When excited about issues that you must buy to your new (or new to you) RV, a surge protector may not be the primary merchandise in your checklist. Nonetheless, it might very effectively be considered one of your most necessary purchases.
Whereas an RV surge protector could appear pricey at first look, in comparison with the price of changing the electronics in your rig, or the entire RV, it’s undoubtedly a worthy funding.
Learn on for our prime 5 picks for one of the best RV surge protector to guard your private home, electronics, and family members, together with the household pets.
Our Prime Picks
Greatest General
Energy Watchdog
Price range Choice
POWSAFE
Greatest Hardwire Choice
Energy Watchdog H
Greatest General
Energy Watchdog PW50-EPO
You’ve invested numerous money and time in your RV. Now it’s time to put money into the Energy Watchdog, our best choice for one of the best RV surge protector to assist defend your full-time or trip dwelling.
The Energy Watchdog PW50-EPO tops our checklist as one of the best RV surge protector for its Bluetooth and plug-and-play capabilities, emergency shutoff, and power-on delay.
Let’s begin with the EPO within the mannequin quantity. What precisely does that imply? EPO stands for Emergency Energy Off, which means your Energy Watchdog will shut down routinely if a harmful scenario happens.
The second function we like about this surge protector is that if an occasion causes your Energy Watchdog to close down, an alert can be despatched to your smartphone.
The Energy Watchdog not solely screens for spikes, it additionally retains an eye fixed on low-voltage conditions. RVing is extra well-liked than ever and immediately’s RVs have extra electrical home equipment than they did many years in the past. All of this implies you could run into low-voltage conditions at some RV parks, particularly older parks.
Most individuals solely take into consideration spikes in electrical energy. Nonetheless, low voltage causes your tools to work tougher to attempt to sustain, which might harm the wiring in your RV. If a low-voltage scenario is detected, this greatest RV surge protector will shut down to guard your electronics.
Along with excessive and low-voltage monitoring, the Energy Watchdog additionally screens for miswired or worn-out pedestals on the park.
When your Energy Watchdog senses an issue, not solely will it ship an alert to your telephone, however it would proceed to observe the scenario. As soon as the difficulty is resolved, it would routinely energy again on after 90 seconds.
If you’d like actual peace of thoughts, take into account upgrading your RV with the RV Whisper monitor. If WiFi is obtainable the place your RV is parked, you possibly can monitor your Watchdog from anyplace. In any other case, you’re restricted to Bluetooth vary, about 90 toes.
No extra small LED indicator lights to attempt to learn with the Energy Watchdog. If all is effectively, the large canine face on the entrance lights up white. If there’s a difficulty, it turns purple and a default code is displayed on the underside nook of the unit.
The final function that makes the Energy Watchdog our total greatest surge protector is that if, and when, your module must be changed you don’t have to exchange the entire unit. For lower than one-quarter the price of a brand new unit, or the 1000’s of {dollars} it might value to rewire your total rig, you possibly can order a substitute module.
For those who love all of the options of the Energy Watchdog, however your RV is just 30 amps, no worries, it is available in a 30-amp mannequin too.
Execs
- Auto shut-off and restart
- Alerts despatched to your telephone
- Surge safety module will be changed
Cons
- Bluetooth vary is proscribed
- Doesn’t hook as much as campground wifi
Price range Choice
POWSAFE
With a price ticket of lower than $50, the Powsafe surge protector is essentially the most budget-friendly on our checklist of one of the best RV surge protectors.
The Powsafe surge protector, as you possibly can think about, is a primary waterproof surge protector with out all of the monitoring options of the Energy Watchdog.
Powsafe screens and protects your rig from excessive and low-voltage ranges, in addition to energy surges. Whereas it gained’t restart after an incident is detected, or ship an alert to your telephone, it would shut down to assist defend your tools.
For those who wish to preserve issues as easy and cost-effective as potential, the Powsafe can be your go-to for one of the best RV surge protector.
