electrical question

[rdpalm]

Just read an ad in the Good Sam magazine on surge protectors. Have never used one on the 5th wheel so am wondering what the opinions are concerning them. Seems a reasonable cost for protection (75 to 85 dollars) at a few stores including amazon. Anyway...worth the money or not??

[Hunter11]

I feel they are well worth the money. I have a 50 amp Autoformer installed in our trailer. Some RV parks have "iffy" electrical connections. All it takes is one voltage drop or surge to burn outseveralthousand dollars worth of electrical equipmentandappliances.

[Bert]

Well I can't talk about the cost, but I'm an electrical contractor in Florida. Surge protectors are very important. Many areas have unreliable electric due to antiquated transformers and feeders. I'm looking for one myself for my new TT. There are so many electronic devices in these new units, its worth it to protect them. I have one on my house why wouldn't I have one on my TT.

[rdpalm]

I tend to agree and guess we have been lucky as no issues so far. Ran across one (Surge Guard) on amazon for around $87.00 with free shipping. Had pretty much made up my mind already but wanted some more expert input.

[BDLuke]

Another sound off from someone living in Florida. I'vehad the hardwire Surge Guard installed in mine for over six years and it's not uncommon to have ittrip a coupletimes a summer during heavy thunderstorms and low voltagedue to heavy load on the campground's system. I wouldn't be without it. Most of these systems also have a timeout feature to save your air conditioner compressor. That alone is worth the cost of the unit.

[sleepyT]

I have a surge protector it cost much more than $87.00. I'm not an electrician so I don't know, but can't help but wonder how good could an $87.00 surge protector be? JUST ASKING!!!

Burt -- As an electrical contractor I would like to hear what you have to say about price versus quality. Do the cheaper protectors give the protection the camper needs??? Are we just paying for bells and whistles on the high price protectors

[Ramn4ver]

I just noticed those less expensive surge protectors. Have a 50 amp on ours. At a older park we use to be at. Kick off a few times during the summer months. Also had a 30 amp with our A/F trailer. Saved us at a state park on the Oregon coast last year. Wouldn't be without one. But mine cost 3 to 4 times that one for $89.00. Not sure what the difference is. Edited by: Ramn4ver

[Bert]

That's difficult to say without comparing the specs. But usually you get what you pay for. The standard residential surge protector is over $100. Semper Fi Sleepy T.

[sleepyT]

Bert ---- Semper Fi back at ya. (1968-1972 HMM263)

[rdpalm]

Ordered one today. Portable in line and just over 100.00. Hopefully will provide some basic protection.

[Utahgoldrup]

In looking at different surge protectors, we finally decided on one made by Progressive Industries Inc. It was pricey and we went with one which is hard-wired into the trailer vs. portable. It appears that the portable ones protect just as well however, I am concerned about it getting stolen while we are out camping, not cheap to replace. We are having our dealer do the install right now so I can post pictures once I have the trailer back. The one we are using has a separate LCD monitor panel which will display the various codes, etc. RVupgrades.com had the best price I could find. Here is a link to the one we purchased: http://www.rvupgradestore.com/RV-Ene...p/emshw30c.htm

We have been in a couple campgrounds before with another trailer and had some problems with the electrical box we plugged into and causesd some issues, want to avoid that with the new trailer. I'm looking at this like an extra bit of insurance, may not have problems but nice to have in case we need it.