Surge Protector/ Power Strip Recommendations

Werent surge protectors something people bought for their computers in the 1980s? Radio Shack was the first one to come out with one.
In the last 40 years I have had three of them, The radio shack one blew out the first year and I bought another radio shack one that lasted for years. The one I have now is a 20 year old outletstrip made by Belkin, According to the idiot light the surge protector is still good.
I know they make surge protectors for campers but the cheapest ones cost about $100 dollars each.

I use this one for 1 plug outlet. Seems like it has the protection but idk.

You planning on getting hit by lightning? This Forum should have a section called "overthinking the problem". LOL. It would be a lot of fun, Sadly car forums are not as much fun as 10-15 years ago.

greenvan said:

You planning on getting hit by lightning? This Forum should have a section called "overthinking the problem". LOL. It would be a lot of fun, Sadly car forums are not as much fun as 10-15 years ago.

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Lots of people plug their vans into shore power and campgrounds are notorious for poor power quality.
Bruce

If you are going to do campgrounds you need a voltage booster.

Michael Ophus said:

If you are going to do campgrounds you need a voltage booster.

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Surge-Protectors/Hughes-Autoformers/HU24FR.html

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I think the latest NEC prohibits them?

greenvan said:

You planning on getting hit by lightning? This Forum should have a section called "overthinking the problem". LOL. It would be a lot of fun, Sadly car forums are not as much fun as 10-15 years ago.

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But it would make for a very slim portion of posts that /don't/ fit in that category. 🤣

bdosborn said:

I think the latest NEC prohibits them?

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I do not see why, We use transformers for everything.
I do know from experience they with greatly increase your electric bill at home. Since the early 1980s I have owned a different kind of power booster called a Tap Changer.
There are autotransformers and there are tap changers, Both do the same thing.
This looks like the modern version of the same one I have, Mine is a Tripp Lite.

Michael Ophus said:

If you are going to do campgrounds you need a voltage booster.

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Surge-Protectors/Hughes-Autoformers/HU24FR.html

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I haven't ever run this to ground; it's in the NEC RV Vehicle code without any explanations or fine print notes:

ARTICLE 551 Recreational Vehicles and Recreational
Vehicle Parks
Part II. Combination Electrical Systems
551.20 Combination Electrical Systems.
(E) Autotransformers. Autotransformers shall not be used.

"WTF?" was my first thought after reading it....
Bruce

Autotransformers raise voltage, but consume extra amps in order to do so (no free lunch). You only need one if the voltage you are getting from the campground is too low. But drawing more amps lowers the voltage of the system even more, making the problem worse for your neighbors. If everybody did it there would be a melt-down, perhaps literally.

bdosborn said:

I haven't ever run this to ground; it's in the NEC RV Vehicle code without any explanations or fine print notes:

ARTICLE 551 Recreational Vehicles and Recreational
Vehicle Parks
Part II. Combination Electrical Systems
551.20 Combination Electrical Systems.
(E) Autotransformers. Autotransformers shall not be used.

"WTF?" was my first thought after reading it....
Bruce

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It is just a suggestion on their part, There is not any way they can enforce it. The camper catalogs are full of all kinds of power conditioners. Somebody building a new campground is the only way a campground owner would know about this new code, Autotransformer usage will probably die out over time.

Yeah like I said, When I used one at home for poor utility power the amps went up and the utility meter spun faster. I have not used it in 25 years but I still have it.
At a campground I just need 15 amps at 120 volts to run a inverter/charger, And I have had good luck with that camping mostly in the off season.