Thunderstorm in an RV park. Stay hooked up, or disconnect. Why or why not?

[cavie]

Originally Posted by 05CrewDually

X2. That's my thought reading through. I'd be more worried about a tree falling during a storm.
When comes to lightning I think if it wants to it will get you regardless. Whether it's through the antenna or power cord, anything can happen. No worries.

At my camp it's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of when. It will happen I'm sure. but that's why I'm where I am. lots of trees and lots of privacy.

[Filterman]

Originally Posted by cavie

How did we ever get by without an EMS? I'm an electrician. My trailer is 14 years old.

Soon to buy one, but have to say been camping for almost 40 years and have yet to have an incident. Getting a little parenoid from all the stories on here , guess I've had horseshoes all these years.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Filterman

Soon to buy one, but have to say been camping for almost 40 years and have yet to have an incident. Getting a little parenoid from all the stories on here , guess I've had horseshoes all these years.

I hear ya. These type forums make you think it happens all the time. But in RL, I have never met anyone it has happened to, except my Dad, and it wasn't in a park. His relative did him a favor and wired up a plug in his barn so he could plug in during his visit. Bang! Blew everything in his RV. But insurance covered everything and he was back on the road in a few days.

My friend did buy an EMS and after about a year he sold it as he got tired of all the false alarms. The EMS would have an alarm, he would call the park, the electrician would find no problem. He would bypass the EMS, everything was fine. He even sent it in and they found no problem.

So, if I ever have several hundred $$$ I don't know what to do with, then maybe. But until then, we are still traveling across the country with only a meter to check the pedestals with

[TheWolfPaq82]

Originally Posted by cavie

How did we ever get by without an EMS? I'm an electrician. My trailer is 14 years old.

Owned trailers since 1984 and still don't have one.

[jkoenig24]

Chuck Woodbury, publisher of "RVTravel.com" defers to electricity maven Mike Sokol. Mike STRONGLY recommends DISCONNECTING an RV from a power pedestal if there's a likelihood of thunderstorms.

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by TheWolfPaq82

Owned trailers since 1984 and still don't have one.

X2 Us as well since 1984 no EMS no issues............... Also been through plenty of T Storms not going to worry about it. Probably get hit while trying to unplug !!!!

[ckabrahamson]

Originally Posted by 05CrewDually

I have an answer for your analogy though.
Wearing a seatbelt doesn't matter when you get hit by a frieght train.

And, that would be why you don't stop on the RR tracks...

[18CrewDually]

Originally Posted by ckabrahamson

And, that would be why you don't stop on the RR tracks...

[emoji106] [emoji106]

[tonys]

I have been camping in everything from a tarp stretched over the back of a pickup to the fifthwheel we now have. 50 plus years of camping! I have set up in the rain, broke camp in the rain, Plugged in and relaxed during the storm. I have had a popup moved by the wind, I have had awnings torn off, I have had to put pans to catch drips, plastic to keep the bed covers dry, and make trips to the laundry after the storm, to dry out covers and clothes. I never thought about or worried about damage from lightening storms, and I have never had ANY electrical damage from them. Dumb and Happy works for me!

[FarmerJim]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Dang, y'all worry too much

X2

[midnightpumpkin]

I've got to ask, what's an EMS?
I have owned trailers for 48 years, must not need one.

John U

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by midnightpumpkin

I've got to ask, what's an EMS?

I have owned trailers for 48 years, must not need one.



John U

An EMS is an electric monitoring system. Need is up to each owner. For me, it has detected bad wiring multiple times and showed me that campgrounds had very low voltage (to the point, it was down to 104V with just a single A/C running). Another campground that had low voltage during the day spiked at night.

More info here:
http://learntorv.com/what-surge-prot...est-for-my-rv/

[18CrewDually]

Originally Posted by ependydad

An EMS is an electric monitoring system. Need is up to each owner. For me, it has detected bad wiring multiple times and showed me that campgrounds had very low voltage (to the point, it was down to 104V with just a single A/C running). Another campground that had low voltage during the day spiked at night.

More info here:
http://learntorv.com/what-surge-prot...est-for-my-rv/

And what did you do about it? Unplug for your entire stay?
My point in asking is what can you do? I'd rather not know. I'm usually on vacation trying to rest my worries away, not create new ones.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by 05CrewDually

And what did you do about it? Unplug for your entire stay?
My point in asking is what can you do? I'd rather not know. I'm usually on vacation trying to rest my worries away, not create new ones.

In low voltage scenarios, I’ve tried to manage the load. In New York, this meant only running a single high use appliance (one A/C, or the washer/dryer, microwave, or the InstantPot). Our neighbors ran their generator when they needed to. That was also where enough people complained that the park complained to the utility and we suddenly saw an overnight surge. Can’t say it was related but made me think.

In Seattle, we couldn’t run the air conditioner without being dropped by the EMS due to low voltage. I could run everything else, just not A/C. We dealt with fans as much as possible and ultimately ran the A/C overnight with the EMS bypassed. Towards the end of my stay, I bought a Hughes AutoFormer which let me run the A/C overnight without low voltage issues.

In Washington and then in Oregon, I used the AutoFormer again due to record high temps and low voltage.

For the midwired pedestals, we always adapted down to 30amp and let the campground know as we were leaving. Each time it was an overnight stay. Had I been staying longer or “needed” 50amp, I would have said something right away.

Just last month in Fort Myers, power went out at the campground. When it came back up, my EMS shut me down. The park came out within 5 minutes and replaced something in the pedestal.

I’m not looking for problems, either- but I do want to protect my rig.

[18CrewDually]

Thanks for your response Doug.
I had to Google the Hughes Autoformer. Now that I see it, I recognize it from a North Jersey campground we stayed at on our way South from Niagara. They had those units at every pedestal. This was the same campground that a main tripped when we plugged in and the owner had to come to unlock a box to turn it back on. They also had strict rules on NOT using electric heaters including water heater. Obviously they had electrical issues there but no harm to our rig. Maybe thanks to the Autoformer.