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Old 08-21-2012, 11:22 AM   #1
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Surge guard

I recently purchased a surge guard and my first campsite assignment revealed low voltage on one leg so I moved to another site . My question is , if you have surge and voltage protection, I am curious how many parks have power problems. I would like to hear from you if you have an opinion. I would to keep the discussion to park power and not a referendum on which surge protector to have.
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Old 08-21-2012, 11:25 AM   #2
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We bought our surge protector for the specific reason your describing....kinda validates me spending the money
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Old 08-21-2012, 11:27 AM   #3
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After 8 years of full timing, I'd say very few parks have power problems. From Alaska to Mexico's Yucatan and far south Western coast. Then the mid-west and northern states.

Have had to move on maybe 3 times in 8 years. I check it before I plug in. Usually, you can visual the outlets and if the terminals are all burnt and the plastic crumbling, that's a tip off. I don't have a surge protector. It's on my list though.
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Old 08-21-2012, 11:45 AM   #4
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3 CGs

First one (home base) Started off without a proper ground. That was corrected and then low voltage which had to be corrected for the most part. There was an additional problem caused by malfunctioning transformers feeding the CG on 3 separate occasions. All 3 times my SP shut down my RV because of low voltage and then restarted with problem was solved.

Second one had low voltage and I had to move.

Third one

I also like the fact it makes sure my generator has started putting out good, clean power before it lets it connect to my RV.

I have a huge appreciation for my Progressive Industries HW 50 amp SP with a remote read out in my coach.
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Old 08-21-2012, 03:03 PM   #5
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It all depends on where you go. There are some smaller and older parks that have problems, but most are ok. We have traveled across the USA and Canada and Alaska multiple times and rarely find a problem. Not never, but rarely.
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Old 08-21-2012, 03:10 PM   #6
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We've logged 45,000 miles through 36 states (tomorrow we'll be going in to Canada for the first time) and about 1400 CG nights. We have a Surgeguard but have never once had to change sites due to power... that I can recall.

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Old 08-21-2012, 03:22 PM   #7
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In our 12.5 years of rving, we had one case where the Surgeguard would not connect due to an issue with the power. After hookup we have had another 7 or 8 times the Surgeguard turn the power off or there was a power failure while we were away. The power turned back on at some point prior to us returning home.

However, we started using a Surgeguard after our very first long trip in 1999. We made it from FL to a VA campground were we had a power spike that burned out our transfer switch and a couple of GFI's. From that point onward we have always had a Surgeguard.
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Old 08-21-2012, 03:29 PM   #8
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we have never had a problem --- not that we are really road warriors but we have been traveling daily and doing a lot of one night camping ... so we've seen a lot of parks and never had an issue. (so far)
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Old 08-21-2012, 03:47 PM   #9
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Traveled 62,000 miles to 49 States and all 10 Cdn Prov. we didn't have any Surge or EMS protection and didn't even have volt meters inside( plug in type ). Never had any issues ( lucky ). In current MH , we traveled for the first three years with a PI smart surge protector but had volt Meters plugged in to lines 1 & 2 and had to leave one CG due to 102 volts. This year we have traveled out West with a 50 amp portable PI EMS and have had to change sites twice in Monument Valley , had to leave Carlsbad NM and were temporarily shut down due to low voltage about 4 more times. It was brutal out West this year temperature wise and I believe this was the cause of most of these situations. My EMS is the best improvement I have added in a long time. One other thing. I've been in Upstate NY for the last 5 weeks and the CG I'm in had an electrical problem that took almost a week to solve. We were shut down by the electricians at least a dozen times without warning. My EMS handled all these without issue.
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Old 08-21-2012, 03:58 PM   #10
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Clifftall brings up another good point. The most common problem identified by the various power monitors may be a low voltage situation. Over time low voltage can damage a number of items in your rv such as air conditioners. I had forgotten about that when I posted above.
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Old 08-21-2012, 04:21 PM   #11
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we were just in a virginia campground and a strong lightning storm came thru during the night and woke us up. the park electric blinked off several times ,and each time our surge unit kept the power to the mh from coming back on for 2 1/4 minutes, which keeps the ac units from bogging down and blowing the breaker. if nothing else it does protect from those kind of stroms.
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Old 08-21-2012, 06:26 PM   #12
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This year we had power issues in FL - 30A plug Hot and Neutral reversed, and this last weekend low voltage. Over the past 5 years, 35000 miles and 100+ CGs have had at least one issue per year. The worst was the loss of the neutral IN THE CG system. Had 240VAC but no power could get thru the EMS. Other campers had some things that worked (probably defective - grounded). 1st thing I bought for the MH, even before gas. Saved unknown dollars and a lot of aggravation. JM2¢...
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Old 08-21-2012, 08:57 PM   #13
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It's kinda like a seat belt, you may only need it once - but which once?
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Old 08-22-2012, 06:07 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by historyljc
It's kinda like a seat belt, you may only need it once - but which once?
Agreed. Also , insurance. It's real expensive until you need it, then it becomes cheap.
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