups are. On the passenger side, where you would normally find a picnic table, it’s all gravel under our canopy.

Gravel outside our door and under the canopy

Grass picnic table and fire ring on the “wrong” side

I unloaded our grills and got the ladders out of the trailer. After completing our set-up, including the window shades and wheel covers, I got up on the roof. In the northeast – from Pennsylvania up through New England – our Dish Network needs to be re-programmed. The western arc satellites (110° and 119°) may not work here. I removed the dome from our Winegard Roadtrip satellite antenna and reset the dip switches (dual inline package). The dip switches modify the circuit in the board for the antenna.

Satellite dome – two screws already removed

Antenna controller with dip switches

I reinstalled the dome and went through the tedious process of programming the receiver to tune in satellites 61.5° and 129°. While I was doing this, our power suddenly cut off. I went outside to check the breaker at the pedestal. We’re on a 50-amp service and shouldn’t be overloaded.

I found an error code on our Progressive Industries Electrical Management System (EMS) showing low voltage on L-1. If the voltage supply drops below 104 volts, the EMS will shut down. Low voltage can damage electronic components and electric motors. Things like air conditioner motors may still run on low voltage, but there’s a risk of damage.

I reset the pedestal breaker which, in turn, reset the EMS. I read 107 volts on L-1 and 117 volts on L-2. This isn’t good. About five minutes later, the EMS shut down again with the same code for low voltage on L-1. I reset it again and walked up to the office.

Progressive Industries EMS

The ladies in the office were friendly and took me over to a house behind the office where several people were sitting on the porch. A guy named Fred was called over and I explained the problem to him. He said, “The only time we ever have electrical issues is when you people with big buses are in the park.” What?

I told him about the low voltage and the error code on my EMS. He was very surly and said, “I can’t make voltage – it’s whatever the power company delivers.” I said, “Maybe there’s a poor connection in my pedestal creating excessive resistance – can you check that out?” He said, “It’s the weekend and I don’t have anyone here to do that work.” He added, “If you can’t deal with it, I’ll give you your money back and you can go somewhere else.” I couldn’t believe his attitude and what I was hearing. I asked him if he was the campground manager and, he said, “No, I own this place.” Wow!

I went back to the coach and shut off the front air conditioner which runs off L-1. Fifty amp coaches are set up with two lines of electricity splitting the loads between L-1 and L-2. Each leg provides 50 amps of current and shouldn’t overload the power supply. There was clearly something wrong with the L-1 power supply.

About half an hour later, Fred was at our pedestal. I walked outside and greeted him. He had a volt meter and told me he had checked the power at pedestals all down the line. He said there was low voltage on L-1 everywhere, thus it was a power company problem and he couldn’t do anything about it. He said no one else was having a problem with it and added that it’s always the guys with big buses that complain. Everyone else here is in a travel trailer or fifth wheel trailer. I told him since he measured low voltage throughout the park, everyone has a problem – they just don’t know it because they don’t have an EMS.

He said they would call the power company and also shut down the pool pump which puts a big load on the power supply.

After thinking about for a while, here’s my take. Most of the travel trailers in the park are probably 30-amp set-ups. The power supply to the park has two legs of 120 volt AC power. Thirty amp circuits only run on one leg of the power supply. When the park power pedestals are wired up, the 30-amp receptacles should be balanced by wiring the first one to L-1, the second to L-2, the third to L-1, the fourth to L-2 and so on. I’d be willing to bet the park wasn’t wired correctly and everyone using 30-amp power is on the same L-1 circuit. This would explain the disparity in voltage between L-1 and L-2.

Around 5pm, Donna’s mother Lorraine and her father Duke came over. We sat and talked for awhile as Donna prepared cumin-toasted tilapia over sauteed mushrooms with lemon parmesan broccoli and black rice. Duke is not fond of fish, so Donna heated a chicken pasty for him. We had an enjoyable meal and lots of conversation.

Meanwhile, I was still trying to complete the programming of my satellite dish and acquire a signal. It wouldn’t lock on to the new satellite settings. I think I’ll reset it back to the western arc and see if it acquires a signal today. I’ve already missed the Formula One race.