We will be receiving our new LTV Unity MBL in few months. Does anyone know if purchasing an external “Progressive Industries RV Surge Protector 30 Amp with Electrical Management system” is necessary considering the new Unity’s will have built in surge suppression? It seems to me that this extra layer of protection couldn’t hurt, but at the same time, I don’t want to waste money. Any thoughts?
FWIW ... We use an external one. The main reasons for that are:
1) Easy to read/see wiring issues at the pedestal (our coach one is under the bed, so not coinvent to read the error codes)
2) They only take one big surge and they are fried. Its a lot easier to replace the external one then the one under the bed.
The negative to be aware of is that they are prone to theft, so you need to have the lock kit as well.
Thanks for the advice Charlie, I will heed your recommendation. Much appreciated!
Make sure you do the research of having 2 surge protectors. they do not all work the same https://www.rvtravel.com/rv-electricity-can-i-add-a-second-surge-protector/
I only have one, I also have a tester that I use to check if the polarity at the pole is good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9rPzh1TcJg
It can take up to 1 minute before the surge protector goes through the checks so having a tester for the pole is showing me that I have power but I need to wait for the surge protector to kick in. Mine makes a clunk noice when it does. I then use the tester in a plug inside to confirm.
In the 2016 Murphy Bed that i have, the surge protector is in the bathroom behind the drawers.
I would bot use 2 at once and I am not sure that would give you any benefit even if it did? We have never had an issue with ours. Readouts if any issues are easy to see under the chair.
The linked article does say:
Which sounds sensible.
It may come down to is the onboard one easy to replace when it "does its job" on a surge as you will have to replace it. I do carry a portable one, but it was from a previous coach that did not have an "on-board" one, so I already had it. That dual setup has not given me any problems, Even at my sticks and bricks house, I have a whole house protector and use surge power strips at all my electronic equipment just for an extra layer of protection.
Do what makes ya happy!
Thank you all for your advice! We recently picked up our LTV and the technician performing our “Demo” on pickup day strongly advised against using two surge protectors. He stated that one can damage the other, so two are NOT recommended.
Never want to surge protectors and uou are protected with 1 on board. If it make you feel comfortable then stick with 2 but not needed.