Surge Protectors

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Scott902

I have one on my wishlist. I know we should have one. I go back n forth so much over it, but I know deep down, for peace of mind, we should have one. Just have to pull that trigger.

Hate to keep piling on, but honestly you need to move it from your "wishlist" immediately to the 1st item on the "absolutely must have ASAP" list before you plug in again. Don't put it off any longer!!!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Scott902

I have one on my wishlist. I know we should have one. I go back n forth so much over it, but I know deep down, for peace of mind, we should have one. Just have to pull that trigger.

Hi Scott; there are lots of things a person goes back and forth over....what kind/brand of truck, what engine, what trailer, what floorplan, extended warranty etc. etc. etc. Once you own an RV there should not be any reason to go "back and forth" over the purchase of an EMS. The benefits are unquestioned. Not purchasing one is just being willing to play the odds as to when it's "your turn"...gambling. It's not just "peace of mind" (which is very important), but more importantly, it's the safety of yourself, your family and your RV. Don't go back and forth anymore - there's no need to because there is no alternative to one....pull the trigger.

[penra]

Originally Posted by crk112

The switch you're referring to is the "bypass" switch.

I'm sure the experts will chime in here with greater detail but you do not want to bypass your EMS for any reason other than the EMS being broken. If you bypass the EMS you lose all protection it gives you.

My understanding is many generators will cause an EMS to report a ground or neutral issue, but there is an inexpensive plug-type adapter you can install on your generator to correct this. That would allow you to use your generator with your EMS.

Here's a page on Progressive Industries' site that talks more about this. https://www.progressiveindustries.ne...oating-Neutral

Curious what this plug does? Would that be needed with a generator with built in inverter?

[penra]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Hi Scott; there are lots of things a person goes back and forth over....what kind/brand of truck, what engine, what trailer, what floorplan, extended warranty etc. etc. etc. Once you own an RV there should not be any reason to go "back and forth" over the purchase of an EMS. The benefits are unquestioned. Not purchasing one is just being willing to play the odds as to when it's "your turn"...gambling. It's not just "peace of mind" (which is very important), but more importantly, it's the safety of yourself, your family and your RV. Don't go back and forth anymore - there's no need to because there is no alternative to one....pull the trigger.

Agree and highly recommend built in EMS and personally biased to Progressive. You will never lose your surge protector if it's built in.
You will never forget to plug it in.
You and your RV will be protected from high and low voltage as well as spikes and surges

This is a no brainer in my mind. Yes, more expensive but so is insurance and you never think you need it until you need it.

[FlyingAroundRV]

THere are two main items of significant cost which I had to convince the DW we should spend money on
1. An EMS and
2. A TPMS.
I waited on the first one, but got the second one before we even picked up the trailer. The peace of mind those two items give us is worth more than we paid for them. I learned of the need for those items from the forums here. It is worth taking heed of the hard won knowledge from the experienced members here who've BTDT.

[Scott902]

You've swayed me...ordered

[cookinwitdiesel]

Hopefully you never need it, but that one time you do, you will be immensely glad you have it.

[Scott902]

So looking at spots where to install this thing. Bought the model with the external display. First thought in splice into the power cord and mount in the bathroom under the sink where the cord coils up. Thoughts? The fuse panel is next to the hot water heater and not a lot of room to get around.

Green is power cord, blue fuse panel, red hot water tank

[cookinwitdiesel]

I would do it at the green location. At the same time, I would add a detachable shore power cord. Makes life easier.

https://www.amazon.com/Marinco-30ARV...dp/B000NUYZQC/

[MarkEHansen]

I was going to do mine in the location where the shore power cord comes in and I've seen others that have done this too, but I decided to go with the location behind the power panel. It was much easier and there is a lot of room behind there on my trailer.

It was just a little cramped getting my arms in there, but I just took my time and it worked out fine.

[Scott902]

Originally Posted by cookinwitdiesel

I would do it at the green location. At the same time, I would add a detachable shore power cord. Makes life easier.

https://www.amazon.com/Marinco-30ARV...dp/B000NUYZQC/

I think I'd like to keep the cable as it is. Already have a storage location for it, easily stowed away. One less thing I can forget to bring LOL

[Scott902]

vs

[FlyingAroundRV]

Originally Posted by MarkEHansen

I was going to do mine in the location where the shore power cord comes in and I've seen others that have done this too, but I decided to go with the location behind the power panel. It was much easier and there is a lot of room behind there on my trailer.

It was just a little cramped getting my arms in there, but I just took my time and it worked out fine.

^^^Same here. It was a bit fiddly getting mine behind the panel but you only have to do it once. The main consideration for me was having the readout somewhere I could see it easily. That wasn't the case for the bathroom location. And the kit came with a short(ish) lead for the readout.

[SummitPond]

I put my EMS on the 19FBPR in where the shore cord came in (it was under the TV/audio storage area) due to the ease of access and lots of room to maneuver. On our new rig it appears the shore power comes in behind the shower wall. I did not want to disassemble anything to get to it, so I wired it in under the floor of a closet adjacent to the breaker panel box. I made sure to use 10 AWG cable between the PI EMS and the breaker panel box. I gave myself plenty of slack so I could easily maneuver the breaker panel box. I then ran the remote display over to where the furnace is and poked the cord out there so I didn't have to drill any holes.

[IMASAP]

Originally Posted by penra

Curious what this plug does? Would that be needed with a generator with built in inverter?

The plug bonds the neutral and ground to keep the EMS from showing an error. Yes, you will need one with an inverter generator. I needed one to run the camper off my Honda EU2000i. Progressive sells them, or if you understand what you are doing, you could make one. Last I looked, I think from Progressive, they were $20ish.

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by Scott902

vs

I would install it where the shore power comes in, in your bathroom I think. That looks like a simpler installation. I would mount the display inside of that cabinet as well. There is no reason to have it visible all of the time.

[Scott902]

so i installed a thing...

[FlyingAroundRV]

Originally Posted by Scott902

so i installed a thing...

Oh yeah. That's a nice tidy looking install. A lot neater than the job I did, but I didn't have as much room to manuver as in your install.

[Logan X]

Nice job! It looks good.

[Scott902]

Thanks. I'll have to keep an eye on the display cable, when I coil it back in, it doesn't snag somehow. I left the display loose inside the cabinet upper shelf.