shocking experience

We have an Electrical problem with our 2009 3124 KS or with our storage facility (or both).
The TM was winterized and when we started the spring clean up my wife touched the side of the metal storage shed while touching the TM. She received a bad shock. The TM was plugged into a 110 outlet to charge the battery. I had to check it out for myself (a guy thing) and sure enough something is very wrong . We unplugged the TM and the shock went away.
Here is what I have done..
1) We are parked at a rental facility with metal walls and about 30 RVs or boats in the same facility. I tested their outlet with one of those inexpensive testers and it indicated an open ground.
2) I took the TM to the repair shop and they could not (or did not) find anything wrong.
3) I brought the TM back to the storage facility and added a short extension cord with a built-in 3 prong GFI for added protection. When I plug in the TM to this GFI it pops the GFI breaker instantaneously. I re-set it and it pops again.
4) The RV storage place claims they checked their wiring and all is OK. (The open ground does still exists), they blame the TM. The TM repair people say it the storage facility.
5) When I plug the TM into a GFI at my home,it does not trip the GFI. So if the TM is the problem, it is intermittent, or the problem is indeed at the RV site.
Any suggestions on additional tests I can run?
One last and perhaps unrelated issue, the 30 amp fuse coming off the 12 volt battery has blown 3 times. I keep replacing it and it works well for a period of time. (this may be a separate problem)..

[ShrimpBurrito]

I bet the cause is something plugged into an outlet at the storage facility (like one of the other trailers) that has a ground/neutral short, just like one I had on our TM. Whenever I plugged it in to the house, it immediately tripped the GFI. If I didn't have a GFI, the energy presumably would have just gone to ground on the house, which is what should happen at your storage facility. But because they have an open ground, that makes the ground wire hot. When you plug your TM in, the TM ground becomes hot, which in turn makes numerous things on the TM hot, like the oven chassis, frame, probably the skin, etc.

If I understand correctly, the GFI you plugged in at the storage facility trips because the power going out on the hot lead differs from the power coming back on the neutral lead. That is presumably happening because there is a ground short somewhere that is diverting power to other places not sensed by the GFI. Once the power going out on the hot lead is the same as the power coming back on the neutral lead, the GFI will not trip.

I can't think of how this problem would make your 12v 30A fuse blow. My guess is that it is a separate issue like you suggest.

Dave

[Bill]

If the tester indicates an open ground on their outlet, even without the TM being plugged in, then the problem cannot be in the TM. If this is indeed the situation, bring it to the storage facility's attention - they can't blame it on the TM if the TM is not plugged in. Ask them to plug their tester into the same outlet, and let you see the result.

Unplug the TM. Can you plug your tester into another nearby storage facility outlet, just to determine whether the whole thing is wired wrong, and not just the outlet you happened to connect to? Again, if the TM is not plugged in, and several of their outlets show the fault, then the storage facility ought to be REALLY concerned. If other outlets show correct, then you can plug your TM into a correctly-wired outlet.

If the ground is open, as your tester indicates, then the tester cannot detect a reversed hot and neutral. This is what I believe you have found, and it is dangerous. This is what would produce the shock you experienced. And it could kill someone who encounters it with wet skin.

With an open ground, everything in the TM (and anyone else's RV) would still function normally, which I gather is what you are experiencing. Only problem is that the wiring error is waiting to kill someone. Yes, the storage facility should be REALLY concerned!

The behavior of the GFI is probably irrelevant until the basic problem is corrected.

Let us know what you find.

And I agree with Dave that the 30-amp fuse in the 12-volt circuit is probably not related. Hard to be sure, though, if the AC wiring is dorked up.

Bill

Bill & Dave
Thanks for the rapid help. The owner of the facility is meeting me there tomorrow and your notes will help me "get them concerned".

Today I got the old, "No one else has complained" line... I'll drop the kill someone line (it has rained 17 of the last 20 days here) and wet skin and floors are real possibilities.
THANKS Again, you guys are the best support anyone could hope to have

If you have a meter, Check the voltage between the metal side of the storage building and ground and the TM and ground. ( use a good earth ground). This will determine where the problem is TM or building. Then you can continue from there. There should be no voltage on the correct one.