Execs
- Price range value
- Straightforward to make use of
- Fundamental surge protector
Cons
- Doesn’t reset routinely
- Can’t be monitored remotely
- Doesn’t notify you if there is a matter
Greatest Hardwired
Energy Watchdog H
For those who’re on the lookout for a surge protector that may be hardwired into your RV, check out the Energy Watchdog H for one of the best RV surge protector.
The Energy Watchdog H has all the identical nice options because the Energy Watchdog, so we gained’t go over these once more.
However the Energy Watchdog H is hardwired into your rig, making it tougher to steal…and neglect! For those who’re comfy working with electrical energy, there are many YouTube movies displaying find out how to DIY set up this unit. Nonetheless, you may need to take into account hiring an expert for this job simply to be protected.
If you set up this unit in your RV, do not forget that the canine’s face on the entrance of the unit is good and vibrant. It may very well be a pleasant nightlight, or extremely annoying, relying on how darkish you want your private home at evening.
Like the unique Energy Watchdog, the Watchdog H additionally is available in a 30-amp mannequin.
Execs
- All the options of Energy Watchdog
- Hardwired
- Tougher to steal and neglect
Cons
- Complaints of a loud buzzing noise
- Indicator mild will be too vibrant for inside
Progressive Industries
Progressive Industries is an alternative choice on our greatest RV surge protector checklist. The Progressive surge protector screens for high and low voltage, reverse polarity, and miswired pedestals.
Whereas it doesn’t have all of the options of the Energy Watchdog and gained’t ship an alert to your telephone, it would retailer the final fault code, so long as the facility wasn’t completely misplaced.
This surge protector is each UL-certified and Canadian-approved. It comes with an hooked up weatherproof cowl and has a locking safety bracket.
For those who like the thought of a hardwired surge protector, Progressive Industries has a hardwired choice. It additionally is available in a 30-amp choice.
Execs
- Shops the final fault code
- Waterproof cowl
Cons
- Small indicator lights
- No bluetooth or wifi expertise
Surge Guard
Final on our checklist of greatest RV surge protectors, however definitely value your consideration, is the Surge Guard.
Like the opposite RV surge protectors on this checklist, the Surge Guard screens for each excessive and low voltage, and defective wiring on the energy pedestal. Straightforward-to-read LED lights on the unit preserve you up to date on any points.
The elevated thickness of the brass on the receptacle helps scale back overheating.
The Surge Guard RV surge protector is one other nice choice for entry-level safety with out all of the added options and value.
Execs
- Lower cost
- Screens for top and low voltage and defective wiring
Greatest RV Surge Protector Purchaser’s Information
Now that you realize our prime picks for one of the best RV surge protector, right here are some things to search for when deciding which surge protector is greatest for you.
Amps
An important factor to contemplate when purchasing to your RV surge protector is whether or not you want a 30-amp or 50-amp unit. Your surge protector must match your RVs amps.
For those who’re unsure which you want, a simple solution to inform is to take a look at your RV energy wire. If the outlet has three pins, you want a 30-amp surge protector. 4 pins means you want a 50-amp surge protector. Most older and smaller RVs have a 30-amp system.
Options
Additionally in on the lookout for one of the best RV surge protector take into account in order for you all of the bells and whistles, or only a primary unit. In case your RV is your full-time dwelling, monitoring all of the issues can provide you peace of thoughts when you need to be away.
Nonetheless, in case you’re solely taking your RV out for household holidays a few times a 12 months, a easy less-expensive surge protector that also does the job however with out all the flowery options, could also be your best choice.
One different factor to remember when contemplating options to your greatest RV surge protector is whether or not or not you possibly can learn the show. If you lose energy in the midst of the evening throughout a thunderstorm, a pleasant vibrant easy show, or the flexibility to take a look at an app, could become your favourite function.
Joules
When buying your greatest RV surge protector, chances are you’ll discover the phrase Joule within the description. That is the quantity of power the surge protector can take in earlier than it fails. The vary of safety for RV surge protectors is mostly from 825 to 3500 joules of safety.
In tremendous easy phrases, the upper the variety of joules of safety, the higher the safety. The Energy Watchdog surge protector affords 4800 Joules of superior surge safety.
