Best 50 amp Surge Protector (Not Hardwired)

[tunatundra]

We have been camping two years in our new trailer but have only been in 30 amp campgrounds. I use my adapter from my trailer's 50 amp cord and have a 30 amp surge protector that has worked well. Just booked a campground in South Dakota which only has a 50 amp set up. I have looked online at many and they all seem to have a lot of bad reviews. Some that are listed "full protection" have the worse reviews. Got to get one so what do you guys use? Not doing a hardwired one. Appreciate your help...

[chuckster57]

Surge guard is good IMO. I would go hardwired with remote panel, but that's just me. I have a 30a hardwired with remote. Saved me today in Shasta. A/C running and everything shut off. Got P4 ( low voltage) 104VAC that could have taken out my NEW 15K BTU AC.

[Whitewolf]

Glad you asked that question Tunatundra. Been wondering the same thing. For the price of those things, I really don't want to choose poorly. I've been thinking of getting one that's hardwired and Chuckster57 makes a good point. Either for hardwired or plugin.

[Johnny's Journey]

Surge guard is good IMO. I would go hardwired with remote panel, but that's just me. I have a 30a hardwired with remote. Saved me today in Shasta. A/C running and everything shut off. Got P4 ( low voltage) 104VAC that could have taken out my NEW 15K BTU AC.Nice. I was just looking into one but the literature on hand didn't say enough to know if it shut down the power or not. Now I know, Thanks.

[GovGeek]

Surge Guard is Chinese import that won't last in my experience. I've had two of the 50 amp $350+ units until I bought one from http://www.progressiveindustries.net . I have a hard wired unit I self installed, but they have external ones as well.

https://goo.gl/gzkN69

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[JRTJH]

I have Progressive Industries and have never had a problem with it. I know of people who have had problems or who had a unit destroyed when it was stuck by lightening or a voltage surge and PI has honored the "lifetime warranty" without question. On the other hand, there are posts on this forum from owners of Surge Guard (TRC) that have had problems and have been told the unit is out of warranty and not covered.

The Progressive Industries warranty is "lifetime" the TRC Surge Guard is 1 year. The cost of the protector is comparable. I have no personal knowledge of TRC's products or warranty other than what is posted on this forum and it's good within the first year and there's disappointment after that date. The way I see it, since they are similar in price, it's about having the support of a warranty that would make the difference for me.

[Desert185]

We have been camping two years in our new trailer but have only been in 30 amp campgrounds. I use my adapter from my trailer's 50 amp cord and have a 30 amp surge protector that has worked well. Just booked a campground in South Dakota which only has a 50 amp set up. I have looked online at many and they all seem to have a lot of bad reviews. Some that are listed "full protection" have the worse reviews. Got to get one so what do you guys use? Not doing a hardwired one. Appreciate your help...

The nice thing about a portable is that you can easily move it when/if you get another trailer or check another pedestal without moving the trailer. Getting a 50A will work with a 30A trailer, and yet work in the event your next rig is 50A.

This is a pretty good price on one that is highly rated with a lifetime guarantee:

http://www.dyersonline.com/progressive-industries-50-amp-surge-protector.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&gclid=CjwKCAjwoNrMBRB4EiwA_ODYv6LnhCEP-W15ei0YiORUZP-anIkJKtKesFffafEn2t17uIOEwQpLMRoCPJgQAvD_BwE

[Dave W]

I've had a hard wired Progressive Industries Surge Guard unit on this as well as the last 5er. So far they have worked just fine, especially with the remote. If the current one fails, I'll probably go with the EMS unit if for no other reason then the better warranty. I carry some large wire nuts for emergency use and can bypass the Surge Guard in the field if it fails for whatever reason.I left the pigtail to the breaker long enough to make that connection. As far as made in China - most consumer electronics are these days, even the EMS - maybe though the box for mine said USA with a flag but sometimes there are weasel words like 'assembled in the USA' in fine print

[NorskeBob]

We purchased a progressive. We had a hard wired and went to a portable one in out new RV. Progressive Industries EMS-PT50C Portable 50 Amp Electrical Management System.

Looks like this:
http://tweetys.com/portable-50-amp-electrical-management-system.aspx

[fatcatzzz]

Put me down for the hard wired Progressive EMS.

