Shore Power Surge Protector Necessary?

[James Newman]

Hello:

I was wondering if you run any power surge or regulator before the power gets to the Distribution box? Just trying to find out if I REALLY need one since they are expensive.

[OldJohnT]

YES they are expensive YES they can work to prevent serious damage to any sensitive electronics in the RV caused by power surges.

Do you really need one??? Thats your call and decision. FWIW I’ve RV’d for 40 years and got by without one to date, but am considering one since smart phones and tablets and laptops are also expensive ????

MUCH MUCH MUCH CHEAPER but cant protect against surges is to at least insure the RV parks pedestal receptacle is wired correct using a cheap plug in tester which looks for reverse wiring and presence of Ground and Neutral etc.

John T
Retired Electrical Engineer in Indiana

[OldJohnT]

PS its true phone and computer chargers etc might have at least “some degree” of safety built in having their own 120 VAC to 5 VDC USB or 12 VDC charging control circuits, BUT RV fridge (such as eyebrow panels) and furnace and other devices may have LESS built in protection are still susceptible to damage caused by line voltage spikes and surges, even though a 12 volt DC battery certainly serves as good buffer. I may buy one in the future but got by 40 years without, but must admit there’s more sensitive electronics in use nowadays???

Still your call

John T

[Pippi]

Ya, I’m with Old John, definitely they are great to have and use but if you don’t have one, how necessary or likely is it that you’d need one…? It’s the same discussion with insurance.

I also do not have one.

Good luck deciding and happy trails! 😀

[Namlehse]

The first time we went to hook up our 5th wheel, we managed to find a miswired box. Instead of two 120V+Neutral, it was wired for 240. My cheap surge protector saved us a lot of grief.

[JonTanOsb]

Think of a Surge Protector as insurance. You may never need it, but when you do, it’s good to have.

Factor in the cost of replacing your RV refrigerator or laptop if a surge kills it. Then the protector isn’t so expensive.

Check out this inexpensive one on Amazon.ca (US prices on Amazon.com) https://www.amazon.ca/Camco-55310-Defender-Circuit-Analyzer/dp/B00JGJH8QU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479672577&sr=8-1&keywords=rv+surge+protector

Jon

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