Surge Protector

[Gigem]

Greetings,

We are new owners of a Grand Design Reflection 337RLS and do most of our camping in state parks and popular RV resorts. With our previous TT, I had never thought about the need/risk of not have a surge protector. I am thinking of adding a hard-wired surge protector as insurance against damage to appliances on our new rig, and am interested to hear your opinions/experiences on surge protection for your RV.

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

[Renee]

Hi Jeff, and welcome to the fourms! I'm glad you asked this question.

Our previous RV was a TT and we usually only camped for a weekend or maybe at most 4-5 days. As we near retirement (hubby retired last May and I retire this April) we knew we needed a bigger, more comfortable, and better built RV as we will be camping for weeks and months at a time. Anyway, we too are looking at surge protectors. Our Solitude is packed with more costly appliances and devices and will need the protection since we'll be extend-time campers soon!

Here's a link I found in my research...it's been pretty helpful.
http://rvtravel.com/noshockzone/surge477.shtml

I look forward to hearing the feedback you receive on this inquiry.

[el Rojo]

We use the autoformer. We have run both ac's on 30 amp power and still have 118 volts on a wall plug. They're kinda expensive but cold air in Texas is priceless.
http://hughesautoformers.com/

[LBnM]

el Rojo - I have a 30 amp autoformer from a previous travel trailer and was wondering if I could use it with my 303RL (on 30 amp power and with one a/c.) Haven't tried it yet. What do you think? I will probably put in a 2d a/c this summer so I thought of selling it and just going with a surge protector.

[Dave and Monica]

I had a Progressive Industries 30A hard-wired surge protector in our last camper...was looking into installing a 50A unit in our 337. You bring up an interesting point as I recall frequently seeing less than 110 V at the campground and was waiting for the unit to alarm on 'low voltage'. Something to investigate....

Dave

[el Rojo]

[quote author=LBnM link=topic=292.msg1868#msg1868 date=1390596139]
el Rojo - I have a 30 amp autoformer from a previous travel trailer and was wondering if I could use it with my 303RL (on 30 amp power and with one a/c.) Haven't tried it yet. What do you think? I will probably put in a 2d a/c this summer so I thought of selling it and just going with a surge protector.
[/quote]

Not sure on that. Mine is a 50 amp and I have a 50 amp 369RL. I would think if your unit is 30 amp, a 30 amp Autoformer would protect it, not sure it would have the same boost amount when you add a 2nd AC.

Red

[dchrist1733]

I have a 50 Amp Surgeguard protector for my Solitude. Mine is a portable one that you plug into the campground outlet and the other end plugs into the cord on the camper. It has warned me a few times about power problems especially when the campground is full. I think it is a real good investment because there are so many high tech items in the new RV's. Mine will shut the power down in my unit before it does damage.

[austint513]

Hey Gigem,

We have used a Progressive Industries surge protector for a number of years with a previous 5th wheel, a class C and class A motorhome - I am sold on them, this surge protector provides great information prior to sending electricity to your unit and has certainly kept us from hooking up to a bad outlet.

Actually what we have is the portable 50 amp. Electronic Management System from Progressive Industries which has a lifetime warranty. They recently replaced our original unit when it showed an error code with the unit. We had the original unit over eight years through 3 different RV's. They have hard wired and portable units - if you call them with questions or problems they respond promptly and efficiently like Grand Design .

You might want to look at their website: www.progressiveindustries.net

Don't think you can do any better than this unit - it is not cheap, but it is cheaper than replacing appliances and if you go with a portable unit it is a one time expense as you can move it with you to the next RV.

Austin

[2hams]

We recently purchased the Progressive Industries portable 50 amp EMS. We figure we were just lucky with our previous camper, as we did encounter several parks where we had problems running A/C and anything else. A Missouri state park comes to mind.

[Gigem]

Thanks to all for the great information. From what I have read, I like the 50 amp Progressive Industries System with the lifetime warranty. I have seen the portable, in-line models, and also like the idea of a hard-wired unit to make it more secure and for monitoring while inside the RV. Has anyone installed this unit in a Grand Design RV? Just wondering where the best location would be for mounting inside the RV.

Thanks again for the information,

Jeff