Forum Discussion

Wanderstarck's avatar
Wanderstarck
Explorer
Dec 25, 2021

Insurance claim, possible surge

It's just come to our attention that we may have had a power surge in our 2007 Safari Trek. All of a sudden we lost one major thing after another. Our inverter/charger, all LED light switches, Air Condintioning circuit boards, stereo, etc. We contacted Magnum, the maker of the inverter. They said that was consistent with a power surge. However, we didn't realize this might have been the cause until months afterwards. Has anyone had experience with a claim like this on their insurance? Think this happened during on a trip that involved several stops so not exactly sure where.
Seeking Advice
  • philh's avatar
    philh
    Explorer II
    Dec 29, 2021
    Surge suppressor of some kind is expensive, and worth every penny. I had a hardwired progressive EMS installed.

    Lightening can definitely "weaken" the electronics. I had a lightning strike really close to my house. Didn't hit a powerline, but over the next 9ish months, I lost piece of equipment after piece of equipment. Insurance didn't pay out, because I couldn't directly point electronics failure to the specific incident.
  • Wanderstarck's avatar
    Wanderstarck
    Explorer
    Dec 28, 2021
    Thank you for the help and advice. Looking into my policy and inverter now. Trying to claim correctly so it just doesn't get thrown out on a technicality. To replace all of the issues is very expensive and they definitely seem to be related as they all happened within a couple of weeks of each other. Our trip was WA, ID, MT in late summer during all of the fires (often started by lightning). To top it off we lost our cab AC same trip! Hottest summer in history, 106 degrees that trip!
  • jeeperdude10's avatar
    jeeperdude10
    Explorer
    Dec 26, 2021
    I have just had a scenario similar (not to the full extent) as you. We woke up one morning to witness 'one leg' of the inverter not working-the circuit that is supplied by the inverter, during normal operating, was totally non functional. After trying to troubleshoot myself, and doing all that I could-I finally called in a mobile RV tech. Ended up being the control board, mother board had failed....got it rebuilt and reinstalled and we are back to normal. Just my experience-good luck and hope it is not too extensive of a search to figure all out....
  • Skibane's avatar
    Skibane
    Explorer II
    Dec 26, 2021
    naturist wrote:
    Agreed likely lightning strike. A power surge of any kind blows things immediately, not months later.


    A power surge stresses just about every electrical item that it doesn't blow immediately.

    Often, this stress causes items to fail days, weeks or even months afterwards.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Dec 25, 2021
    naturist wrote:
    A power surge of any kind blows things immediately, not months later.
    Given this, I'd be suspect of the inverter itself, not a surge. Has its battery charging also failed?
  • IDman's avatar
    IDman
    Explorer
    Dec 25, 2021
    What does your policy say about "sudden power surges?" I'll bet you anything it
    isn't covered, since you cannot tell them when, where, what. They'll call it 'wear and tear'.
  • naturist's avatar
    naturist
    Nomad
    Dec 25, 2021
    Agreed likely lightning strike. A power surge of any kind blows things immediately, not months later. Lightning doesn't have to hit the trailer, it can hit the power line a mile or more away. If the 'electric company's grounds at the poles are out/already blown from a previous strike, the lightning surge can destroy things you wouldn't believe.

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