[BrentB]

Here's a good price on a good unit:
http://www.adventurerv.net/progressive-industries-electrical-management-system-amp-p-33949.html?gclid=CjwKCAjww9_MBRAWEiwAlaMJZogG3U9IF zC-tbrOTe_64glPXGBU7WiRWYB9KNgjPvIfKmoXjTPdUxoCCBMQAv D_BwE&utm_campaign=partsfeed_ppc&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Froogle

(This is a complete EMS not just a surge protector.)

[concours]

We have a Progressive Industries 50 amp portable which as saved us twice once on a incorrectly wired post and once from a lightning strike. Warranty was not a problem. The one good thing about a portable is that if it gets damaged from a power surge you can still use the trailer while its been repaired, not sure if that's the case wit a hard wired version

[1st Chev Diesel]

I purchased a Progressive 50A portable surge protector last May. So far no problems. What swayed me to Progressive was the warranty and the posts about Surge Guard units dying after the warranty period for no apparent reason.

[TAZ23]

We purchased a progressive. We had a hard wired and went to a portable one in out new RV. Progressive Industries EMS-PT50C Portable 50 Amp Electrical Management System.

Looks like this:
http://tweetys.com/portable-50-amp-electrical-management-system.aspx

I'm with you on this one. The EMS-PT50C is what I now use. Best one I ever owned and Liftime warranty. A friend of mine had the hard wired version and it saved the trailer electronics in a lightning strike , but his power cord was fried. I got mine from Tweetys, best price and fast service.

[Desert185]

I bought the brand currently not recommended in 2014 when I purchased my trailer. So far it has worked well, but the Boy Scout in me has lingering misgivings of impending issues.

The conundrum is...do I buy a Progressive Industries EMS to replace the one I have or press on with the one I have until/when/if it fails? Just over $300 for the good one is somewhat justified for the reliability and peace of mind it would offer.

Whadaya think?:popcorn:

[Desert185]

In thinking about it, I suppose its cheaper than having a 1/2 ton and realizing you need a one ton. :cool:

Cheap insurance.

[Outback 325BH]

I use a hard-wired PI EMS 50 amp. I also have a portable PI EMS 50 that I purchased before I decided to go hard-wired. The hard-wired is great, however I put plug and receptacle ends on it (and my power cord) so I can physically remove it (and/or bypass it) easily . I kept the portable as a backup.

Although the warranty is nice, I went with the PI unit because I think it is a superior product.

Hard-wired or portable, I recommend the PI unit over any other product.

I also use an Autoformer but that is for another thread! [emoji846]


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[Javi]

IMHO....

The only valid reason not to use a hard wired EMS is if you change trailers frequently...

FWIW The Progressive EMS-HW50C has a built in

ByPass |

This switch is located on the remote display and allows
the user to bypass the EMS in the event of failure, thus allowing
AC power into the RV. This does not disable the surge protection
portion of the EMS; however, all other features are disabled.

[Outback 325BH]

IMHO....

The only valid reason not to use a hard wired EMS is if you change trailers frequently...

FWIW The Progressive EMS-HW50C has a built in

ByPass |

This switch is located on the remote display and allows
the user to bypass the EMS in the event of failure, thus allowing
AC power into the RV. This does not disable the surge protection
portion of the EMS; however, all other features are disabled.




The bypass is meant more for the user to enable if you want to ignore the error that is preventing the EMS to allow power to the rig.

If there is a problem with the EMS the bypass may not function. That is why I installed plugs and receptacles on my hard-wired unit. I can remove it easily and be up and running instantly.


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[captcolour]

Portable progressive industries here. I lock it to the pedestal so it doesn't walk.

[chuckster57]

Well I lied..but not on purpose. Too many tings going on with traveling ft the eclipse now that I'm parked at my sisters, one of the other campers asked so showed him, it's a progressive Industries. And it has a bypass switch on the remote display.
Sorry for any confusion.

[tunatundra]

Thanks to you all. I am going with Progressive EMS PT50X It's the newest one and I believe it replaces the PT50C. Portable works best for me.
BrentB thanks for AdventureRV.Net.
AdventureRV Price $336.95 with shipping charges added.
Tweety's $422.33 + ship
DyersRVParts $341 + ship
Camping World $366.15 including ship.
I called camping world to see if they would match pricing and the Supervisor said they could not price match on this item...FYI

[Desert185]

Tax charged is another consideration (Amazon).

[JAbraham03]

I just ordered one from AdventureRV the other day. They listed it as both numbers though so we will see what shows up.


