GFI connect Problems

I recently started my concession business 2 months ago and everything is going fine.  Making money, however, I have been having one small problem.  Whenever I try to connect to a 20 amp GFI plug, it keeps on tripping.  But if I conncect straight into a 20, 30, or even 50 amp plug everything works all right.   I called the co I bought the trailer from and ask them why I keep on tripping the GFI and they told me that I cannot connect the trailer into GFI plug since there is no ground on the trailer.  IS THIS RIGHT?   Now another friend who is an electrician told me that I may have a small wiring problem that creates this problem with the GFIs.   Can anyone help me out or has anyone had this problem also.  This is driving me crazy whenever I tr to set up.
 
I appreciate any comments.
 
Ray

I would go with your friend. I would also add GFCI breakers for every circuit, they protect everything on that line, not just that outlet in particular.

what sort if any type of battery charger are you using tied into the system ?
my money would be to start looking there first..... disconnect the charger from the system and see if your trouble goes away...... i bet it will
 
if not, disconnect each piece of electrical equipment you have, one by one, and by process of elimination, you can determine what piece is at fault.....older fan motors can "leak" electricity and trick the gfi into tripping, but i would start off with your converter/charger first, some makes/models will trip gfi's right out of the box(its a simple design issue, not necessarily a bad unit)....
 
how old is your trailer?.... may be time to replace the gfi's themselves, they dont last/work forever..... and a lot of the older ones, once tripped, need to be replaced anyway...... so if you have one that has been tripped several times, best bet is to replace it.....
 
you need to call back the company that built your trailor, and do one of two things....
1- explain to them that they are retards
2-or, that you know they are blowing smoke up your rear....... neither of which you appreciate 

get one of these, they will tell you instantly if its a problem with the gfi itself, or in the wiring..... takes about 30 seconds in a trailer i would imagine to either eliminate, or verify two of your possible problem areas....
 

 
about 10 bucks at home depot...... or better yet, your buddy should have one you can borrow

Hot Dog Empire
I would go with your friend. I would also add GFCI breakers for every circuit, they protect everything on that line, not just that outlet in particular.

 
and yes, ideally, the first connection in each individual circuit should be a good quality GFCI.......
everything after that plug on that circuit will be protected by it 

BackAlleyBurger

Hot Dog Empire
I would go with your friend. I would also add GFCI breakers for every circuit, they protect everything on that line, not just that outlet in particular.

and yes, ideally, the first connection in each individual circuit should be a good quality GFCI.......
everything after that plug on that circuit will be protected by it 

agreed, but a GFCI breaker-will protect everything on that circuit. Whereas a GFCI outlet only protects that out or before or after.....depending on how the leg is wired. Depending on how many outlets on the circuit.......it may even be cheaper this way as well. Good advice on the plug in tester....thats an instant feedback\status test.
 
I had misread the post and assumed everything was new.

Hot Dog Empire

BackAlleyBurger

Hot Dog Empire
I would go with your friend. I would also add GFCI breakers for every circuit, they protect everything on that line, not just that outlet in particular.

and yes, ideally, the first connection in each individual circuit should be a good quality GFCI.......
everything after that plug on that circuit will be protected by it 

agreed, but a GFCI breaker-will protect everything on that circuit. Whereas a GFCI outlet only protects that out or before or after.....depending on how the leg is wired. Depending on how many outlets on the circuit.......it may even be cheaper this way as well. Good advice on the plug in tester....thats an instant feedback\status test.

I had misread the post and assumed everything was new.

 
lol, i think were saying the same thing here....but your right, a gfi breaker would be the simplest way to go...
thats what i was saying about a gfi outlet, it its the first outlet on a circuit with say, 6 outlets, then the rest of the outlets on that circuit can be regular outlets, but still be protected...... and a lot cheaper then a gfi breaker!
 
"I had misread the post and assumed everything was new."
well, im assuming the trailer is a couple of months old from his statements..... but no telling if he has a 10 y/o reefer in there with a weak "leaky"(electrically) motor.....
my bet is on the converter, i imagine the manufacturer used the cheapest he could find, and those things are notorious for tripping gfi's due to the way they are designed (the cheaper ones anyway)

down and dirty way to test......
1-unplug everything from the outlets, and flip the trailers main breaker off, and all the breakers in it off
 
2-plug it up into the gfi, did it trip ? if yes, your problem is pre main breaker in the box, or your shore power line, or the connections themselves..... if no go to #3
 
3- flip the main breaker on in the trailer, did the gfi trip? if yes, you have a problem in the box itself(i doubt you do), or the main breaker itself...... if no, flip on each individual breaker and see if it trips, if not, flip it off and go to the next one, repeat until all have been tested...... if none of them trip the gfi, then go ahead and flip them all on...... if one of them did trip the breaker you have a problem in the wiring in that circuit, or it could be the breaker itself.....
 
4- if one did trip the gfi, swap it out and test again to determine if its the breaker itself, or in the wiring...... if it does not trip the second time, go buy a new breaker
 
5- if it does trip the second time, check all outlets for proper connections, start with the farthest from the box and remove outlet, test again, go to next closer outlet to box and repeat...... when you get to the point it no longer trips, you have found your problem area..... the area will be between the point you are, and the last connection you were just at.....
 
6- if flipping on all the breakers did not cause a trip,(dont forget to use the tester at this point to verify polarity and correct/good wiring) start plugging in appliances one by one until you have found the problem appliance, i would start with the converter first, my money is still on that......
 
by process of elimination, you can easily find the bad spot, or the bad appliance, remember, an appliance can be fine on a regular circuit, even with a small volt leakage, but that same leakage will play havoc with a gfi......
 
if your converter is hard wired, start off with that circuit first and see if it trips
 
also, is this problem from the same gfi your plugging into, or does it happen no matter what gfi you plug into...... you may very well be plugging into a gfi that has past its prime.... swap in a new one, or at least test that circuit first to make sure your plugging into a good source

lol, i hope i was able to write that clearly for you to understand and not confuse you..... its really just a simple logic problem
 
heres a tip in case your alone.... plug a small extension cord into the gfi as well, and run it to the trailer with a small light or radio plugged into it, that way, you will know exactly when the gfi trips without having to run back and forth, or being close enough/quiet enough to hear it trip 

Thanks for all the info and I will start double checking all the breakers.  The trailer is brand new (2011) and as far as I know there is no converter.  It has a 100 amp breaker box with separate breakers for each receptical, switch, ac, etc in the trailer.  I had it on a generator today and every on at one time and again all works fine.  It only trips the gfi breaker on the pole as soon as I try to plug in the cord.  So I will try the process of elimination and also buy one of the items at home depot.  Again thanks for all the info
 
Ray

yea, a generator will be a lot more forgiving then a gfci will be....
are you plugging into a "temp stud" sort of thing? small pole set up for just you tapped off a main line?
if so test that first and make sure it is good to go, could just be a bad plug on it
next time you plug into it with the trailer make sure the main breaker in trailer is off, sounds like it is going to be something simple 

im pm'ing you my # if ya want a second set of ears when you start testing it out