Surge Protector

Us out West wrote:
After doing our research we decided on the Progressive Industries Portable 50 AMP Electrical Management System and ordered from Tweety's.

One thing that we recommend is to plug the unit into the pedestal and let it go through it's checks BEFORE plugging your rig in and turning on the power.

The unit has actually saved us a couple of times over the last couple of years by shutting things down when a problem was detected.



Luckily people tend to learn from experiences, good & bad, and be able to make the right adjustment if they bought the wrong equipment in the first place.

Have one identical to that one. We use it most of the time. We are more likely not to bother if in an urban CG, the reasoning being that the voltage is expected to be more stable.

We also let it go through the checks, turn the power off then plug the trailer in & turn the power on again. Finding the same voltage on each leg is rare. Voltage in old CGs when people start turning on A/Cs & other heavy users of power can drop by an alarming amount.

A surge protector is an expensive piece of insurance equipment until the day comes when it does its job & saves something inside which costs much more to replace.

We were camping in Minnesota a few years ago and our Progressive unit shut down. I checked the error code and it was due to low voltage. That evening TV news was advising that any of Minnesota’s electric companies were having low voltage problems because of aging electrical grides and the inability to obtain right of way to replace or upgrade their existing grides. Although low voltage will not “blow” out many RV electronic systems extended period of low voltage will burn out AC compressors.

We were camping at a brand new campground and our Progressive unit would not connect as it registered reverse polarity in the pedestal.

The advantage of a hardwired unit is that you can’t plug in without protection.

Progressive units are the only such product with a lifetime warranty and the best customer service record on this forum.

Dave

DutchmenSport, pretty nifty! Thanks for an idea!

WoodGlue

I read a reply where some don't reset themselves. I unplugged mine, let it sit for a while, and it reset itself. It's working fine again. I must have purchased one that doesn't have the reset feature Thanks everyone.

yep! that is one thing on my list to get this year. Lucky we were last summer trip, stayed at my Dad's, he wired up my 30 amp receptacle like he did in the past. Being that we used it before, I pulled up, plugged in and flipped the breaker, POP!!!!! 220 instead of 110, we blew out our converters inverter. Lucky for us nothing else blew or created a fire. paid my $100 deductible and had it fixed. Now, If I had one, I would of broke even at that point and would have saved a bunch of time, inconvenience, and embarrassment for my Dad. Anyhow, will have one before next big trip!!! Good Luck & Be Safe ! ! !

A word about theft? I was concerned about theft also as my surge protector is the plug-in at the pedestal type. Considering I always carry extra 30 amp RV cord (2 - 50 foot lengths), I plug one of these cords into the pedestal, run it under the camper and then plug in the protector. I then take the trailer cord and plug it into the other end of the protector. The actual protector then fits very nice on the top of my tires on the door side of the camper. Because it's kind of wedged between the top of the tires and the top of the wheel well, you rally cannot even see it unless you get right upon the wheels, which is also under the awning, beside the door and under the outside kitchen.

Any kind of locking device will never stop a thief. But if a thief does not even know it's there, they'll move on. "Out of sight, out of mind!" This works very well for us.

Edit:

Here's a photo from our Florida trip we made over Christmas 2013. I bet you have to look real hard to find the surge protector. Look on the top of the front wheel.






Here's the protector at home (we live in the country ... if someone takes it from our home, well, they need it MUCH more than I do then).

Farm Camp wrote:
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If we are talking about a much older unit with less electronics then you might be ok to skip it... Maybe....

Older RV's need them too. It's not just added fancy electronic toys it's the common "appliances" that are in ALL RV's that get hit.

Old or new RV, they all usually have the same o same o Micro, TV, RV air conditioning unit and some common converters. These are the first 4 items to go up in smoke......Literally. Don't ask me how I know. :(

I do have a concern about a hardwired unit inside my trailer. If something is happening electrically, I'd prefer it to all happen at the post and not inside the rig!

WoodGlue

Don't think you are always safe even when plugged in at home. I am on my winter home base now and a few weeks ago my Progressive unit shut my power off at 3:00am. I didn't think much about it because it was back on when I got up later. The next morning at the same time it did it again. Then I went out to look at the code. It was high voltage. It seems Alabama Power had a transformer failing. They replaced it a few hours later and no problem since.

My home base is a lot in a residential area and no one uses my power pedestal but me. The only other users on the same transformer as my site are s&b and I'll bet none of them knew they had high voltage (over 132 volts) unless they had some light bulbs fail.

Hard wired will not grow legs and the remote can be where you can check it, useful for checking amps.