Surge Protector

Mandalay Parr wrote:
Get a good Progressive Industries unit. Even a good park can have problems once in a while. I have seen it.

Two times in the last 5 yrs. I've been at 'Good Parks' when there was a power surge. Fried my partners trailers appliances.
Mine were not damaged. I was protected.
Sometimes its a 'Brown Out', then a surge during storms.

BTW: My partner bought a good Surge protector when he got his RV fixed.
Lesson learned. (Costly too, his RV heating & air conditioners were ruined too.)

pianotuna wrote:
Folks there is far more damage caused by low voltage brown outs than by surges. Here is a solution:
constant voltage transformer

This will regulate both high and low incoming line voltage. I emailed Sola. The 60 va unit, which would be wonderful for a 30 amp RV, is about $411.00 plus shipping.

sola sales

The transformers are nice, but, my Progressive (EMS-HW30C) monitors the power and automatically disconnect power. This will activate when the power gets above 132 volts or below 104. It works really well. I do see the benefit of the transformers, especially if you travel to a great number of different campgrounds.

Mandalay Parr wrote:
Get a good Progressive Industries unit. Even a good park can have problems once in a while. I have seen it.

I agree, get one and use it. Last year I stayed at an upscale KOA on a large lake in Kentucky as usual my PI unit was hooked up and all was well. On the last day there while cooking breakfast power went off after a series of trouble shooting exercises and a call to Progressive I determined that the CG had power but that there was some issue with the power. How did I know, well every body around me had power, electric appliances I plugged in to the post worked so I had power at the post, but my PI unit would not cycle on and pass power to the TT. I tried the PI unit at a couple of other power post at vacant sites with the same result...the unit kicked off after about 2 minutes. The PI unit doesn't like the power at the post and kicks off is it really the CG power or is there a problem with the PI unit. A call to Progressive and a conversation with a tech confirmed that I had done what could be done and the question remained. Progressives advice was to check the surge protector at another CG. , Now my real problem....the PI unit doesn't like the CG power for some reason however many other TT's and MH's are up and running with no apparent problems. Do I ignore the PI unit and plug directly in to the post or keep the PI unit connected and hope that the power issues resolves itself and in the meantime go without power. I checked with a couple of the folks around me who were plugged in direct and none seemed to be having any problems......so I turned off the HVAC, switched the fridge to propane, crossed my fingers and plugged in. I had no problems and we left the next day. When I got to the CG at home where I keep the TT parked/stored I plugged in the PI unit and the TT and all worked well. We continued camping another 4 or 5 times and the PI unit worked fine.

So I have faith in my PI unit and my only issue is what do you do when the unit shuts off and yet there is seemingly usable power in the CG? I suppose my solution will be the same as that I used in KY...that or leave the CG.

Folks there is far more damage caused by low voltage brown outs than by surges. Here is a solution:
constant voltage transformer

This will regulate both high and low incoming line voltage. I emailed Sola. The 60 va unit, which would be wonderful for a 30 amp RV, is about $411.00 plus shipping.

sola sales

DutchmenSport wrote:
We've been RVing of some sort for over 20 years now. Never used any kind of surge protector and never had any problems, ever. Bought our Outback last September and talking to the dealer (of course) he suggested getting a surge protector (but I brought up the topic). Here's his rational, and I had to agree because I bought one the day we took delivery of the camper.

First, you're paying a ton of money for your camper. Because you're investing so much into it financially, isn't it worth it to protect it a little?

Second, there a lot more sophisticated electronic appliances and systems in today's newer campers. Because of the technology, 1) you probably will not be able to work on it, even if you're a good handy-man. 2) if you take it in for a repair because one of the electronic components got zapped, the repair will cost much more than the price of a single surge protector!

Third, if you camper get's 'zapped' with high voltage or low voltage and one of the components get's "taken-out", your camper (or at least that function of the camper) will be out of service. If you're on the road, or at home preparing for your next trip, you might not be able to use your camper at all until the electrical problem get's fixed! Do you really want that inconvenience at the worst possible time!

Fourth, any purchase you make from the Service and Parts department on the day you take delivery of your new camper, you get a 10% reduction in price for all purchases. (We ended up purchasing over a thousand dollars worth of "stuff" to outfit the new camper including the surge protector.

Fifth, Now that I have the protector, I have "somewhat" peace of mind. And I love the read out on the protector that says how many amps are pulling at any giving time!

X2 ;)

I have had our Progressive Industries 30 amp Surge Protector for several years but finally pried open my wallet and ordered an upgrade to the PT30C EMS (also from Progressive Industries). With tax and no freight it was $270 on Amazon. The surge protector has worked well, saved us from bad pedestals three times but can't help if we get low/high voltage the way an EMS system can. Just another layer of protection. :C

I have a built in unit by Progressive, and I like it. As far as the question as to if you really need it, think of it as insurance. We do 90% of our camping in the summer months and the chance of thunder storms is likely, at least once during a normal week. It will not protect you from a extremely close lightning strike, but it will filter the surges and spikes that are on the line during the storms. They are not absolutely necessary, but really nice to have.

Is it necessary to wear a belt or suspenders? Only if you want your pants to stay up! :E :W

CT_WANDERER wrote:
For the first time, while I was I our MH I had our PI EMS shut off the park power. ..... guess everyone must be turning on there electric heater at night. Not sure if it was only in the park, but I head a clicking noise. .....but you never know when you will have a sag of power.

X2 I've stayed a quite a few CG's during peak cold or heat that couldn't handle a full park.

I stayed at a CG at Purina Farms Gray Summit, MO during a sporting event in the summer. It could not handle everyone using their AC's. Kept blowing their main. Finally they announced that NO A/C units could be run period. :R

Boy if you every wanted to see a gaggle of irate campers THAT was the weekend to experience it! And then to add to that then there was all the literal fist fights about generator exhaust. :B:B

My Progressive EMS has shut off my power due to low voltage several times in campgrounds. The most recent shut off was at my home base site which is in a residential area plugged directly into utility power. This was a high voltage shut off and happened two mornings in a row at 3:00am. This turned out to be a bad utility transformer which they replaced. A couple of times it shut me off in a campground due to lost ground.

One big advantage of the unit other than the above is if you are running your a/c's and have a shut off or even a temporary power outage the unit won't turn your power back on for 2 1/2 minutes to protect your a/c compressors.