Bunk LedgerShore power cords for a sleeper (2026)
Shore power is the pedestal at a truck stop or a terminal, feeding the inlet on the truck, so the bunk can run off campground-style electricity instead of the batteries. It is not an inverter. An inverter makes AC from the batteries. A shore cord brings AC in from outside. Do not improvise a way to backfeed one into the other.
The plug has to match the hole
Look at the inlet on your truck before you look at a cord. The common shapes drivers actually meet are a household 15-amp plug, a 30-amp RV plug (often called TT-30), and a 50-amp RV plug. They do not fit each other. An adapter can make a plug physically enter the wrong world, and it can also let you hang a large load on a small breaker. If you need an adapter, read what both ends are rated for and stay at the lower number.
The cord's jacket should print an amp rating and a wire gauge. A long, thin lamp cord is a poor way to run a heater across a lot. Longer runs want thicker copper. As a planning habit: stay inside the cord's printed amp rating, and do not coil a loaded cord under the bunk or in a tight pile. A loaded coil is a heater. Lay out what you are using.
The pedestal's breaker is the other limit. A 30-amp cord on a 20-amp breaker does not give you 30 amps. It gives you whatever trips first. Heaters, a fridge on AC, and a charger add up. Read the labels.
The lot, and the truck that is not yours
Use a cord rated for outdoor use. Do not run a household lamp cord through a puddle because the pedestal was on the far side of the parking row. Do not pinch the cord in the door. Do not leave it where a neighbor's trailer will cut it when they pull out. Those are ordinary lot failures, and they are why the cord lives on a hook, not in a knot behind the seat.
On a company truck, do not swap the inlet, and do not add one. If the truck has no shore inlet, an extension cord through a cracked window is not a clever version of the same thing. It is a way to pinch a cord and to advertise that the truck is open. Use the inverter and battery setup you are actually allowed to have, or the idle policy the carrier already wrote.
GFCI protection, if the pedestal has it, is there because lots get wet. If it trips, unplug the largest load and try again. Do not defeat it with a chewed adapter.
If the only loads you care about are a phone and a CPAP with its own DC cord, you may not need shore power tonight. Put the wattage in the runtime calculator and see what the battery you have can actually do. Shore power is for the night when that answer is "not long enough."
On a phone, this table moves sideways. The first column stays put.
| Plug | Where you see it | Cab note |
|---|---|---|
| Household 15 amp | Ordinary outlets and some inlets | Only if the truck's inlet is that shape |
| TT-30, 30 amp | Many RV pedestals | The plug is not a household plug and not a 50 amp plug |
| 50 amp | Larger RV pedestals | Do not force an adapter. Read the inlet on the truck |
Along the way
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Conclusion
Look at the inlet before you buy an adapter to make a plug fit. Do not coil a loaded cord into a tight bundle.
FAQ
Can I adapt any pedestal to any truck?
No. The inlet on the truck decides. Forcing a plug is how cords and pedestals get damaged.
Can the inverter feed the shore cord backward?
Do not backfeed an inverter into a cord or a pedestal.
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