Community Forums

Larry & Rita · 06-23-2019, 05:07 AM

We camped for about a year with older used motor homes, finally got to buy a 2006 Holiday Rambler, due to sickness we had to stop at a private camping club.
Long story short- we parked the MH and installed a $300 dollar surge protector, thinking that would stop anything--WRONG !!
We were gone for about a year and decided were paying a fortune for nothing. Off we went to the lot to get ready.
Sometime during the year we were hit with an electrical spike that totally burned everything from one end to the other, including the surge protector.
We lost the water heater $900.00 repair,the Energy Management panel (no one wants to touch it) and the refrigerator ( Camping World $4,000 ).
Park claims they never had any other problems or reports.
Cant sell it, cant afford to repair it.
Camping sure is fun.

ME for Maine · 06-23-2019, 05:22 AM

Could it have been a lightning strike? If you have insurance it should be covered. In any case, I wish you good luck!

speed racer · 06-23-2019, 06:38 AM

I believe I would get a second opinion. The water heater and refrigerator are both controlled by the twelve volt circuit and just because they don't work does not mean they have to be replaced. They can be repaired for a lot less money. Something you did not mention do your TVs still work and check your converter/inverter. If the battery is dead these appliances wont work.

LEMO · 06-23-2019, 07:06 AM

I had a similar problem happen to me, on a 08 Fleetwood coach. The automatic transfer switch was burned out. When that happened not AC from the park pedestal or the on board generator worked. This may not be your issue but it's worth checking out. Our tech bypassed the switch, wiring it direct and everything worked until be could get a new switch. Hope this may help.

graphite9 · 06-23-2019, 08:44 AM

This should be covered under insurance I’d think. But that’s a tough one.

Gary RVRoamer · 06-23-2019, 09:48 AM

Those repair prices are ludicrous, and I'm not comparing to DIY repair costs ether. There is no conceivable reason to replace an entire water heater or refrigerator, no matter what may have happened on the power lines. Not sure just what that Energy Mgmt panel is, so can't comment on that.

Any competent mobile RV tech could probably get the fridge and water heater going again for several hundred dollars (parts & labor).

Tha_Rooster · 06-23-2019, 09:53 AM

What kinda of warranty did your $300 surge protector have?

TXTiger · 06-23-2019, 10:06 AM

Even if your fridge and water heater run on propane they both have circuit boards which may have been damaged. You can replace the circuit boards for a lot less than replacing the entire unit. Also as mentioned before it may be your transfer switch or converter/inverter is fried and either can be replaced. Each of the above repairs should only cost a few hundred dollars. Do you have any electricity at all. 12v or 110v? Do any other electrical appliances work? Microwave, televisions etc. What type and brand of surge protecter did you have. Many only protect from a surge. You need one that also protects against reverse polarity, high or low voltage and negitive ground. Look at Progressive Industries or Surge Guard brands.

richard5933 · 06-23-2019, 10:37 AM

I'd start at the source and work back, replacing parts closest to the shore power inlet first. Transfer switch, then power center, etc.

Have you tried to find these parts from an RV salvage yard? If you could find the right parts from a wrecked RV (which did not have subsequent water damage) you might be able to save a lot of money.

Once the power is safely back on in the coach, you might find things working again that you thought were done for.

I also agree that components on your devices could probably be replaced and make the units work again instead of replacing the whole thing. However, you've got to compare that against the extra labor required to trouble shoot and replace things piecemeal.

We had a similar thing happen a few years ago when a tech connected our generator batteries backwards. Took out much more than we thought, and it took a while for us to work through the system to find all the problems. It's doable, but takes patience and persistence.

MSHappyCampers · 06-23-2019, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by graphite9

This should be covered under insurance I’d think. But that’s a tough one.

X2! I agree! Nobody can say that lightning didn't do it sometime during the year! The service facility only has to certify that, in their opinion, it was lightning damage!

richard5933 · 06-23-2019, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by graphite9

This should be covered under insurance I’d think. But that’s a tough one.

Depends on your policy. Ours has exclusions for damage after the coach has been parked/stored/on jacks for more than X number of days.

The way it was explained to me is this...Since we don't have full-timers coverage, they are insuring our coach as a vehicle and not as living quarters. It's kind of a fuzzy line between using something as a vehicle and as a house when you are talking about a motor home, but that's what they do.

Read the exclusions in your policy. If there is not an exclusion that applies, try putting in a claim once you have estimates for repair and see what happens.

rrtribble · 06-23-2019, 01:47 PM

Larry & Rita,
Sorry to hear of your medical condition and the damage to your RV. Wife's medical condition has severely limited our travels but she likes to ride so we still get out.
Hope you can get someone to do some serious investigation and repairs done reasonably.
Wish you the best - Richard

Roadfrog · 06-24-2019, 12:04 AM

If this were me, I'd be all over the insurance. That's what it's for. Maybe things are different here in Canada, but my storage insurance covers everything from rat infestation to lightning bolts.

Ljwt330 · 06-24-2019, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry & Rita

We camped for about a year with older used motor homes, finally got to buy a 2006 Holiday Rambler, due to sickness we had to stop at a private camping club.
Long story short- we parked the MH and installed a $300 dollar surge protector, thinking that would stop anything--WRONG !!
We were gone for about a year and decided were paying a fortune for nothing. Off we went to the lot to get ready.
Sometime during the year we were hit with an electrical spike that totally burned everything from one end to the other, including the surge protector.
We lost the water heater $900.00 repair,the Energy Management panel (no one wants to touch it) and the refrigerator ( Camping World $4,000 ).
Park claims they never had any other problems or reports.
Cant sell it, cant afford to repair it.
Camping sure is fun.

Although I agree with all the above posts, I'm going to offer a counter-point based on the bold in your OP.

If the AC wiring, or any wiring, through out your coach is actually, physically, burned, then complete replacement may be necessary. You did not elaborate or explain that term so we don't know if there was literally burned wiring from the surge protector to all the appliances you mentioned. A lightning strike could certainly travel through the AC wires and burn, or "burn out" the motors and elements of the appliances. All those mentioned have AC going to them. I cannot see that type of damage being done by a grid generated surge, especially if no other coaches were damage and the park claimed no other incidents. Lightning, however, could do such a thing to a single coach. If such a severe strike did happen, there should be clear, physical damage to wires, connections, and control boards. Is that evidence present?

Without knowing just what you meant in your OP about "burned everything from one end to the other," we are all speculating.