RV Surge Protector

[Kent and Corrie]

Howdy all;
First post. My wife and I just got a Jayco Flight and are doing our first dry run camping experience. Everything is going great. We have read about getting a heavy duty surge protector to protect us from campsite electrical spikes. What type of surge protector do we need? Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Kent

[SecretCoveDave]

Welcome, someone will help for sure.

[David472]

Well you will find many view points on this topic. First, there are two aspects to consider. That being "only surge protection" and then surge protection plus protection against a steady low/high voltage condition.

For only surge protection, here is an item commonly used;
http://tweetys.com/surge-guard-w-sho...---30-amp.aspx

For surge plus low/high voltage, here is a comonly used item;
http://tweetys.com/portable-surge-gu...---30-amp.aspx


As you can see, there is quite a difference in price. Your choice will be based on the level of protection you desire, given the type of camping you plan on doing. The high/low voltage protection is most likely to be needed when camping in very hot weather and everyone in the CG is running the A/C. It will protect your A/C from a low voltage "brown-out" which may happen in those conditions. Myself, I currently use only surge protection, but I may upgrade in the future.

[Kent and Corrie]

Thanks SecretCoveDave and David472 for the responses. David472, your responses were very helpful! I think we will go with the first option for right now. Thank you both for timely responses.

Kent

[Terry]

Welcome to the forum Kent!

I have one that protects both surge and hi/low voltages. Saved my bacon a couple of times and in my opinion it is well worth it.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Think of surge protection or an EMS like insurance policies on something. Do you want insurance for just part of your investment or for everything?

A surge arrestor will protect your electrical system from voltage surges and spikes but that is not the only thing that can harm your electrical system. Pedestals can be miswired, have floating neutrals and bad grounds, some yoyo may change a connection upstream of the pedestal with disasterous results (I've had that happen where I live; fortunately, I caught it in time), voltage can run low which will eventually destroy appliances, A/C, convertors, electronics, etc. or run high which will destroy them even faster. Frequency can be off (that is more likely to happen when using a generator). An Energy Management System (EMS) will protect your electrical system from pretty much everything except a direct lightning strike (only God can protect you from something like that).

An EMS, such as the Progressive Industries units or the Surge Guard unit linked above, may seem expensive but add up the cost of replacing your TVs, computers, convertor, refrigerator, microwave, etc. and see how it compares to the cost of an EMS. You just might think the EMS is a bargain.

There are basically two kinds of EMS units available: portable and hardwired. Portable units are far easier to install (just plug them in) but are subject to possible theft, possible weather damage (unlikely but still a possibility), and you have to go to the trouble of hooking them up everytime you set up and remember to take them with you when you tear down.

A hard wired EMS is out of sight and out of mind. No hooking up, no worries about waether or theft, no remembering to take it with you when tearing down. An additional advantage is one can install a remote monitor inside the RV so you can see at a glance what is going on with your electrical supply.

I recommend the Progressive Industries units. Based on reports I've seen on various RV forums, the PI units have a better warranty backed by far better customer service from the manufacturer. The hardwired units use modular construction so if a board goes bad, one can swap it out instead of having to ship it back to the factory for repair. This halves the downtime of the unit. The techs at Progressive will walk owners though the necessary diagnostics over the phone.

[Bozemanite]

I have the 50 amp Surge Guard. With all of the electronics on board our 5er I think that the cost is worth the peace of mind. Kind of like using a water pressure regulator.

[norty1]

Originally Posted by DonWard

I have the 50 amp Surge Guard. With all of the electronics on board our 5er I think that the cost is worth the peace of mind. Kind of like using a water pressure regulator.

Me too, same one.

[Seann45]

That surge guard shown above ($242.00) is the minimum you want.. anything less you are just fooling yourself... I have one for those few times when I am actually plugged into shore power.

[wiscampsin]

We have a 30 Amp EMS from Progressive Industries and are very happy with it.

[RedHorse1]

I'm new to the TT world myself and have read too many horror stories about fried electronics to sleep at night without one. It's cheap insurance for a potential disaster.

1x on the 30 amp Progressive Industries.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Two things I forgot to mention when comparing Progressive Industries and Surge Guard hardwired EMS units is the Progressive Industries' units are considerably less expensive than Surge Guard's and The Progressive Industries' EMS can usually be repaired while the Surge Guards have to be replaced. Once out of warranty (which takes twice as long with the PIs), replacing instead of repairing is a lot less expensive.

[Rustic Eagle]

Guess I've been pretty lucky, never owned a surge protector and never had an issue with any of my TT's over the years....... BUT, now with some of the costly electronics we plug into our RV's these days some degree of surge protection merits a strong consideration.

So, looks like I will add a P.I. EMS-HW30C to my spring to-do-list along with the new set of tires.

Bob

[clutch]

I have been thinking about surge protection also. Perhaps next fall when we head South.

[Rob_Fla]

We have had 5 Travel Trailers and a 5th Wheel prior to our current Pinnacle 5th Wheel and have never used a surge suppressor.
But now the we are fulltiming and with the costly electronics in our Pinnacle we bought a surge suppression to protect them.

[daviddudek]

Watch the Camping World on line ads. We bought the 30 AMP unit for $260 at a Camping World store and they had it on sale for $180. We received a $75 credit in the mail as a result of their policy.

[Larry G.]

Originally Posted by Rob_Fla

We have had 5 Travel Trailers and a 5th Wheel prior to our current Pinnacle 5th Wheel and have never used a surge suppressor.
But now the we are fulltiming and with the costly electronics in our Pinnacle we bought a surge suppression to protect them.

So Rob what did you buy?

[edatlanta]

I have the Progressive EMS-PT50C. This is the portable unit. This past summer while a host in Panama City, FL I came back to my 5'er three times during the summer when I knew the power had been off while I was gone. The microwave is a good indicator since the clock won't be on. This unit stores the reason for the most recent problem so I knew on two of the occasions that there had been an open ground and the third time it was an open neutral.

This unit has a lifetime warranty now also.

I bought mine from CW mail order only which included free shipping. They had the best price even without the free shipping.

[rbrumfield]

Originally Posted by edatlanta

I have the Progressive EMS-PT50C. This is the portable unit. This past summer while a host in Panama City, FL I came back to my 5'er three times during the summer when I knew the power had been off while I was gone. The microwave is a good indicator since the clock won't be on. This unit stores the reason for the most recent problem so I knew on two of the occasions that there had been an open ground and the third time it was an open neutral.

This unit has a lifetime warranty now also.

I bought mine from CW mail order only which included free shipping. They had the best price even without the free shipping.

I just bought my PI EMS-PT50C from Lawrence RV Accessories for $359 and free shipping. According to CW website theirs is $396.99 with free shipping if you are a Good Sam member. YMMV.

[edatlanta]

I bought mine in April 2012 and it was right at $300.00 including free freight. Their prices vary like every company does. I just hit it right I guess.