Questions about my new White Hawk

[jonitza]

We purchased a White Hawk 28dsbh back in the summer and love it. I have a couple questions for the experts here. I want to get a surge protector to protect the trailer against poor rv park wiring and have heard the one's from progressive are really good, but i have also seen threads on autoformers to protect against low voltage. Which one does everyone here use??. Also how do i check to see if my inverter is one that monitors the charge on my battery, i will be leaving the trailer plugged in over the winter at my house and i'm not sure if i should install a batteryminder to protect against boiling the battery. Thanks

[tnchuck100]

You did not state what year your trailer is. If it is a new trailer the converter (not inverter) should be a 3-stage which will maintain your battery properly. You can verify this by checking the owners manual for the converter that came with the trailer. Not having that you can search the internet with the make and model of your converter and likely find the manual. You can also call Jayco.

The Progressive Industries is the protection I use:
http://www.dyersonline.com/progressi...nt-system.html

Having an auto-former is a definite plus when you encounter a park with low voltage. Here is the one I use:
http://www.techserveind.com/11901.html

These tend to be pricey items but all it takes is one park with voltage or wiring problems to pay for itself. Your air conditioner alone would be more than the cost of these protection items.

[sailor]

This is the unit I use.
http://www.voltagebooster.com/

[jonitza]

The trailer is a 2012. It looks like the autoformers pictured above are portable, is this correct. If so do you plug it into the pole with the surge protector into the autoformer then your rv cord into the surge protector.If not how do you use the 2 together. If so how do you protect these items from getting stolen when away from the trailer. Thanks for your replies

[tnchuck100]

Yes, they are portable. When using both you would want the auto-former first since the Progressive unit will stop the voltage if it get to low. Not going to help much if the Progressive unit kills the voltage before the auto-former has a chance to boost it. Think about it.

The Progressive unit has a security tab that you can thread a cable and lock through. The auto-former has a handle you can use also.

You do mention using just a surge protector instead of the Progressive unit. In that case the surge suppressor would be first in line at the pole. Bear in mind that a surge suppressor only will not protect you against low/high voltage or incorrect wiring.

One more point....the Frank's unit appears to have voltage/incorrect wiring protection built into the unit. My personal preference is two separate units. Most of the time the auto-former will not be needed.

[Murphie]

Hi there, I just wanted to give you a heads up on something. I can not tell you how many times we have camped next to people who have asked us about power problems in the park where their unit that monitors the line has either shut off their power or indicated a problem. The poor people are in a state of flux and are not able to overcome their worry even after the their monitor has returned to normal. I check the the panel with a meter prior to plugging in. Than I get about enjoying my stay. I know my trailer is wired to protect itself, outside of getting a direct lightning hit it will be fine. If the worst happens I have insurance. I think it's fine to buy a Autoformer if you can afford one, but know that ther is another side to this that you may have not thought of. Ignorance is bliss

[jonitza]

I understand what your saying Murphie. We are fairly new to TT world and I have noticed a ton of products on the market. It is fun to look at everything but have found theres only a few things you really need, a lot that would be nice to have and a ton of expensive items that would just take up storage space. We are trying to focus on the needs and for me the protection of the electrical system falls into that catagory. The Autoformer would be nice to have but better if received as a christmas gift

[thomasmnile]

Originally Posted by jonitza

We purchased a White Hawk 28dsbh back in the summer and love it. I have a couple questions for the experts here. I want to get a surge protector to protect the trailer against poor rv park wiring and have heard the one's from progressive are really good, but i have also seen threads on autoformers to protect against low voltage. Which one does everyone here use??. Also how do i check to see if my inverter is one that monitors the charge on my battery, i will be leaving the trailer plugged in over the winter at my house and i'm not sure if i should install a batteryminder to protect against boiling the battery. Thanks

We bought a White Hawk 27DSRL in November. The installed converter is a Progressive Dynamics 40 amp w/ Charge Wizard. If you are plugged in all winter, your battery maintenance is minimal, since the converter is "multi-stage" and doesn't run at a constant voltage. Only needed maintenance is to occasionally check battery electrolyte level; shouldn't be much lost with this converter/ charger.

As far as surge protection, I installed the hard wired version of the Progressive Industries 30 amp EMS. No theft worries like one has with a pedestal plug in unit. For my money (paid $249 for it and included the remote display from an RV dealer in Texas that is an authorized reseller), the best RV electrical protection you can buy, period. It also warranted for life. Had the 50 amp model in our previous fifth wheel, saved us heartache twice.