The Best RV Surge Protectors: Properly Protecting Your RV’s Expensive Electronics!

Plugging your RV into unknown power sources, such as those at RV parks, campgrounds, or state parks, is always risky. Any power pedestal could have issues that even the park owner isn’t aware of yet. When you consider the large number of power sources we connect our RVs to, a high-quality surge protector is an absolute must.

A quality, highly protective RV surge protector may initially seem a bit pricey. But when you consider the cost of replacing your RV’s electronics, the cost of surge protection becomes inconsequential. In this post, we take a look at the best RV surge protectors to keep your RV and its electronics well protected from surges and other power issues.

What Is an RV Surge Protector?

A good RV surge protector offers protection from an electrical surge that can come through the power pedestal into which an RV is plugged. An electrical surge can damage RV electronics and appliances (both those that came with the RV and anything plugged into a 120V AC outlet).

A good RV surge protector effectively manages and protects your electrical system, while a high-quality RV surge protector has the ability to cut the power coming in from the power pedestal automatically when any dangerous electrical event occurs. It will also automatically restore power to your RV once power is detected as being safe and the electrical event is no longer a threat.

And finally, some high-quality RV surge protectors will even display the fault, so you’ll know precisely what electrical event took place to cause the unit to shut down the power coming into your RV from the power pedestal.

A really good RV surge protector, then, is more of an electrical management system.

What Kinds of Electrical Events Can an RV Surge Protector Protect Your RV From Experiencing?

There are several potential issues that can arise when your RV is plugged into a power pedestal at a campground, RV park, or anywhere else. These types of electrical events don’t only occur when a power pedestal is poorly maintained (though that can also happen). These events can occur at just about any power source into which you plug your RV.

You’re probably aware that an RV surge protector will protect your rig from voltage spikes (surges). However, a high-quality unit may also be able to protect your RV from all or some of the following:

Voltage/Power Surges

Any interruption in the power grid is capable of causing a power surge. This could happen when lightning strikes a power line, for example. If powerful enough, a power surge could fry every electronic device and appliance in your RV, which is why a surge protector is extremely important.

Low Voltage

Low voltage can occur in a crowded RV park when many RVers are using the electricity supplied by the park. An example of this might be in the dog days of summer when every RV plugged into the park’s power source is running (one or more of) their AC unit(s) to keep cool.

You may think of low voltage as being a far lower risk than a voltage spike, but in fact, low voltage can damage sensitive electronics such as those in our RV technology cabinet, as well as AC units and heat pumps.

So, a good RV surge protector will protect your RV’s electronics from both high and low voltage.

Reverse polarity

Current should flow through the hot wire at the pedestal into your electronics, appliances, and receptacles. Reverse polarity occurs when a power pedestal or receptacle is wired backwards. This means that the hot wire (the black or red wire) is connected to the neutral side, and the neutral wire is connected to the hot side.

This causes the electrical current to flow into your RV electronics and appliances backward (through the neutral terminal instead of the hot terminal), causing the receptacle, electronic device, or appliance to be energized even if they’re turned off. This can short-circuit the device, causing it to overheat and even shock the user.

Open ground

If the power pedestal at a campground is not properly grounded, your RV can become “electrified” if you have a specific type of electrical issue in your rig, such as a frayed wire or a damaged appliance. See our post on RV hot skin for some very important information on this topic and others related to it.

Open Neutral

The power coming into an electrical power pedestal can be as high as 240 volts (supplied by two separate 120V “hot” wires at a 50-amp outlet). The neutral wire in the power pedestal and your RV’s electrical cord is responsible for returning the power from any 120V load(s) (devices or appliances that are using power) back to the source. But if there’s a break of the neutral wire (commonly called an “Open Neutral“) anywhere in the system, a high or low voltage could result, causing damage to your RV’s electrical system and your appliances and devices, and setting up a dangerous situation where you could get shocked.

You can see how important it is to have a high-quality portable RV surge protector to address all of these types of potential issues, especially if you plug your RV into a variety of power sources as you travel.

What Do I Need to Consider When Shopping for an RV Surge Protector?

There are a few things you need to know before you shop for an RV surge protector, and a few things you want your surge protector to have, so let’s take a look.

Do You Have a 30-amp or 50-amp RV?

