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Old 03-26-2016, 10:12 AM   #1
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Electrical safety at campsite

Have a question you kind folks might help us with. We purchase a new Jayco Whitehawk 27dsrl that we take delivery of end of April. We are newbies but have wanted to do this for over a year and we are trying to get the important supplies together to make our experience a good one. I am hearing about making sure to test the electrical pole at campsites for proper voltage and reverse polarity and such to ensure a safe electrical connection. What should we buy to keep in the trailer to test campsite outlet for safe electrical connection before hooking up? Thanks for all your help!
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Old 03-26-2016, 10:18 AM   #2
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Energy management system.

A device that is in line between the campsite power pedestal and the RV.

The device acts like a surge suppressor but also evaluates the condition of the power ( voltage, cycles, open ground, etc.. ) and will prevent poor or bad voltage from damaging all the electronics in the RV.

Lots of different makes models

The easiest of which plugs into the camp pedestal and the rv plugs into it.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/c...Ez0aAuZU8P8HAQ


The high end units are permanently installed inside the RV. As a bonus, they are protected from theft, although the simple ones do have aftermarket locks that you can purchase
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Old 03-26-2016, 10:24 AM   #3
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Progress Industries seems to be the "go to" supplier. Lifetime warranty, replacement modules so you do not have to ship it back for service, and made in the USA.
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Old 03-26-2016, 01:15 PM   #4
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This is what many of us have and it's hard wired in and it's real easy to do.
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Old 03-26-2016, 01:48 PM   #5
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I never thought of that, is this a real concern? Please chime in if you have had issues/problems. I just got a Jayco sport 8 pup, and have already added a media player/Bluetooth radio (and need speakers) I got a good deal and don't mind adding necessary items... I didn't think that was going to happen with the camper, wanting to add things to it. It is a basic unit, but won't be.
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Old 03-26-2016, 02:06 PM   #6
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I never thought of that, is this a real concern? Please chime in if you have had issues/problems. I just got a Jayco sport 8 pup, and have already added a media player/Bluetooth radio (and need speakers) I got a good deal and don't mind adding necessary items... I didn't think that was going to happen with the camper, wanting to add things to it. It is a basic unit, but won't be.
If you are referring too bad power at a camp site... You betcha......

Varying voltage levels .... No ground..... Open legs on the 50 amp service.....

JOF is full of some pretty crazy stories and questions that traced back to camp ground power issues.


I recall reading a post here on JOF where the road side camp ground had a CATV connection that was shorted to the electrical system and shocked the owner when he was hooking up to CATV.....
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Old 03-26-2016, 05:55 PM   #7
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You could burn up a microwave real quick not to mention the frig. Remember to shut down the power box before you plug in and after you plug in you can turn it on.
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Old 03-26-2016, 06:17 PM   #8
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on the other hand, I have camped over 30 years, never had a problem other than the whole park lost power, I do on occasion use a multimeter to check. but again never had a problem. I guess it all depends where you camp.
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Old 03-26-2016, 06:39 PM   #9
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We have been using the Surge Guard Portable 30 Amp protector for several years (model:18277). Last summer we were camping in the Poconos and my power shut off. I looked at my Surge Guard and it showed 134 volts trying to pass thru the system. The Surge Guard will automatically disconnect your trailer system from the pedestal on either a high voltage or low voltage problem at the pedestal. As I watched it for several minutes, as the voltage went down to 124 volts, my trailer power came back on. Later, as I was doing some stuff outside the trailer, my kids came up saying there was no power in the trailer again. I looked at the Surge Guard and saw 97 volts. When it came up to 108 volts, the power came back on in the trailer. We notified the camp ground manager that there were issues. He didn't know anything about it. Maintenance came and looked at it and claimed they couldn't find any issues. Later that day, power went out to the trailer again and I saw 139 volts on the display.
5 trailers around me that had no protection had melted power prongs. The cost of the Surge Guard more than paid for itself that day.
HERE IS THE LINK:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...y-30-amp/81277
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Old 03-26-2016, 06:48 PM   #10
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I look at the Surge protector as insurance. The majority of the time you won't need it. It's there for when you do need it.

