We are at an older camp ground in Needles CA and yesterday it was 114, so checked out let and voltage reading was adequate 112, turned A/C on and settled in, forgot to switch fridge to gas only, for dinner we nuked some frozen pot pies, braker switch popped so turned fridge to gas reset braker and turned A/C back on, we have been in RV parks with good voltage in 120 degrees and no problems, it is the older places with lower voltages that one has to think about.Check the voltage and always remember what is using power, the battery charger for the house, the refrigerator heating element, any 110 lamps, the television, the microwave oven, the coffee pot, we did not watch tv it is unplugged, one lamp and with the heat outside it is hot, even for the appliances, if brakers pop think of what is turned on and what you can turn off or switch to gas.Third time in 14 years, I am going to purchase a good switch and replace this one as soon as possible, specially the cheap one used by the builders.navegator

Good advice about voltage check..or install a surge protector with low voltage shut off...Also: when it's 114 degrees outside....move on down the road to somewhere cooler.There is NO WAY I'm going to have anything to do with RV'ing in that kind of heat.

I have a voltage surge protector, that did not trip it was the braker in the RV that could not handle the load, the park in Desert Hot Springs had 120 vac and we used all the appliances no problem, it is the low voltage and a compressor in the A/C that places a strain in the braker, and it heats up and trips.As for the heat, we are moving on, going to Flagstaff, AZ a lot cooler.navegator

Another thing to turn off which took me awhile to figure out at a rally on poor generator power after switching to propane... the ice maker when it harvests the ice.

downtheroad wrote:Good advice about voltage check..or install a surge protector with low voltage shut off...Also: when it's 114 degrees outside....move on down the road to somewhere cooler.There is NO WAY I'm going to have anything to do with RV'ing in that kind of heat.I'm right down the river in Arizona and today it is supposed to be 117. Yay. I'm not out in an RV park but I do like to keep my 5th wheel plugged in here at the house and AC on to keep it cool (teenagers at home). Since I only have a 20a outlet I have to be even more diligent than the OP in watching power. But the RV stays tolerable and I don't have the windows blocked--just the roof vents and bath skylight. The AC does pull more current in this extreme heat and I had the breaker trip yesterday at around 3pm. I switched to generator to be safe until about 6:30.That said no way the DW will camp in this weather--though I would as long as we were by the lake or river. So we are headed out this weekend to someplace cool--which to us right now would mean 80-90.Mike

navegator wrote:I have a voltage surge protector, that did not trip it was the braker in the RV that could not handle the load, the park in Desert Hot Springs had 120 vac and we used all the appliances no problem, it is the low voltage and a compressor in the A/C that places a strain in the braker, and it heats up and trips.As for the heat, we are moving on, going to Flagstaff, AZ a lot cooler.navegatorSurge Protector with HI/LO Voltage will not trip until 132V or 104V.Below 108V induction motors can be damaged due to the higher amp draw and heat.

Monitoring voltage at older camp grounds | Good Sam Community

11 Replies

mlts22
Explorer II
Jun 18, 2015
The absolute best way to protect stuff is with a hybrid inverter, although on 12 volts, you are limited to a 3000 watt unit. These will draw from the battery if the voltage gets too low, and one can attach an external battery charger to keep the batteries topped off.

Second best would be an autoformer, then behind that, an EMS which cuts off the circuit if the voltage (adjusted by the autoformer) goes below 110 volts. This will help with low voltages at campsites, by using more amperage for the same load.

Both methods trade amps for voltage, so if the wiring is popping breakers already, neither of these solutions will help.
navegator
Explorer
Jun 17, 2015
The surge protector will protect from voltage fluctuations coming in to the RV once the current is in it is the circuit brakers that take over, if there is low voltage to begin and one places a load on the line, the circuit braker is going to trip first, the surge protector does not read backwards.

