Surge Protector ?

[Kbwitt]

Setting up my new to me 2003 Journey. Never had one before.
I understand I should get a surge protector to plug into at camp site. I have zero knowledge on what's is needed and price vary big.
Is a cheap ok or is there a great mid range.
Best place to buy?
Thanks Kenn

[eldermike]

I personally like progressive industries products. I use one of their 50amp portables so I can plug into the pedestal and read the lights before I plug in. Mine is an older one and I am not familiar with their latest part numbers. They are not cheap. I know nothing about the lower cost products so I can't help you there.

[Kbwitt]

Thanks

[Winterbagoal]

Have a browse at Best Converter dot com. They have some Progressive Industries hard wired and portables at probably the best prices. I use one of the PT30X portables, and it works well.

[creativepart]

You get what you pay for. It’s really cheap when you think about the cost of replacing all your electric equipment and appliances.

You can find them on the used market. We had a 30-amp RV and a Progressive Industries 30-amp surge guard. When we traded that RV for our new 50-amp RV we sold the old PT-30 on www.irv2.com’s classifieds.

So look on eBay, and RV websites for a used one.

[Kbwitt]

Great info even a place to shop thank you

[Kbwitt]

Can they go bad? I would not know how to test a used one

[Winterbagoal]

I must respectfully disagree about buying used. Yes they can go bad.
I would be really careful about buying used Progressive Industries products. If you buy new, and they are actually damaged by a power fault/fluctuation event, PI may not warrant the used hardware like they do their new equipment. They have a lifetime warranty/guarantee/swap program for damaged EMS products for the original owner. I'm not sure a used unit would qualify.

[powercat_ras]

You can get an analyzer with surge protection for under $ 100. It has lights that tell when you plug it into the pedestal that the outlet is wired correctly. It has a surge protector that will try to absorb spikes from storms. It does not check for low or high voltage. It passes power thru at all times, IMHO I would spend the money to get the second type , below.

The next step up is a protector that costs over $ 200. It does not pass power thru unless the power from the pedestal meets all of its checks. They check for low/high voltage and if the outlet is wired correctly. They also have surge protection. They also have a timer that if there is a power hit, they will delay reconnecting the power for a few seconds so that if you are running the AC or Heat Pump it has time to recover so that the compressor does not stall when it tries to restart and damage it.

Some can be hard wired in the basement of your RV, others just go in-line between the pedestal outlet and your shore cable. You can browse what's available on a web site like campingworld.com then once you have a short list you can buy at many places all RV parts stores have them, Walmart.com, Amazon.com, etc.

[BobC]

Personally, I recommend hard-wired for any MH with reasonable room for the installation. There's no forgetting it, losing it, or theft risk. It's a pretty easy DIY installation for those who'd be comfortable replacing an electrical outlet at home.

I'd never had any power related issues for about ten years until I lost a microwave to a storm-related power issue. I also installed a whole house surge suppressor at home.

[Goodspike]

After reading through all the issues people raised in the "50 amp service more reliable" thread I now wish I had bought this surge protection device. It automatically shuts down both on over-current and over-voltage, as well has having (replaceable) surge protection and indicator lights to make sure the service is properly wired.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Watchdo...s%2C235&sr=8-1

I have the same device that is not the EPO model (it just warns, doesn't shut off) that I will likely be selling if someone wants to make an offer. Only used once on a Sunday. (Seriously, only used once, but I don't remember the day--it's very new.)

[Goodspike]

Here's a link to the 50 amp thread I mentioned in the prior post.

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...le-356673.html

Better information the further you get into it.

[MicroMinnie]

You probably have 50A service in your coach.
Any power you want to check before plugging in but open neutral on 50A can light up your coach like no tomorrow. Used ones don’t always show if the protection integrity has been compromised, would not be worth the $50 savings to me. crappy power can fry just about everything in your coach in a few seconds. Aka end of Journey.

