Surge Protectors

[danrn]

I have been RVing for many years, and have never used a surge protector. I guess it is a little like insurance. You have it incase you need it.
I did a little research on surge protectors, and there are many out there. Some state they not only protect from surges, but also high/low voltage, and other situations that could arise.
So my question is; recommend surge protector , and why; and do our RW's come with any surge protection devices?
Thanks,
Dan

[Blenhardt]

Most fifth wheel RV's do not come with surge protection. At the time of purchase some manufacturers offer them as an option built-in.

I have one like the following link. They have changed them since I purchased mine several years ago.

I believe it is worth the cost as on occasion a power post at a park may go bad and have low or high voltage, and worse yet, a bad ground. If this happens it may cause problems with your appliances. I have had mine detect problems and glad I had it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9MOY7B/ref=emc_b_5_i

[Jim & Mary]

I have a hard wired surge protector in ours; I installed it after reading some of the other's experience on this forum. The AZ park we stay in during the winter has been around since the early 60's and the park shore power was woefully inadequate. Our unit will shut off the entire coach if the voltage on either L1 or L2 falls to 104V. This is to protect sensitive equipment. One example:

We have a rooftop AC/heat pump and one rooftop AC. At normal 120V, the unit will draw approx 12A during operation. If the voltage goes too low, the unit will try to draw more current to make up the difference. Before we installed the surge protector, we were tripping 20A breakers to these units. They are not designed to run with that much current. I'm convinced they saved our rooftop units from being destroyed. That's why I installed ours.

By the way, the park has replaced nearly every piece of switchgear and transformers in the park, so the problems don't happen anymore.

[Ford truck guy]

I have the progressive Industries portable... just starting using it last year.

[mhs4771]

Never had or used one with either TT, but getting our first 5th wheel and joining the Montana forum and reading some of the horror stories bought and installed the Progressive Hardwired unit with remote readout inside.
While neither high or low voltage is good, one of the worst issues is the loss of the neutral on a 50 amp system. That loss can create extremely high voltage at some appliances that won't take kindly to such voltage.
And the new units with even more voltage sensitive components could be very costly.

[travelin' texans]

Used a portable Progressive Industries 50 amp EMS from day one fulltiming & o e park pedestal fried the 1st one & had another park that while connected burnt the neutral wire off inside so the EMS saved us at least twice.
IMHO they should be standard equipment on ALL RVs from the factory, due to as mentioned above a lot of parks/campgrounds are old with aging electrical systems.

[danrn]

Thank you for the replies.

[GTXRAS]

Installed a hard wired Surge Guard when we purchased in 2015. In mid 2016 the contacts in the power cord reel burned up. I use now a portable to protect the cord reel and still have the hard wired installed.



Rick

[Bevjimlara1980]

We now have a permanent built in protector. After 4 years we didn’t give it much thought, then we had a surge that burned out the washing machine, one of the air conditioners, the central vac and the TV box. Fortunately my husband is handy and was able to do some of the repairs, but it still came to over $1500.
Get the surge protector.

[mjdcwo]

I have a friend who ran an RV repair business for many years. He showed me a fairly new (very expensive) class A motorhome that had "everything" electrical burned up or shorted out due to a lightning strike at the campground they were at. They had no surge protector. This was a number years ago and I immediately bought one and have used it ever since. I'm sure they are much better now than the one I've been using, but I'd definitely spend the money for a good one.

[Belmar]

My wife and I have been full times for 2 years. The surge protector has saved us from 1 over pover surge and 1 under power drop. Having a 2018 Redwood with all the electronics inside it has paid for itself.

[par]

Originally Posted by danrn

I have been RVing for many years, and have never used a surge protector. I guess it is a little like insurance. You have it incase you need it.
I did a little research on surge protectors, and there are many out there. Some state they not only protect from surges, but also high/low voltage, and other situations that could arise.
So my question is; recommend surge protector , and why; and do our RW's come with any surge protection devices?
Thanks,
Dan

Pretty good timing, I just received my Progressive Industries surge protector yesterday and will install it today. We have been full-timing for 7 years and had 2 issues with our washer, dishwasher, vacuum, and furnace. Our insurance covered these repairs but it is running out in June. While we will never know if this unit would have eliminated these issues we are hoping it will help.

[travelin' texans]

Be sure it's an EMS (electrical management system) not just a surge protector. The EMS protects against any type electrical fault other than a direct lightening strike, which nothing can prevent.

[FredMccoy]

Originally Posted by Jim & Mary

I have a hard wired surge protector in ours; I installed it after reading some of the other's experience on this forum. The AZ park we stay in during the winter has been around since the early 60's and the park shore power was woefully inadequate. Our unit will shut off the entire coach if the voltage on either L1 or L2 falls to 104V. This is to protect sensitive equipment. One example:

We have a rooftop AC/heat pump and one rooftop AC. At normal 120V, the unit will draw approx 12A during operation. If the voltage goes too low, the unit will try to draw more current to make up the difference. Before we installed the surge protector, we were tripping 20A breakers to these units. They are not designed to run with that much current. I'm convinced they saved our rooftop units from being destroyed. That's why I installed ours.

By the way, the park has replaced nearly every piece of switchgear and transformers in the park, so the problems don't happen anymore.

Thank you for your info..we have the 2013 39Rl, we are looking into a hardwired Surge Protector, were you able to mount it inside the storage bay, or did you have to install in the rear near where the power comes into the unit? the one we are looking at has a display and seems strange to have a display and then mount it where you cant easily see it. Thanks for your help,

[XCMARK]

https://hughesautoformers.com/power-...ge-protectors/

They offer a EMS version and it has real time feed back on how much power your using . It also logs how many KWH you have used , this can be useful if your doing a season site rental and have to pay for your own power.

[Ford truck guy]

I have what Mark suggested - https://hughesautoformers.com/produc...ter-and-surge/


50 Amp Voltage Booster with Surge Protection

I purchased the hardwire kit as well and spliced it into my transfer switch in the front compartment

[FredMccoy]

Hey thanks so much for the reply, it helped me a lot
Fred

[RW-3401RL]

Hello,
1st time posting.
I'm looking at installing a hardwired surge protector in a 17-3401RL
Any suggestions?
Thanks

[XCMARK]

I have a Hughes watch dog plug in model. ( its the EPO version) . Keep in mind if your RV get a big surge chance are there will be parts inside that must be replaced so if you hard wire the unit do you have the skills, tools and parts to bypass it and remove it if your on the road. one of the nice things the hughes unit does it montors how much power your pulling out of the park . so if you only have a 30 amp site you can get by without tripping the breaker. If the park power is low or high voltage it will turn off the power to the RV to protect your RV also.

[RW-3401RL]

The unit I'm looking at installing is the Hughes 50 Amp Bluetooth Surge Protector with Auto Shutoff – Hardwired.
I have the capability of doing my own install and maintenance.
The Redwood has the 50amp power cord reel and is equipped with a Onan 5.5LP Generator.