Richard,
The GMC Coach (those up-fitted by GMC) with a 50 Amp cord are wired to run from a 50 Amp 240VAC supply. The odd duck is the Onan generator which is wired as a single 120V hot suppling both both "Hots" of the 50 Amp plug.
The issue with a 50 Amp 240VAC shore supply is the possibility of having a poor neutral connection at the pedestal. This is caused by loose female connectors from wear & tear and also oxidation on both the male and female sides from close exposure to weather. A poor neutral connection leads to a imbalance of the voltages between the two Hot feeds and neutral... meaning one circuit could see 50 volts and another see 190 volts.
If campgrounds were wired as single Hot feeds to 50 amp pedestals, I would image they would soon run into load balancing issues between the two phases. The neutral wire in many 50 Amp extension cords is only 8 gauge (the hots being 6 gauge) because the neutral in a 240 VAC system carries only the current difference in the two Hot wires. A number 8 wire is not rated to carry 50 amps but that would happen with one 50 Amp hot feeding both sides. Our coaches OEM cable came with a 6 ga. neutral because the Onan could deliver up to 50 Amps.
Here is a photo of my main AC breaker box. As you can see there are two 40 Amp main breakers (Center white breakers at the top) which are tied together so both Hot sides get disconnected if one main breaker trips, just like in your home. If this was a single Hot system, only a single breaker would be required, like in the Onan. The 3rd party upfitters with 30 Amp cords are single hot fed and limited to 30 amps. The dongles to adapt them to 50 amp services only connect one Hot from the 50 Amp plug through to the 30 Amp socket. The other side is left open.
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