Best RV 30 Amp Surge Protectors in 2024 (Top 4 Reviews with Comparison)

As I mentioned, Progressive Industries is one of the most widely used and well-respected brands making surge protectors. In this case, you’re getting a higher quality unit that does some electrical management along with surge protection.

44,000-Amp and 1,790 Joules Rating

When comparing the rating for different models, you’ll see that this particular unit is much higher than the competition. As I said above, these ratings shouldn’t be the only thing you look at, but when taken at face value, you can see that this is one of the better surge protectors out there.

All-Weather Design

One reason that Progressive Industries is one of the top companies in the industry is that all of their devices are built for extreme weather conditions. Since you could be RVing in the rain, snow, or sweltering heat, it’s nice to know that your surge protector can handle it all.

In addition to the standard all-weather housing, this particular model has a hinged plastic protector that helps keep your plug dry in the rain. Not only that, but you can lock the protector in place so that no one can steal it.

Readable LED Screen

With most surge protectors, you get a set of LED lights to tell you what’s wrong. With this model, however, it has a readable screen that says what’s going on. Since it can detect various issues like open ground or reverse polarity, this screen is much more reliable.

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When picking out the right RV surge protector, there are a handful of different features you should pay attention to at the beginning of your search.

First, you need to look at the amp rating. This will tell you whether the surge protector is sufficient for your needs. They come in either 30 or 50-amp settings.

Second, you want to get either a portable model (like this one) or something that installs into your RV’s electrical system permanently. We’ll go over the differences later on, but the primary element is that portable protectors are much easier to use.

Progressive Industries is one of the best options out there, making this a reliable piece of hardware for your RV. While this specific protector isn’t the best that the company makes, it’s an excellent choice when you want something simple and rugged.

Weather-Resistant Model

One thing about portable RV surge protectors is that they’re going to be sitting outside all day and night. Thus, you need to make sure that it’s prepared to handle the elements.

In this case, the SSP30X is designed to withstand temperatures of -40 degrees C to 105 degrees C. No matter where you’re traveling, you don’t have to worry about this protector failing because of the weather.

Integrated Electrical Monitoring

With some surge protectors, they are only made to protect your RV from spikes in electrical output. That means that if you plug into an outlet with faulty wiring, you won’t know until it damages your appliances.

With this model, however, it can warn you about a variety of electrical problems. These issues include open ground terminals, open neutral and reverse polarity detection, surge failure indicator, and missed wires.

Best of all, this device will warn you immediately via alarms and LED lights, meaning that you don’t have to wait until something bad happens to figure out if the surge protector will work.

Three-Color LED Indicator

Although some surge protectors out there have complicated warning systems, this one is simple and easy to read. While only three lights don’t provide too many options for different electrical problems, all you really need to know is whether it’s safe to plug your RV in or not.

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Although Progressive Industries is one of the top brands in RV surge protection, that doesn’t mean that the company has no competition. When it comes to high-quality surge protection and electricity management, this unit from Camco gives any PI unit a run for its money.

2,450 Joules Rating

When looking at how well this surge protector keeps your RV safe from spikes, you can tell that it’s much higher quality than other models based on this rating. Thankfully, it also comes with a host of other features that make this number even more significant.

Compared to other plug and play surge protectors, this unit is going to keep your RV well protected in a variety of situations.

Automatic Shutoff During Spikes

One thing that many other surge protectors don’t do is shut the power off when there are problems. Instead, they act as “electricity sinks.” That means that they absorb the extra power so that it won’t go into your RV. However, there’s no guarantee that the energy won’t still make it through, which is why most surge protectors are not as good as EMS models.

Fortunately, that’s not the case with this unit. If there is a spike or other electrical issue, this protector will automatically shut down and cut the power (like a circuit breaker). This feature not only saves your appliances but reduces the wear and tear on the device itself.

Best of all, once the power returns to normal, the protector will turn back on and resume working.

Monitors Various Electrical Issues

As with all of the other devices on this list, the Power Defender can detect all kinds of issues, ranging from open ground connections to reversed polarity. Simply put, you can feel confident that your rig will be in good hands when plugging into this system.

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Our final surge protector is a somewhat intelligent model from Technology Research. Unlike other protectors that simply warn you when something is wrong, this model will indicate the issue on the screen and adapt accordingly.

Integrated LED Screen

While LED lights are sufficient for most casual users, it’s often better to have a screen to help diagnose the problem. One thing that I don’t like about standard surge protectors is that if they shut down, you don’t always know what went wrong.

With this model, however, you can see whether the issue was too much power, too little, or faulty wiring (i.e., reverse polarity). Thus, you can determine if the pedestal is bad or if it was just a small spike.

2,450 Joules Protection

For the most part, if you want high-quality surge protection, you need to invest in a model that comes with at least this many joules. Anything less than that and you could be in trouble.

That being said, if you have a smaller rig (like a camper van), then fewer joules should be sufficient since your power needs are not as great.

Intelligent Electrical Monitoring