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been reading alot about them but wonder if they are really necessary? How many actually have issues at parks? I do understand one instance can cost alot to repair, thoughts?

snickers wrote:been reading alot about them but wonder if they are really necessary? How many actually have issues at parks? I do understand one instance can cost alot to repair, thoughts?

We just discussed this on another thread you might find helpful.
http://www.womenrv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12195

I traveled extensively this past year and my Progressive Industries EMS shut down a few times due to low voltage or open grounds.

Really necessary? Probably not, but I view it as insurance. Most everything in an RV has a circuit board to control it. Heater, thermostat, tank level indicators, CO2 detector, microwave, A/C units, television, stereo, water heater, refrigerator... You get the idea, I'm sure I missed a few. I paid about the price of a new TV for my Progressive Industry "surge protector". They actually do more than a surge protector, protecting you from a lightning strike.

Many older facilities were not designed to handle the new energy hungry 50 amp campers. Sometimes it's the power lines to the campground (we had that in CT last year). Sometime electrical issues don't get handled correctly. A good "surge protector" can tell if the power pedestal is wired correctly and can protect your equipment from over or under voltage conditions, dropped grounds and other conditions. Under voltage can damage A/C compressors (think $600-1,000 for an A/C unit) and other items. You can watch the voltage drop on hot July day as all the A/C units get turned on.

When there is an issue the "surge protector" cuts power to the RV, monitors for the condition to correct itself and then repowers the RV. Since A/C unit compressors don't like to be "short cycled" there is often a 30 second delay to allow things to reset before restarting. Some A/C units have built in "short cycle" protection so the restart delay on some "surge protectors" is adjustable.


30 amp service is one line at 30 amps
50 amp service is 2 lines at 50 amps or 100 amps which is more than 3x the power
Going from 30 amp to 50 amp really is a major upgrade to a facilities electric grid and requires running new larger electrical lines not adding a new plug to a power pedestal. Unfortunately not everyone spent the money to run new wires and transformers when they "upgraded".

Bottom line, some people think they are a good investment and others don't. It's your call.

Here is an instant that if a surge protector had been used, it would have avoided a serious problem. One of our members parked her motorhome at someone's home, and they were nice enough to put in a 30 amp service for her 30 amp unit. She pulled into it without a surge protector and it burnt her motorhome wiring system up. Turns out they had installed a 220 service and put a 30 amp plug on it. wayyy to much current.

Since I bought this new motorhome, I have found two parks that had serious problems with their power, one would only stay on a few seconds and pop off. The surge protector stopped damage from the motorhome.

Yes we have breakers but by the time they are tripped damage can already be done. I would not have a motorhome without a good surge protector.