Generators and surge protectors

We have also been considering the power protector (surge and over/under voltage) and generator issue. We don't boondock so a generator would be useful only in an emergency situation. We have one at home for that purpose. A lot of people swear by power protection. Last season (our first) we didn't have one. There were no problems. We were lucky. You can stay lucky forever and never need one. But consider the risk. First of all, even modern power sources can suffer surges and brown outs. Since most of us camp in the country where power is delivered by overhead lines, there is always the risk of a lightning hit, which can create a very brief spike before power company protection kicks in. Or worse, your campground could get hit past the power company transformer, in which case the only protection you have is what you installed. Newer AC units should have undervoltage protection built in. The compressor should trip your breakers before it burns out. But given the quality of RV makers, that may not be true for you. If the AC has a breaker rated for the power drawn by the AC, then chances are that undervoltage (which raises ampere demand from the compressor)will trip the breaker. If, however, the breaker is rated high enough, the compressor will not trip the breaker. Then you have to hope that the compressor itself has some sort of thermal cutoff.

I have been unable to learn whether the power centers in new RV's have over/under voltage protection built in. My dealer says they do, but then he will tell me the moon is made of cheese if it gets him the sale.

External protection like the Progressive devices cost anywhere from $300 and up depending on the service you have. It seems to me spending that money is a good insurance policy for the electrical equipment in your TT.