Sundance - installing a hard wired surge protector

[mILcOP4523]

we are looking to install a hard wired surge protector in this 2009 Sundance but i need to know where the best location is and how to access it. no manuals were with the unit when purchased last week so i dont know if there is a service hatch at the rear of the unit where the power cord is kept/deployed or if there is one at the fuse panel as you enter the unit?

i would like it to be close to the inverter is possible so i can anchor my display for readings as we come into the main door.

Thanks in advance

 

[cookie]

Re: ATF: Sundance - installing a hard wired surge protector

Welcome to the forum mILcOP4523 and welcome to the forum.
You did not state which floor plan your 2009 Sundance is, but if it is a 5th wheel you may have access to the power cord as it goes into the breaker panel behind the basement wall.
If that is the case, I would mount the protector behind that wall.

Peace
Dave

 

[mILcOP4523]

Re: ATF: Sundance - installing a hard wired surge protector

so eager to get help - shorted you in information
Model is Sundance 315RDX.
which is the bunk house where the 30 amp pulls from the driver rear corner.

My breaker panel is in the main entry way to the living area right below the kitchen sink as you come in the steps.

 

[bighorn3370]

Re: ATF: Sundance - installing a hard wired surge protector

I would pull out the breaker box and see if you have room behind it. Or when the cable comes into the RV there may be room behind or under a cabinet.

 

[Tundra2084]

The other option would be getting a surge protector from Progressive Industries that you plug into the power pole, then when it tells you all is OK with the electric, you plug your power cord into it. We have had the 30 amp version and now the 50 amp because we changed units. It will do the same thing as a hard wired but without all the trouble involved installing and if you upgrade in the future to 50 amp sell it. Here is the link http://www.progressiveindustries.net/#!ems-pt30c/c501. Not cheap but good insurance and it tells you by codes if a problem is found. We had a problem with our first one and it was replaced by them no question asked.

 

[Bogie]

I have a 245 XLT. i put mine right next to the breaker box under the sink/drawers. It was an easy install because I only had to disconnect the main wires going to the breaker box and re-route it to the surge protector. Then only a short piece of new cable out the other side of the surge protector back to the breaker box. I didn't even have to pull out the breaker box. Was very easy and only took less than one hour.

I didn't purchase the portable model because I didn't want to worry about someone walking off with it.

 

[Jim.Allison]

Hardwire if you can, you will be constantly looking over your shoulder if you don't. Today there are so many RV parks with permanent residence that are not full timers or RV'ers in the sense we know them. Things tend to walk off in these parks.

 

[mILcOP4523]

I have a 245 XLT. i put mine right next to the breaker box under the sink/drawers. It was an easy install because I only had to disconnect the main wires going to the breaker box and re-route it to the surge protector. Then only a short piece of new cable out the other side of the surge protector back to the breaker box. I didn't even have to pull out the breaker box. Was very easy and only took less than one hour.

I didn't purchase the portable model because I didn't want to worry about someone walking off with it.

i hauled mine out from under teh sink last night and then put it all back into the hole. not much room.
i also noticed that i have a red wire going to the fuse box and a white wire going to the converter?
should i run the wiring, then the protector into teh fuse box and then the converter or the converter then the fuse box.

 

[avvidclif]

Sorry but that didn't make any sense to me. Find where your 30A power cord comes into the breaker box. Remove it and put it into the EMS then run a short jumper from the EMS back to the breaker box. The fuses are usually 12v and that's not where the EMS goes. It goes into the AC power feed to the main breaker box.

 

[mILcOP4523]

Sorry but that didn't make any sense to me. Find where your 30A power cord comes into the breaker box. Remove it and put it into the EMS then run a short jumper from the EMS back to the breaker box. The fuses are usually 12v and that's not where the EMS goes. It goes into the AC power feed to the main breaker box.

Didn't mean to hijack the thread...
On our 09 Sundance the 30 amp power cord is not a cord.
someone before us must have separated the cord into separate wires and stripped off the outer casing.

I can find the red wire, the white wire and the ground.
it appears that the red goes into the top of the fuse block / breaker box. white into the converter and then into the fuse block

from what i read the wires should go into the surge protector then into the fuse block and out to the converter?
would that be correct.

perhaps thats why when i turn on my kitchen lights and out door lights i get a fan noise.

 

[danemayer]

Didn't mean to hijack the thread...
On our 09 Sundance the 30 amp power cord is not a cord.
someone before us must have separated the cord into separate wires and stripped off the outer casing.

I can find the red wire, the white wire and the ground.
it appears that the red goes into the top of the fuse block / breaker box. white into the converter and then into the fuse block

from what i read the wires should go into the surge protector then into the fuse block and out to the converter?
would that be correct.

perhaps thats why when i turn on my kitchen lights and out door lights i get a fan noise.

You may have a combined circuit breaker panel/fuse box with 110V AC circuit breakers in one section and 12V DC fuses in another section. It's possible it may also have the Power Converter function built in.

It's really, really important to get the incoming 110V AC wires hooked up in the right place. If you're not sure what's what, you might do better to turn the installation over to an RV tech who's familiar with the setup that you have.

 

[mILcOP4523]

on the collective unit i removed i have the the breakers on the left side of the block and 12 volt fuses on the right side of the block
directly below that section screwed to the base I have the converter.

red and white wires go into the lugs at the top of the fuse block section.

I wired our previous trailer straight forward because i could see the30 amp power cord, cut into it and reattach. where it went from there was where the factory had wired it.

i will pull the unit tomorrow when it is light out, take a couple pics and post if i loose my way.
Thanks for the recommendations so far.

 

[jnbhobe]

I think Dan is right,if your not sure of what your doing stay out of the kitchen. A 30 amp power line coming in, should have a black (power), a white (neutral) and a green (ground)

 

[mILcOP4523]

I got to the lake on the weekend and removed the Breaker/converter box. I was right, the main power lines going to fuse box portion are Red and White with the ground off to the left side.

Everyone was I spoke with said it should be a black wire.
I hunted high and low for a back wire - same thickness which would have powered the unit shore power wise - but nothing was seen in teh cluster of wiring.

 

[Bones]

I got to the lake on the weekend and removed the Breaker/converter box. I was right, the main power lines going to fuse box portion are Red and White with the ground off to the left side.

Everyone was I spoke with said it should be a black wire.
I hunted high and low for a back wire - same thickness which would have powered the unit shore power wise - but nothing was seen in teh cluster of wiring.

That is ok. Having just the red wire as the hot is fine. You do not need to go hunting for the black wire.

 

[avvidclif]

I got to the lake on the weekend and removed the Breaker/converter box. I was right, the main power lines going to fuse box portion are Red and White with the ground off to the left side.

Everyone was I spoke with said it should be a black wire.
I hunted high and low for a back wire - same thickness which would have powered the unit shore power wise - but nothing was seen in teh cluster of wiring.

Deleted instructions

Your best bet is to get an electrician to install the EMS. With all due respects but your understanding of electricity begs for a professional.

 

[danemayer]

I think the attached drawing is your WFCO box, or one very much like it. If you look at the battery on the right, and trace the wires to the board, you'll see that the wire terminals you're proposing to hook 120V into are actually the connections for the battery wires. The 120V wires are on the left.

 

[mILcOP4523]

I think the attached drawing is your WFCO box, or one very much like it. If you look at the battery on the right, and trace the wires to the board, you'll see that the wire terminals you're proposing to hook 120V into are actually the connections for the battery wires. The 120V wires are on the left.

Thanks Danemayer. with this and the use of my fathers multi meter I was able to correct my undersight and install the PI surge protector.