We are now in Flagstaff, at Black Bart's, same low volage, only good thing is it is 84 and will go down to 49 tonight, do not need the A/C, can make coffee tomorrow, having a big ribeye steak and some good beans tonight, my wife will regret it in a couple of days I hope I do not set the fire or carbon monoxide monitors on.

navegator
Acampingwewillg
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2015
Yep...when I first got here we were dangerously close at about 106 volts on the 30 amp pedestal with just one air but boosted to about 114 with auto-former. One air just couldn't keep the doggies cool so had to move to 50 amp site...oh well. :-)
time2roll
Nomad
Jun 17, 2015
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Below 108V induction motors can be damaged due to the higher amp draw and heat.
These motors are generally rated 115 +/- 10% not 120 +/- 10%.

Dometic specifically calls out 103.5 as minimum. Although I do agree running at the absolute minimum for an extended period is not good either.

IMO the 104 cut off of the surge protector should not be an issue.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Jun 17, 2015
VOltage monitoring is very important for many things.

I have a surge protector currently plugged in.. I need to "install" it properly (And likely will next winter when I can kill A/C for a bit and run on just battery for an hour or 3) This device protects against low/high voltage and selectd other hazards. Mine is not a Progressive Industries but they are the ones I recommend HW-30 or HW-50 for installed. or the portable version

I also have an autoformer that automaticaly boosts low voltage.

Inside the RV (post autoformr) I have analog expanded range volt meter "Line Monitors" one on each leg. and a Kill-A-Watt digital on volts on the inverter "leg" Plus the inverter's digital display.

This is the meter I like best.. nice soft backlight and a pass through socket.
Acampingwewillg
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2015
Sitting here at Emerald Cove on the Parker, Az strip....it's in the neighborhood of 115 outside right now in the shade, both airs running and I'm at 120 volts. I monitor it via A/B leg voltage/amp meters but I find that inexpensive voltage monitor/alarm is a good way of knowing when things aren't quite right. Now I will admit, the Auto-former I don't usually use is plugged in and my Surge Guard I always use is in line with that. This has been one of the few CG's lately that I have not been able to run both airs on 30 amp pedestal's...hence I moved to a 50 amp spot but I'm sure the extreme heat has everything to do with that.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Jun 17, 2015
navegator wrote:
I have a voltage surge protector, that did not trip it was the braker in the RV that could not handle the load, the park in Desert Hot Springs had 120 vac and we used all the appliances no problem, it is the low voltage and a compressor in the A/C that places a strain in the braker, and it heats up and trips.

As for the heat, we are moving on, going to Flagstaff, AZ a lot cooler.

navegator

Surge Protector with HI/LO Voltage will not trip until 132V or 104V.

Below 108V induction motors can be damaged due to the higher amp draw and heat.
TInmania
Explorer
Jun 17, 2015
downtheroad wrote:
Good advice about voltage check..or install a surge protector with low voltage shut off...

Also: when it's 114 degrees outside....move on down the road to somewhere cooler.

There is NO WAY I'm going to have anything to do with RV'ing in that kind of heat.

I'm right down the river in Arizona and today it is supposed to be 117. Yay. I'm not out in an RV park but I do like to keep my 5th wheel plugged in here at the house and AC on to keep it cool (teenagers at home). Since I only have a 20a outlet I have to be even more diligent than the OP in watching power. But the RV stays tolerable and I don't have the windows blocked--just the roof vents and bath skylight. The AC does pull more current in this extreme heat and I had the breaker trip yesterday at around 3pm. I switched to generator to be safe until about 6:30.

That said no way the DW will camp in this weather--though I would as long as we were by the lake or river. So we are headed out this weekend to someplace cool--which to us right now would mean 80-90.

Mike
Ivylog
Explorer III
Jun 17, 2015
Another thing to turn off which took me awhile to figure out at a rally on poor generator power after switching to propane... the ice maker when it harvests the ice.
navegator
Explorer
Jun 17, 2015
I have a voltage surge protector, that did not trip it was the braker in the RV that could not handle the load, the park in Desert Hot Springs had 120 vac and we used all the appliances no problem, it is the low voltage and a compressor in the A/C that places a strain in the braker, and it heats up and trips.

As for the heat, we are moving on, going to Flagstaff, AZ a lot cooler.

navegator