First, you need to know whether you have a 50-amp RV or a 30-amp RV so you can match your surge protector. Most reasonably-sized RVs are designed to use either 30- or 50-amp power service (while smaller rigs may have only a 15/20-amp connection, like a standard household plug). If you’re not sure what type of power your RV is set up for, take a look at your power cord, and then check out our post entitled “What You Need to Know About Your RV Power Cord” for the answer.

We’ve got photos in that post that you can use to compare with your RV’s power cord. There’s also lots of great information there that you’ll want to understand, particularly if you’re new to RVing.

Do You Want a Portable Unit or a Hard-Wired Unit?

A hard-wired surge protector is permanently installed in line with the shore power cord and may need to be professionally installed. A portable unit doesn’t need to be installed at all… you simply plug it in between your RV’s power cord and the campground’s power pedestal. But be aware that there are a couple of things to consider with portable surge protectors:

1. You want them to be secured so that they won’t be stolen (some units have an attachment point for a cable & lock that you can secure to the power pedestal… a bike cable is a good choice that will work)
2. You also want to protect them from the weather if they aren’t waterproof (using a small garbage or Rubbermaid container turned upside down with any necessary holes cut in it so cables can pass through)

What Is the Rating of the Unit?

All surge protectors will indicate the level of protection they provide. That rating is listed in Joules and should be clearly noted on the product box or description. The joule rating is important because it tells you how much energy the surge protector can safely absorb before it will fail.

Any good RV surge protector needs to have a high enough joule rating to protect all of the electronics on board your RV. Most surge protectors run somewhere in the range of 825 to 3,580 joules. Some (like the Power Watchdogs noted below) offer between 2,400 and 6,100 joules of protection depending on the unit.

What Are the Best RV Surge Protectors?

Let’s take a look at three of the best brands of both 30-amp and 50-amp RV surge protectors to keep you from frying your RV’s electronics, and why they’re the best. As you’ll see below, we’re putting Hughes in the hands-down #1 position for a reason. During our 20+ years of RVing (most of that full-time), we’ve owned three RVs and a number of different surge protectors. Once we discovered Hughes, there was no going back to lesser brands.

To this day, we trust Hughes to protect our rig. We think it’s simply the best on the market, which is why we never, ever plug into power without it. We’ve been so happy with our Hughes equipment that we’ve arranged with Hughes to offer a special discount to RVgeeks readers. Keep reading for complete details!

Hughes Power Watchdog 30-Amp Bluetooth Surge Protector with Auto Shutoff

The Hughes Power WatchDog is the world’s first advanced Smart RV surge protector with emergency power off (EPO). There are a number of Hughes Power Watchdog models with various features at various price points. We not only recommend the Hughes Power Watchdog as our top choice, but we also recommend getting a unit with what Hughes terms “EPO” or “Emergency Power Off.”

What EPO means is that your Watchdog will automatically shut down (disconnecting all shore power to your RV) in either a low or high voltage condition (if voltage falls below 104 volts or rises above 132 volts). This protects the electronics and appliances in your RV from these low or high-voltage conditions. Other brands may simply warn you of that condition… or, worse yet, don’t have this feature at all.

Once power conditions stabilize for at least 90 seconds, the unit will automatically turn back on, allowing power to flow to your RV again. In addition to EPO, Watchdog surge protectors offer a number of desirable features:

• 3,000 Joules of protection: This 30-amp Power Watchdog Smart Surge Protector offers 3,000 Joules of advanced surge protection and automatically shuts off power in the event of an emergency.
• Replaceable Surge/Spike Module: The Power Watchdog has a replaceable surge/spike module, which is not something you’ll often find in most other RV surge protectors. So, if your rig gets hit with a significant electrical surge and the surge module sacrifices itself to protect your RV’s electronics (which is what it’s supposed to do!), you don’t have to replace the entire surge protector. You can simply buy a new surge/spike module from Hughes for a fraction of the price and replace it yourself.
• Bluetooth, Real-Time Smartphone Monitoring: You can actually monitor electrical conditions at your power pedestal on your smartphone via Bluetooth using the free mobile app provided with the Watchdog. The ability to monitor voltage, amperage, and wattage in real-time is a great feature to have. The wireless fault alerts sent right to your smartphone make you aware of any hazardous power conditions at the power pedestal.
• User-Friendly: The Power Watchdog is very easy to use. It only takes about 4 seconds to power on and determine if the power conditions are safe. It then has a built-in 90-second power-on delay so the Watchdog has time to detect and resolve any potential faults in the system before supplying power to your RV.
• Compatible With “Dogbone” Electrical Adapters: All Power Watchdog models (as all surge protectors) are compatible with dogbone adapters. (See our “Dogbones 101: Plugging In an RV post for more information on dogbone adapters.)
• Remote Monitoring Available (with the WiFi models OR through RVWhisper): there are two ways to get remote monitoring capability with the Power Watchdog – by buying a WiFi-enabled version (the Gen 2 models now offer built-in WiFi connectivity) OR by pairing a Bluetooth-only model with an RVWhisper system.
• Weather-Proof: The new clamshell receptacle bay door offers weather protection that ensures your connections remain secure and dry in any conditions.

