Community Forums

jimemeone · 08-04-2018, 10:57 AM

Read some on line comparisons between the two(going hard wire) units and they both seem equal with the Sure Guard at around $50.00 less so my question is for those that have installed either unit is the Progressive a better unit or is the Sure Guard just as good?
Also are there other units that I should be looking at?
Thanks in advance for all replies,
Jim & Diane 98 HRE 37'

MSHappyCampers · 08-04-2018, 11:12 AM

Jim, did you mean Surge Guard? I'm not familiar with Sure Guard.

I would go with the Progressive Industries EMS series. They protect you against everything and have a lifetime warranty! You definitely get your money's worth!

Podivin · 08-04-2018, 11:18 AM

My RV came with the Surge Guard brand, it seems to be doing everything I want it to.
I'd guess that the difference, if there is one, is in the warranty. You might want to compare warranties to see if that pushes you one way or the other.

2 Stroker · 08-04-2018, 12:16 PM

Mine came with the Surge Guard hard wired but I would go with https://www.rvupgradestore.com/Progr...p/emshw50c.htm hard wired with the remote. This is what I installed in my 5er when we had it.
2 stroker

FatChance · 08-04-2018, 12:38 PM

Another one with the Surge Guard 50amp hardwired in the coach when we got it. It works as advertised. But if I needed to replace it for any reason I would get the Progressive 50amp hardwired with remote. I have considered proactively getting the Progressive but just can't justify changing when the old one is doing its job.

FWIW, the only times I have needed it was low voltage but each time it cut power until good voltage was restored, just like it is supposed to do. Never encountered high voltage, spikes or bad wiring.

Blandry29 · 08-04-2018, 02:27 PM

Love my Progressive EMS - have the 50A hard-wired unit. Highly recommend.

36PFT · 08-04-2018, 02:42 PM

Hi. If you are replacing the existing unit, I would replace it with the same one. Most of the time there is not any room to reconfigure the way the wires come in and out of the transfer switch/ serge protecter. Stan

DDLonghorn · 08-04-2018, 05:43 PM

I’m using Progressive EMS at the pedestal along with the Surge Guard that is hard wired in our coach. I just like the added security of knowing that the pedestal power is ok. Was used to using pedestal protection with our former travel trailer.

Yellowboat · 08-04-2018, 05:44 PM

I had a hard wired Surge Guard in my 30 amp coach. We were experiencing low power every afternoon in a Canadian RV park. My Surge Guard did not shut off power. I had to replace my plug because of the heat caused by low voltage.

Because of the above event I researched surge protectors. I found that the Progressive Industries unit provided better protection.

I have the hard wired 50 amp Progressive Industries unit in our 2016 coach.

tmw188 · 08-04-2018, 07:03 PM

This the remote monitor if your not sure. I was able to use existing phone jack wiring by changing the male connector 180* as suggested by others here.

Click image for larger version

Name: IMG_6047.JPG
Views: 110
Size: 457.8 KB
ID: 213922

Sonic · 08-05-2018, 09:49 PM

The Progressive Industries hardwired units have user replaceable circuit boards, so if one of the boards fails, Progressive will FedEx a replacement board to your location. I didn't see anything like this in the Surge Guard documentation, but I could have missed it.

The PI units also have a true bypass switch that allows partially or fully bypassing the unit without having to create your own physical bypass. If the pedestal power monitor board fails, the bypass allows power to pass through with surge protection still in place. If the surge protection board also fails, the bypass switch will completely bypass the unit.
This bypass isn't typically needed, but it's a nice feature to have in case of an emergency vs. having to manually bypass the unit by wiring around it.

HaroldPE · 08-06-2018, 05:32 AM

I am happy with progressive industries. On my first unit, I was installing at 10 PM on a Saturday night, had an issue with my installation so I called them. 10 minutes later I got a call back - they walked me through the installation. I’m sold

MaggieMay1 · 08-06-2018, 07:42 AM

The Progressive unit found a reverse polarity issue that Surge Guard did not. Good diagnostics on the Progressive unit.

36PFT · 08-06-2018, 09:19 AM

Hi We were in Alaska last summer on a tour with 22 other rigs. Alaska campgrounds are known for low voltage. At a campground near Anchorage, 2 of the other rigs had built in serge protecters and also used additional ones at the pedestal. There voltage was lowered by 4/5 volts then the rest of us just using our hard wired serge protecter. When they removed the one at the pedestal there voltage was the same as all the rest of us. Some one in the group said that you should not "daisy chain" serge protecters. Please be careful. Stan