Thou shall not plug in your RV to a power receptacle without a surge guard! It is something I an not stress enough as we encountered two campsites with electrical issues in our first year of travel.
While pricey, I can promise the price outweighs the cost of fried electrical components inside your rig and a ruined vacation. Our protector of choice has been the Southwire Surge Guard 34930. This unit has served us well and has not missed a beat with extensive use. I firmly believe it saved our rig in South Dakota when half of the campground surged and triggered the failsafe.
Using the unit is easy enough. Plug the end into the power pole and wait for the digital readout to signal the all clear. From that point plug in your RV and enjoy! We chose this unit in particular as it assessed the power pole itself checking for improper wiring before giving the all clear. Once connected it offered peace of mind and would trigger if it sensed anything out of the ordinary.
Some items to note. This unit is pricey, running in the neighborhood of $300. You may find RV surge protectors for a fraction of the cost, but they do not offer the protection needed in many situations. Save your pennies and buy right the first time. Also, for the newbies you will want to be sure you purchase the right amperage. The product above is a 30 amp, however, larger rigs with multiple AC units often have 50 amp plugs which require 50 amp guards.
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