Education Please? Ref. Surge Protection & Power Boosting

[AIRHEDS]

Hello friends. We're soon-to-be new owners (2017 Classic) and read in a different thread (152747 ... sorry but I can't post URLs yet), where beetlebob wrote:

Being full time and knowing what the power is like in campgrounds all you 2017 owners better have a surge protector and a power booster. I run a Hughes power unit and then a progressive surge protector. My next step is the convertor/charger.

I had already annotated the importance of surge protection and power boosting but his post got my attention a bit more. Bottom line: I'd like to learn more about surge protection and power boosters and I'm asking you to contribute anything of value to aid in my learning, including hyperlinks/references.

Also, I was advised to consider an external Surge Guard With LCD Display given the tremendous heat that might be dissipated in a surge event, which could cause a fire danger to the trailer. I didn't realize the heat could potentially be this great, but, it makes sense to keep it far from the trailer where it could potentially be a fire hazard, provided I employ a locking system to secure it. Please share your wisdom.

Many thanks!
Rich

[alano]

Rich,

I tend to view surge protectors and power boosters like insurance. My personal opinion is that insurance doesn't make sense for items that you can afford to replace yourself. This belief has served me well in the past, even with the occasional breakdown.

The 120 V systems in your RV are engineered to withstand normal voltage fluctuations that one would expect from a utility. Overvoltage conditions are rare and if they happen are typically very brief events. Brownout conditions can and do occur from time to time. But keep in mind that your systems are designed to anticipate these events and implement protection schemes like timeouts, lockouts and shutdowns during these conditions.

Will adding surge protectors and power boosters protect you against every inconceivable transient that may arise? Probably not. I'm sure you'll find many folks will swear that the added protection is worth the cost. Perhaps so. But I'd rather keep my systems relatively simple, avoid complexity and roll the dice rather than pay the upfront cost for an event that may not ultimately result in a malfunction. I suspect I'm not alone in the surge protection and power booster free camp.