Power Surges and Class A motorhomes
I hear a lot about these. Anyone one ever have one? or two? What happens when its happening?
Forum Discussion
I plugged my motorhome into a bad power source. It fried the converter, relay and various electronics in the motorhome.
Has anyone that has done this, got there insurance to cover all or some of the repair?
State Farm full coverage policy refuses,
do pay anything:Reason:::
"The electrical and/or electronic breakdown is excluded under the policy language in 9837B pg 32, exc 13Policy Language: ANY PART OR EQUIPMENT OF A COVERED VEHICLE IF THAT PART OR EQUIPMENT:
a. FAILS OR IS DEFECTIVE; OR
b. IS DAMAGED AS A DIRECT RESULT OF:
(1) WEAR AND TEAR;
(2) FREEZING; OR
(3) MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL, OR ELECTRONIC BREAKDOWN OR MALFUNCTION
OF THAT PART OR EQUIPMENT."I think this is a duplicate post. You posted this in response to an 11-year-old thread. I see your new post.
dbates wrote:
To dons2346,
I think those of us that have surge protection know that they may not be protected from a direct or even close lightening strike. A friend of mine & his insurance just paid out almost $10,000 from lightening damage that hit the building his DP was stored in even though the DP was not plugged into the power.
We have them for the many other electrical problems previously mentioned that do occur and can cause thousands of dollars damage to RV electronics.
Dave
yep, mine checks to see that everything is OK before passing juice into the RV, has a delay restart to protect condensor after outages, etc. but yes, it won't protect a direct lightning strike but I am not letting that fact sway me from seeing the need for one. and the lightning strike in Austin was close enough to affect the folks around me but I had no damage, once the park got juice flowing again.
bumpy- To dons2346,
I think those of us that have surge protection know that they may not be protected from a direct or even close lightening strike. A friend of mine & his insurance just paid out almost $10,000 from lightening damage that hit the building his DP was stored in even though the DP was not plugged into the power.
We have them for the many other electrical problems previously mentioned that do occur and can cause thousands of dollars damage to RV electronics.
Dave wny_pat wrote:
Tom/Barb wrote:
Fine unless the lighting comes in thru the window screen. Had that happen at the stick house I grew up in. Came in the kitchen window screen and straight out thru the kitchen screen door. Went right past everybody sitting at the kitchen table. Didn't damage a thing except the metal screens. Talk about being blessed. That certainly wasn't any luck of the Irish, even with everybody sitting at the table being Irish. Lighting is going to do what it wants to do and nothing we do will stop it.
when thunderstorms are in the area, and you expect lightning, simply unplug the coach from the electrical out let.
Stick house much different than camper, or hadn't you noticed? Stick house not mounted on rubber tires.
Your camper will flash over just like aircraft do. stay inside, and yes, stow the power chord. and un hook the water hose too. it is a vary good conductor. and if possible park away from lightning attractors like tall trees, high line towers etc.- From what I am reading here, it appears that everyone thinks a surge guard, EMS or whatever will save your coach from a strike. This is simply not true. Everyone should read up on lightening strikes and the damage they can do. Just unplugging isn't going to save your coach either.
- First. Most folks do not know what a surge is, they confuse spikes with surge and his is aided by the fact that MOST of what is sold in stores as "Surge Guard" or "Surge Protectors" are really spike supressors.
EXCEPTION to that are products like the Progresive Dynamics 30 and 50 amp RV surge protectors/enegry monitor systems. These are TRUE surge protectors, oh, they have spike supression as well.
In an RV (need not be a motor home) things are designed for a range of voltage on the AC side from a low of around 105 (110 recommended) to a high of around 130 (125 recommended) and the Good RV type surge guards look for voltage outside that range if if they see it.. You get nothing, cause NOTHING is safe 90 VAC is.. Kind of hard on the air conditioner, and 140, On everything.
Now, since I got my "A" have not had a problem. I have spike and low voltage protection.
Back in my trailer days.. Lost an Air conditioner to a spike/surge
And in my house lost many spike supressors (Sold as surge protectors) one computer power supply and the blower motor on my furnace. to a genuine surge. univmd wrote:
Tom/Barb wrote:
when thunderstorms are in the area, and you expect lightning, simply unplug the coach from the electrical out let.
We never unplug, we love to use electricity even when there is a thunderstorm, especially if it is hot and humid outside. We use a surge protector instead.
RV surge protectors like those from PI or TCI are not designed to protect your RV from lightning strikes.
Like the previous poster said, unplug during a thunderstorm.- I don't get where you see the hassle. The units shut off when power gets too low. They wait a designed period of time check power and turn back on. The other biggee is that every time you plug in, the unit checks the power supply and indicates if anything is wrong. After I installed mine, it told me the plug on my RV pad was wired wrong.
This is one of those posts that usually the trailer people or inexpensive Class A people argue that they don't need it. They're right, they generally don't have a lot of electronic items that can get fried.
"bluegypsy".....I see you don't post what kind of coach you have, but your previous posts indicate a Fleetwood Discovery. Good luck if you get a spike on that. Your replacement costs for appliances and components could easily run $10,000.00.
I've been camping for 40 years and I never had a Surge protector on my slide in camper, Class C or Class A gasser, but my DP wasn't worth fooling around with. Many here have to watch their finances and can't afford one. If you can't, I understand, but please don't tell all the other posters in this post they don't need one. Tom/Barb wrote:
when thunderstorms are in the area, and you expect lightning, simply unplug the coach from the electrical out let.
We never unplug, we love to use electricity even when there is a thunderstorm, especially if it is hot and humid outside. We use a surge protector instead.jerseyjim wrote:
Power surges from the pedestal (shore power). Camping for more than 20 years, I never needed one. Or so I thought. 3 year old motorhome....in town having dinner, thunderstorm hit the area.
Long story short, my fridge got fried and only by a stoke of luck could my transfer switch start working again.
That boomer cost me about 1500 bucks. So....I then bought a Progressive Industries 50 amp unit (the portable model). $300+ bucks. Shuts the power to the motorhome off because of high, low or surge..I think within 2 nano-seconds.
yep, you can skate by for years on luck and save that $300, but one of these years bad luck is going to jump up and bite you in the butt.
bumpy
