Progressive HW surge guard.

[avvidclif]

Similar except kind of reversed. With 50 service the loss of neutral is a REALLY BIG deal. So why would you place the surge protector in front of a device that could drop neutral. I only reason I see is that they feel their over, under and/or cycle checking circuits will get trip by generator power.

Then we read post after post of problems with transfer switches! And I believe most 50Amp transfer switches switch all three L1, N and L2. Chris

With proper maintenance (keep the screws tight) the transfer switch shouldn't be a problem. The only time it moves is when the generator is turned on. It's the random campground that has lost the neutral you have to be concerned with. The generator doesn't put out 240v.

The odds of having a transfer switch lose neutral are about the same as losing it in the breaker box in the rv.

 

[danemayer]

I agree with Cliff that the greatest exposure is campground power. Many campgrounds have old and poorly maintained electrical components. Add to that the arcing that can occur from plugging and unplugging at the pedestal without turning the breaker off first. Many of us have experienced situations where the EMS shut off to protect the coach from bad campground power. We just saw that happen a few days ago with a neighboring coach at the Las Vegas rally.

There have been a very small number of posts about loose connections at the main circuit breaker box in the coach. And there have been a greater number of posts about transfer switch failures. And there have been a few reports of failures at the main power cord connections. But all these failures are relatively infrequent.

If you're installing a hard-wired EMS unit, it seems like the best location would be in between transfer switch and circuit breaker panel because that affords protection against the additional components that could fail.

But the important thing is to have an EMS, regardless of how it's placed.

 

[Gary521]

CoveredWagon, I do not see any reason why you could not use single cables. The cable that is there is singe cables wrapped in black plastic. If you do this, get the corrugated cable wrap from Home Depot / Lowes / any auto part store for added protection.