[tonycook]

I sometimes plug my trailer into a GFI outlet. As soon as it is plugged in, the GFI outlet is tripped. I figure the GFI is sensing that the common and ground are connected somewhere in the trailer. My thoughts are that the common and ground are connected in the breaker box in the trailer. (I can't check that now because I'm at work and won't get home until the morning.) Is there any danger in disconnecting the common from the ground? I would leave the common and ground circuits complete to the power inlet that connects to the power pole or generator.

Thanks,
Tony

[Machine]

Yes, the neutral and ground are connected in the house. The idea is that if there is a short in the system, the current (juice) has another path to ground instead of going through your body and also will allow the circuit breaker to trip. In normal operation, there is no current on the ground wire. If you introduce another connection, you will have the potential hazard of current flow in the ground conductor because now the hot wire has 2 paths to come back to the main panel. I would guess that you could measure current on your ground wire and THAT IS BAD for sure. If you have any loose ground connections like conduit, you are creating a potential arcing fire hazard.