Travel Trailers have become electronic masterpieces in recent years. Gone are the days when almost everything was easily repairable. This is the reason you need a surge protector.
When Tammy and I bought our first Travel Trailer the only thing we really had to worry about was the tiny fridge and furnace. Both had a relatively simple design so there really wasn’t much that could go wrong. Through the years we traveled with little concern about what could happen if we encountered a power surge. In fact, we were oblivious to the issue of power surges.
Now travel trailers have massive entertainment features. This includes flat screen TV’s connected to an entertainment system that has blue tooth technology, DVD/stereo systems, air conditioners, water heater, furnace, large control panel, electric recliners, electric awnings, and more.
Much like automobiles the cost to just diagnose the problems are incredibly expensive. Then to replace damaged items adds further to the cost; not to mention other issues that might need to be addressed like wiring.
Our house took a close lightning strike a few years ago and it destroyed our internet booster and our flat screen TV. We were lucky that nothing else like computers were damaged (they had wall surge protection). This year my friend down the street had lightening hit in his front yard. The power surge destroyed his garage door opener, water heater mother board and fan, satellite wiring, and a flat screen TV.
Aside from a lightning striking near your camper, there are other situations that are just as dangerous. Voltage fluctuations at campgrounds, power surges; and incorrectly wired shore power outlets will all cause the same sort of damage to your rig. When you plug into your campgrounds power you are taking a “Faith Trip” that everything will be alright. Any surfing of RV forums will tell you that there are plenty folks that had power issues at campgrounds that damaged their rigs. Your odds of an electrical issue at a major campground chain may not be as bad as a county or state campground. However it will still be a roll of the dice.
A really good hard-wired or portable surge protector is expensive. However not nearly as costly as replacing a refrigerator or furnace in your RV. Not only will you have the cost to diagnose and replace items, you will have the inconvenience of living without the item until you can get it repaired. Add to your inconvenience the time it will take to do the repair. Replacing refrigerators and water heaters are not easy or quick repairs.
There are cheaper surge protector models that provide one-time protection, and then afterwards they are basically trash and you need to buy another unit.
After a lot of research we landed on the Progressive EMS-PT50X Surge Protector. It’s a portable Electronic management system that protects against the following issues:
Reverse Polarity Protection
Open Ground Protection
Open Neutral Protection
High Voltage Protection (Surge)
Low Voltage Protection
High Frequency Protection
Low Frequency Protection
Provides Amperage Usage Reading
In addition, it is manufactured here in the US and has a lifetime warranty.
We have already had one power surge that it protected us from at a state campground, and we always have it plugged in at home because this neighborhood seems to be a lightning magnet.
We strongly recommend that you purchase an EMS system versus a regular surge protector because of all the extra protection it offers. If I were to do this again I might have purchased the hard-wired unit as I think it’s probably easier to install it once instead of plugging in at each campsite.
This is our EMS-PT50X Surge Protector by Progressive Industries.
To read more about what Progressive Manufacturing has to offer, click the link below. Progressive is not paying us to promote their product, I wish they were! We just think it’s a great value for what protection it provides.
To look at what Progressive industries has to offer, click here.
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