Sample

https://www.amazon.com/Southwire-Sur...752735&sr=8-14

(And lock it to the post when in use)

Camping world, Amazon, most RV shops ect.

[David K]

I have 50 amp service for my coach --- and I have a Surge Guard hard wired in my coach. Have had it for many years now and I am very comfortable with their products. When you hard wire in, you don't have to worry about it -- it is always there and if you use a converter (50 amp to 30 amp) to get a lower voltage in a campground that does not have 50 amp service, again, you don't have to worry as the voltage still goes through the 50 amp Surge Guard. It is not hard to "hard wire" one in.

[Chmielowiec]

Progressive Industries onboard hard wired surge protector is the best way to go very easy install and you dont have to worry about theft or plugging in without the protector because its mounted bbn inline I have a 2007 Journey it's the way to go

[Kbwitt]

I ended up installing a Progresseive Industries
EMS-HW50C With remote reader.
It's very easy to install any one who can read can install comes with good instructions and diagram. The remote readers cord is long enough you can bring it to the power source when hooking up.
If you follow these few pointers I think it will be easier for you. I wished I would of had them.
In stall in basement compartment were shoreline is now present.
1st. Open electric panel were your shoreline cord goes into. Detach the line.
2nd. Figure out were you are going to mount then cut a cord piece long enough. To go from there to were you unattached the shoreline cord
3rd. A must attach that wire to the in side of surge box to T1 T2 T3 side. Next attach the shoreline cord. To the L line side. The 2 rings can stick up a little the box cover is doomed.
4th. Attach the T side line to the RV electric panel were you disconnected the land line. Mount the box and enjoy.

[Jamie M]

Originally Posted by David K

I have 50 amp service for my coach --- and I have a Surge Guard hard wired in my coach. Have had it for many years now and I am very comfortable with their products. When you hard wire in, you don't have to worry about it -- it is always there and if you use a converter (50 amp to 30 amp) to get a lower voltage in a campground that does not have 50 amp service, again, you don't have to worry as the voltage still goes through the 50 amp Surge Guard. It is not hard to "hard wire" one in.

David, I have a 2019 Forza 34T bought new last year. It has a Surge Guard 40350 RVC hard wired in it. The guy who did our walk through recommended that we get a 50 amp surge protector for the shore power post also. Is that really necessary in your opinion, or is the hard wired guard enough?

[NeilV]

Surge protection is only a small part of the problem. Most power systems at campgrounds also suffer from regular brown and at time extended brown outs that may be just at the cusp of triggering a Surge Protectors Low Voltage Protection leaving you with the choice of hitting the bypass so it will let you run on the low voltage and take you chances or early failure of AC Compressors, control boards, motor start capacitors, circuit breakers, transfer switches, etc.

Better choice is to also add a low voltage correction transformer such as a Hughes AutoFormer which will most often be able to bring voltage back up to safe levels preventing equipment damage.

https://hughesautoformers.com/.

I installed one in my coach years ago and it has saved me much more than it cost by greatly reducing the costs of fixing/replacing electrical components stressed by low voltage in my RV. Remember when voltage goes down the wattage requirement of the motor, etc stays the same so amperage draw goes up as does the heat generated by the device. The excess heat is what does the cumulative damage over time and causes early failures. Many just attribute these failures to cheap RV components not realizing that most likely it was just repeated use during brown outs and other low voltage events that caused their device to fail.

[Camper Ken 2]

Originally Posted by Winterbagoal

Have a browse at Best Converter dot com. They have some Progressive Industries hard wired and portables at probably the best prices. I use one of the PT30X portables, and it works well.

Exactly the same experience for me. I also have the portable 30amp model. I searched a number of internet sources and they had the best price.

[Goodspike]

Originally Posted by NeilV

Surge protection is only a small part of the problem.

A VERY small part. Although I guess if you were in a park in a very flat area in a lightening storm . . ..