Thanks to you all. I am going with Progressive EMS PT50X It's the newest one and I believe it replaces the PT50C. Portable works best for me.
BrentB thanks for AdventureRV.Net.
AdventureRV Price $336.95 with shipping charges added.
Tweety's $422.33 + ship
DyersRVParts $341 + ship
Camping World $366.15 including ship.
I called camping world to see if they would match pricing and the Supervisor said they could not price match on this item...FYI

[Whitewolf]

Checking out the price at RVUpgrades.com (they were higher) and I ran across this comparison chart. It was last updated on 12/29/16, but still informative. https://www.rvupgradestore.com/RV-SURGE-PROTECTION-COMPARISON-a/279.htm

I put a Progressive Industries EMS-PT50X in my cart at smile.amazon.com to check on taxes and there were no taxes to Michigan and free shipping. It's $0.90 more than AdventureRV.Net

[NealBlue]

We have been camping two years in our new trailer but have only been in 30 amp campgrounds. I use my adapter from my trailer's 50 amp cord and have a 30 amp surge protector that has worked well. Just booked a campground in South Dakota which only has a 50 amp set up. I have looked online at many and they all seem to have a lot of bad reviews. Some that are listed "full protection" have the worse reviews. Got to get one so what do you guys use? Not doing a hardwired one. Appreciate your help...

You read bad reviews on the Progressive EMS?

[Desert185]

Checking out the price at RVUpgrades.com (they were higher) and I ran across this comparison chart. It was last updated on 12/29/16, but still informative. https://www.rvupgradestore.com/RV-SURGE-PROTECTION-COMPARISON-a/279.htm

I put a Progressive Industries EMS-PT50X in my cart at smile.amazon.com to check on taxes and there were no taxes to Michigan and free shipping. It's $0.90 more than AdventureRV.Net

AdventureRV.net, in my experience, is not worth any savings one might realize. Their shipping time is slow and shipping time is inaccurate with no tracking info offered without contacting them. They also seem to have an indifference with customer satisfaction. They are off my list of vendors.

[B-O-B'03]

... I ran across this comparison chart. It was last updated on 12/29/16, but still informative. https://www.rvupgradestore.com/RV-SURGE-PROTECTION-COMPARISON-a/279.htm...

Seems like a no brainer to me... Lifetime warranty, made in the USA... I am very happy with my hardwired progressive.

-Brian

[Outback 325BH]

I buy from Amazon when I can. On rare occasions it is significantly cheaper elsewhere. That was the case of my Autoformer.

However there were issues. The manufacturer placed the wrong item in an Autoformer box. I purchased from RVUgrades and can say they really stepped up to resolve the issue. The manufacturer sent a several Autoformer boxes with other items inside. It took three times to get it right... but RVUgrades made it right.

My point is, if you are wondering about RVUpgrades, I was very pleased with them.

Again, I normally use Amazon... but in this case RVUpgrades was the better deal.


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[Bob Landry]

I have a Progressive Industries 30A hard wired, kinda. I put it in using interlocking 30A plugs fo if it should have a failure, or I change trailers(unlikely), I can remove it and restore my 30A service.
I added a second 30A service to my trailer and I split the loads so that the inductive loads are on the leg that the PI protects. All others are on the second leg.

[Whitewolf]

Just received delivery of the Progressive portable PT50X. $337.85 from RV Safety Accessories. No tax or shipping charges.

[fatcatzzz]

Tweety's has PT50X also $337.84 free shipping. I just bought a EMS-HW50C for $303.99 free shipping. Sent it out same day as ordered.

[BrentB]

Best Converter is also a good source: http://www.bestconverter.com/RV-Power-Protection-EMS_c_194.html

[jimthemosaicguy]

Does anyone have any experience with the Hugh's autoformer? I'm interested in surge protection and boosting if needed. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170902/62e4378945da943cff480d32cee3e194.png


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[lt_cowboy]

Best Converter is also a good source: http://www.bestconverter.com/RV-Power-Protection-EMS_c_194.htmlMy go-to for most things. Lifeline batteries, EMS, etc.

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[Outback 325BH]

Does anyone have any experience with the Hugh's autoformer? I'm interested in surge protection and boosting if needed. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170902/62e4378945da943cff480d32cee3e194.png


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Yup. I use one between the pedestal and my camper that has a PI EMS hard wired inside.

They work great. One of the campgrounds I go to is notorious for low voltage.


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