You can purchase direct from the Hughes Power Watchdog website (and save using the coupon below). The following are links to the latest Gen II models that include WiFi, as well as an improved and more compact design:

• 30-Amp WiFi Power Watchdog with EPO
• 50-amp WiFi Power Watchdog with EPO

When you order directly from Hughes, be sure to use our RVgeeks discount code for 10% off!

There are a number of versions of the Hughes Power Watchdog that are also available on Amazon, but some of them may be older models, so you’ll need to check them carefully to make sure you’re getting all the features you want in an RV surge protector. We’ll link to a couple of Amazon’s choices here and encourage you to read the features, specs, and reviews, as always. For example, the following 30-amp (3,000 joules) and 50-amp (6,100 joules) Watchdog models do not include the auto shutoff feature:

All of the above are the latest Gen II models that include WiFi connectivity, a more compact design, a lockable cover over the outlet, and a light to help you see to plug everything in at night. If those features aren’t important to you, you can save some money by looking at the original models. Or, maybe, you’d rather hardwire a unit in (which is what we did on all of our RVs) instead of having to plug in the portable unit each time? Check out Hughes’ complete line of Power Watchdogs.

Southwire Surge Guard

Another quality RV surge protector is the Southwire Surge Guard, also available in 30-amp and 50-amp versions. A bit more expensive than the Power Watchdog, the Southwire Surge Guard offers 2,450 joules of protection in the 30-amp version and 4,200 joules in the 50-amp version. Complete protection with both line and load monitoring is available, and all units offer automatic reset when power is restored after an event has occurred.

These units are easy to use, and Southwire now offers an optional (extra cost) battery-operated Bluetooth LCD display that allows for remote monitoring of your Surge Guard (similar to how the Hughes Power Watchdog enables you to use an app on your smart devices for monitoring).

Southwire’s Surge Guard 30- and 50-amp models, as well as the separate Bluetooth display, are available through TechnoRV here, and you can save 5% by using the RVgeeks discount code:

TechnoRV 5% Discount

TechnoRV.com is a supplier of leading RV technology products that are designed to enhance your RV lifestyle. That includes items like LevelMatePRO, Viair portable air compressors, connectivity equipment, and more!

Use the Promo Code...Show More

TechnoRV.com is a supplier of leading RV technology products that are designed to enhance your RV lifestyle. That includes items like LevelMatePRO, Viair portable air compressors, connectivity equipment, and more!

Use the Promo Code "RVGEEKS" to save 5% on your entire order at TechnoRV.

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Go to the deal

They’re available on Amazon, but once again, be sure to take a look at the specs and reviews to make sure you’re getting the surge guard product you want and need.

Here’s a 30-amp version:

And here’s a 50-amp Surge Guard:

And, lastly, the Bluetooth LCD display is available here:

Progressive Industries 30-Amp or 50-Amp EMS

The Progressive Industries EMS (Electrical Management Systems) units are available for both 30-amp and 50-amp RVs. They have a variety of EMS units from which to choose, including both hardwired options as well as all-in-one portable surge & testing units.

These models offer anywhere from 1,650 to 3,580 joules of surge protection for your RV. All models will protect from open hot, open ground, open neutral, and reverse polarity situations, and all of them come with a lifetime warranty (with the exception of the Weather Shield protective housing).

You can find all of the Progressive Industries portable and hardwired options available on their website or on Amazon.

We’ll link to a couple of 30-amp and 50-amp Amazon options here, reminding you once again to check capacities, features, and reviews carefully.

We invite you to check out the ultimate RV electrical system protection we used to see how we chose to protect our motorhome using a Hughes Power WatchDog in conjunction with a Hughes Autoformer.

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