Portable 30 Amp Surge Guard With LCD Display

30 Amp Surge GuardAre you wondering how to protect your RV when you hook up to an RV park’s electrical supply?

When you connect your RVs electrical system to a shore power pedestal at an RV park, you could be in for a rude awakening.

You don’t know the quality or purity of the electrical power that’s going to run through your RV and all your electronic gadgets.

A surge and spike protector will immediately and safely shut off power to your RV in the event of:

  • an open neutral circuit
  • low voltage (below 102 V)
  • high voltage (above 132 V)
  • or reverse polarity

The Surge Guard from TRC comes in either a 30 amp ($140) or 50 amp ($200) model and is available from Camping World.

This video will explain more about the benefits of using a surge and spike protector regularly.

Surge Guard – Protection for your RV

Original video by RV Education 101

Transcript:

Hi, I’m Mark Polk with RV Education 101. Today, I want to discuss a potential threat to every RV owner and what you can do to prevent it. Come on.

That threat is electrical power surges at the campground. Campground power pedestals like this are notorious for power fluctuations, surges, and spikes. When this happens, your expensive RV appliances and electronic equipment can be damaged within seconds. The solution to these RV electrical problems is the Surge Guard by TRC. TRC Surge Guard family of power protection devices is designed to protect your RV’s electrical system and sophisticated electronics from the dangers electrical power can present.

Let’s take a closer look. Modern-day RVs come equipped with sophisticated and sensitive electronic equipment and circuitry. You have entertainment centers, appliances like microwaves and refrigerators, satellite dishes, and, in situations like ours, office equipment like computers and printers. Power companies do a good job supplying 120-volt AC power for all of our electrical needs. But inevitably, the day will come when this power supply will surge, sag, or spike. This is never truer than when you are at the campground.

The number one culprit for power surges in our RVs is from the campground power supply. These power fluctuations can result from old or faulty wiring, weather conditions, or too high of a demand being placed on the campground’s electrical system. Regardless of the reason, when you plug your RV power cord into the campground power supply, you are gambling with the fate of all the electrical equipment in your RV.

Even small electrical spikes and surges can damage RV electrical equipment over time. These small surges might go unnoticed, but when you least expect it, the damage from these power surges takes its toll. Suddenly, an appliance quits working, leaving you wondering why. To help prevent this from happening to you, TRC offers a complete line of surge guard power protection devices. Let’s take a look at some of these products and how they work.

TRC’s Surge Guard family of power protection devices provide bumper-to-bumper protection for your RV against high and low voltage, open neutral, mis-wired power pedestals, and electrical surges. There are potable and hard-wired Surge Guard models available for both 30-amp and 50-amp RV electrical systems.

Today, I’ll be demonstrating the portable Surge Guard model on a 50-amp RV electrical system. This is the new portable 50 amp Surge Guard with an LCD display monitor. It actually offers more than twice the joules of power surge protection than the previous model did. The Surge Guard continuously monitors for voltage and amp draw and reverse polarity including a mis-wired pedestal and elevated ground voltage. These models are compact, weather-proof, and easy to use. Here’s how they work.

You just plug the unit in between the power pedestal and the RV power line cord. This model is designed for all travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers, and motorhomes with 50-amp service.
These units will automatically shut the power off to the RV when the power pedestal is mis-wired or a faulty power is detected. When the Surge Guard is powered up, the LCD screen will display “Delay” and the elapsed time in seconds until it reaches 128 seconds.

During normal operation of the 50 amp unit, the LCD screen alternates between two displays. A main screen shows voltages and currents for power lines one and two coming into the RV, and the secondary screen showing whether power to the RV is on or off. One of the most damaging types of pedestal mis-wiring is in open neutral. This condition can cause severe electrical damage to your RV. When this or other conditions like reverse polarity are detected, the power is shut off going to the RV.

Another very common problem RVers are confronted with at the campground is low voltage. When the voltage of the power pedestal drops below 102 volts or goes above 132 volts for more than eight seconds, the power is automatically shut off. When the Surge Guard shuts the power off for any reason, it will automatically reset once the power problem has been corrected. But there’s a 128-second delay built in to allow for the head pressure to bleed off of the RV’s air conditioner prior to reconnecting the power. During this delay period, the red caution LED will flash, and the word “Delay” will appear on the LCD screen.

The Surge Guard also protects your electrical system from a reverse polarity condition, which indicates that the hot and neutral lines of short power are reversed. This can be hazardous to the RV’s electrical equipment and your safety. The Surge Guard will not connect power to your RV until the reverse polarity fault is corrected. And reverse polarity will be displayed on the LCD screen to warn you of this condition.

The portable Surge Guard does a great job protecting your RV electrical system from problems. But sadly, some not-so-honest campers have a tendency to steal the surge guard from unsuspecting neighbors. To protect your investment, TRC designed this Surge Guard lock hasp. Let me show you it is used.

Separate the lock hasp and place the two sections around the power cord. Mate the halves together by lining up the locking tabs and sliding the shells together until they click. Secure the hasp using a lock.

TRC also offers hard-wired Surge Guard devices for 30- and 50-amp RV electrical systems. These hard-wired units need to be installed by a licensed electrician or qualified RV service center. Once installed, you don’t need to be concerned by electrical problems again. Protecting your RV from faulty campground wiring and electrical surges can save you thousands of dollars in repair bills and prevent damage to your RV electrical equipment and devices. It only makes sense to protect your RV electrical system from possible harm by using a product from TRC’s Surge Guard family of power protection devices.

For more information on Surge Guard products, take a minute to visit www.campingworld.com. Don’t plug in without one. Thanks for joining me today, and happy camping.

There may be small errors in this transcript.

BUY NOW / $140