I used to use a VOM and some indicator lights in my rig but after I got the EMS PTC-50C, I plug the rig in, turn on the breaker and let it tell me.
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Old 03-26-2016, 07:08 PM   #11
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Does it matter if your TT is 30 AMP or 50 AMP in regards to which one you buy?
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Old 03-26-2016, 07:17 PM   #12
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Does it matter if your TT is 30 AMP or 50 AMP in regards to which one you buy?
Yes get a 30 for a 30 and a 50 for a 50.
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Old 03-26-2016, 07:40 PM   #13
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and after you get the power management system (from Progressive Industries) get yourself a tire pressure monitor system for the new camper.

I plugged my 5th up yesterday for a trip - after 4 months idle. Today my bride announced (assumed) that while she was inside the camper the feeding house breaker tripped. What I found was this box had shut down - due to an under-voltage condition. A few min later it reset and all was well.

Later today I moved the tow vehicle near the hook up point and plugged in my TPMS system. Within a few min. it alerted me to two low pressured tires.
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Old 03-26-2016, 07:56 PM   #14
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In my two, going on three years of camping our Progressive Industries EMS (portable pedestal plugin) has helped twice. One with a bad pedestal and at another campground when voltage dropped and it killed power keeping the A/C safe as it was on...
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Old 03-26-2016, 08:13 PM   #15
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In fairness I should mention my negatives with the Progressive Industries (PI) unit. Within the first several months of ownership I destroyed it TWICE.

The first time torrential rainwater somehow penetrated the unit and fried the innards. PI repaired it, free, and had it back to me in about a week after receipt. I'm convinced this was their fault.

Shortly after that the male hot spade melted right out of the campground side plug. PI again repaired it, FREE. This time I fault the camp ground for having a bad plug receptacle - and was very pleased that PI still repaired it FREE.

Some other brands would have said too bad, purchase a new one.
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Old 03-26-2016, 08:23 PM   #16
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My unit is the portable one. I always cover it with a bucket or a plastic bag when we set it up and rain is expected.
Sometimes I use my 50a unit at a cg with only 30a service with the proper adapter. I am aware that they recommend it always be mounted vertically so I protect it from the weather if I can't hang it straight down.
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Old 03-26-2016, 10:50 PM   #17
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I'm always suspect of the power pedestals in any campground. They're abused, they really aren't given too much attention until something goes wrong with them. I've seen campers who have yanked their power lines out of the receptacle, I've seen weather protective covers left open....and I've seen Park Rangers trying to make quick fixes and it's quite obvious they aren't electricians. I watched a "ranger maintenance" man changing out a burnt out 50A plug....he attached one hot lead to the proper lug, the other one he tried connecting to the ground lug. I had asked him if the circuit was dead, as my unit was powered right next to this site....he assured me it was. As I started to tell him my power was on, he touched that hot lead to the ground lug.......now, I'm no electrician, I did rewire my house during the renovation, but I had a licensed electrical contractor watching me and inspecting my work.......even I know what happens when you touch a live wire to the a ground lug. Thankfully the maintenance man wasn't hurt....the spark knocked the receptacle out of his hand and him flat on his back about 6 feet away. The cost of any of these inline protection devices will pay for themselves many times over.......it kind of falls into the category of pay me now or pay me later and we all know that later usually is a whole lot more.....
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Old 03-27-2016, 05:45 AM   #18
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on the other hand, I have camped over 30 years, never had a problem other than the whole park lost power, I do on occasion use a multimeter to check. but again never had a problem. I guess it all depends where you camp.
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Old 03-27-2016, 08:02 AM   #19
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If you do a fair amount of camping you will see every thing from real bad to excellent.
I have been in cg's where the staff did pm's on the electrical system and others where it had not been looked at in years.

I make it a point to close the electrical box when walking around a campground if someone has checked out and left it open. Just keeping them protected from the weather will prolong the life of the insides. Also report dripping faucets Drives me nuts to have a faucet dripping all the time.
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Old 03-27-2016, 08:17 AM   #20
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The link below show you what we did to our 2016 Whitehawk 27DSRL.

The 1st link is the contents of the converter (electrical panel). Look at everything labeled as AC - those items are at risk anytime you have shore power connected or using generators.

The 2nd link is how we installed our Progressive Industries EMS.

The 3rd link how we made our shore power cord detachable.

StormPOD: Jayco Whitehawk 27DSLR Electrical Panel


StormPOD: MOD - Electrical Management Systems (EMS)


StormPOD: MOD - Making the 30 amp Cord Detachable
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