Anti-Theft Measures
When buying a transportable surge protector that plugs into an RV energy pole, find out how to preserve your surge protector from being stolen is one other function to contemplate. Some surge protectors have a loop hooked up to the wire you could run a cable lock via. Others, just like the Energy Watchdog, have a safety bracket hooked up to the deal with itself.
Whichever you select, you’ll want both a mixture cable lock or a keyed cable lock to connect your surge protector to the park’s energy pole and defend your funding.
Guarantee
Warranties on RV surge protectors can vary anyplace from one 12 months to a restricted lifetime guarantee. Make sure to examine the guarantee on the mannequin you select. After buying your RV surge protector, don’t neglect to register it to activate the guarantee.
Voltage Booster
No, a voltage booster just isn’t a surge protector. So why do we’ve got it included in our checklist of one of the best RV surge protectors? Nicely, whenever you’re at a park that has a bunch of RVs working their AC models off an older energy grid, a surge protector is nice for defense from a low-voltage scenario. Till the voltage drops too low, and your surge protector shuts down to guard your rig, because it ought to.
Nonetheless, when you have a Hughes Autoformer Voltage Booster with Surge Safety hooked to your private home, you’ll not solely have surge safety, however you’ll additionally get a voltage increase. This implies your AC unit can preserve working when others might not. And which means, your private home is good and funky on the finish of an extended sizzling time out mountaineering and fishing!
Storage
For those who’re like most RVers, you will have a routine for establishing and tearing down your RV camp spot. And, one factor we are able to’t get sufficient of is storage luggage and tubs!
When it comes time to retailer your greatest RV surge protector, Camco makes an electrical accent bag that can even accommodate the relatively massive Energy Watchdog. This bag has tons of compartments to your surge protector, cords, and all of the equipment you didn’t even know you wanted.
Greatest RV Surge Protector Incessantly Requested Questions
My RVs circuit board has breakers, do I nonetheless want a surge protector?
For one of the best safety, the reply is, sure you continue to want a surge protector. Your RVs circuit board breakers are designed to guard in opposition to overloads inside your RV. Surge protectors defend in opposition to points from the facility pedestal to your RV. Which means that the surge protector protects your private home earlier than the possibly catastrophic failure will get to your circuit board.
What are the benefits of a hardwired vs moveable surge protector?
When purchasing for one of the best RV surge protector, the actual benefit to a hardwired unit is you don’t need to plug it right into a campground energy pedestal each time. Simply set up it as soon as, and also you’re good to go. You additionally don’t have to fret about it getting stolen, or by chance driving off and leaving it behind whenever you transfer to your subsequent vacation spot.
Nonetheless, with a transportable surge protector, you don’t need to pay a contractor to hardwire it into your private home. One other benefit is that ought to it ever must be changed, will probably be simpler to exchange a transportable surge protector.
Do I actually need to purchase an costly surge protector?
The higher query is, how does the associated fee to exchange your big-screen TV, rooftop AC unit, and even the entire electrical system in your RV examine to the price of a surge protector? The reply to that will allow you to determine if it’s value it.
I’ve a 50 amp rig, and the pedestal on the campground is just 30 amps; now what?
The excellent news is, you possibly can nonetheless use your 50 amp RV surge protector on a 30 amp park energy pole. You simply want a dogbone adapter to hook your surge protector to the park energy.
One factor to remember is that this doesn’t enhance the park’s energy from 30 amps to 50 amps, although. If they’ve 30 amp energy, that’s all the facility your RV goes to have the ability to pull. A dogbone is just an adapter that means that you can hook up with the park’s energy pole so that you don’t need to take heed to the generator run all evening.
Wrapping up the Greatest RV Surge Protector
As you’re making ready to your subsequent journey, or full-time RV residing, and contemplating issues to make life in an RV simpler, don’t overlook an RV surge protector. Hopefully, you’ll by no means want it, however it would undoubtedly make your RV life simpler and extra fulfilling in case you do want surge safety and have one.
Now that your RV is protected with one of the best RV surge protector, the place are you off to? For those who want concepts, we’ve got an awesome campground information that will help you determine. Pleased Trails!
