Rain Preparation December 18, 2025, 01:24:42 pm We will be having guests for the Christmas holiday and will be using the LD again for overflow sleeping. Unlike the Thanksgiving holiday, mucho rain is forecast. I think the RV outlet is weather resistant but not sure about the external surge protector. Should it be covered for safety? 2 Likes
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #1 – December 18, 2025, 02:17:28 pm I have what appears to be the same surge protector, and it has lived through lots of rain storms at campsites. I think they're built for it. I do however disconnect when there is likelihood of lots of lightning in the area.Have a great Christmas! 3 Likes
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #2 – December 18, 2025, 11:20:01 pm Greg,In 2015, we purchased our external surge protector from the Mothership and while the protector itself is probably weatherproof I have been more concerned with the electrical connection points being exposed to rain.With the aforementioned point in mind, I always bagged the whole kit. 2 large plastic trash bags and a bungee cord had always served me well at home and on the road. Cheap and easy. Never can tell how pesky water can be. Now that I have had my 30 amp RV outlet moved inside the garage, plugging in at home no longer concerns me. Kent
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #3 – December 19, 2025, 10:36:33 am Hi Greg; Those surge protectors can handle the rain as philjlaw said. The wind whistling past the structures (house, motorhome) along with nearby drainage, puddles could drive water droplets up into the connections as Kent said. Down here in San D. we don't get rain like places that get 'real' rain. (Florida). My 10 gauge extension cord power connection is inside the garage (like Kent), and the other connection to my power cord plug, is inside the cord storage area of the LD. (no external 'Marinco' connector). My underground utilities seem safer from lightning, but we rarely have lightning near me. Light poles are a few homes away. Andy's famous 'strike' involved his CB antenna I believe. My antennas are less high than nearby trees, in the 40'-70' range and none of those are large enough to reach my LD. (Like Paul H.) RonB 2 Likes
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #4 – December 19, 2025, 10:58:11 am Greg, I might trust the wiring in my house and remove the surge protector and plug straight in. I must admit though, I don't totally understand the surge protector.Jon
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #5 – December 19, 2025, 10:58:40 am Thanks all! Kent, I’m wondering if wrapping the EMS in plastic bags can cause it to overheat. Have you noticed any issues with that? I like the idea of the outlet being in the garage but that wouldn’t work with our home’s layout.
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #6 – December 19, 2025, 12:36:29 pm I wouldn't worry. As others have said, it's designed to be weatherproof. 1 Likes
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #7 – December 19, 2025, 02:41:37 pm I wouldn't worry till the water rose to the level of the plug. Then I'd be concerned about a short. 1 Likes
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #8 – December 19, 2025, 09:38:13 pm Greg,I have never noticed residual heat being generated by the surge protector when covered with the trash bags. However, I have had issues in the past with the dog bone used to connect from the surge protector to the 110 power pedestal located next to my driveway. I attribute that issue with my aging home electrical system. The prongs on the dog bone became charred along with the 110 outlet itself. This is only one reason for my home electrical system upgrade and my decision to install the 30 amp RV outlet inside my garage. I’ve had a couple of major infrastructure issues resolved lately. Not uncommon for a 95 year old home. Moving on to the next project. But first the new puppies and a beautiful cat have infiltrated our lives.Kent 4 Likes
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #9 – December 20, 2025, 02:49:33 pm Hi JonS; Surge protectors depend on MOV's. Metal Oxide Varistors. This device looks like a disc capacitor, and is placed across the incoming power. Usually three, one across hot to neutral, one hot to ground and one neutral to ground. Rated by breakdown voltage and power absorption amount (Joules). They don't do much until the peak voltage is exceeded. They turn into a near dead short in nano seconds. They absorb the energy, often trip a circuit breaker or fuse, and go back on guard. The bad part is they gradually wear out, by increasing the voltage threshold where they actuate. (A few years depending on exposure to bad power spikes) RV surge protectors have other important functions. Detecting a miswired pedestal, very important. Not connecting your RV to power, until the situation is fixed. Reversed hot and neutral, missing neutral, missing ground, etc. The most used functions are detecting too high an incoming voltage (maybe a bit rare) and detecting too low a voltage. Crowded campgrounds in hot weather, maybe not very maintained infrastructure, many people using their A/C units at once can cause the incoming voltage to sag. A 'surge protector' will disconnect you even if you aren't in your rig at the time. About 108 VAC incoming is about the trip point. When the voltage returns to high enough, it will reconnect the power. A small computer is on watch, with the ability to manage the power coming in. A installed unit will also protect you from your generator, if it has issues. This is a good description: Complete Guide to RV Surge Protection – TechnoRV. Trying to sell you one of course. I've never used one, Maybe I should get one....RonB 3 Likes
Re: Rain Preparation Reply #10 – December 21, 2025, 07:41:57 pm I'mno expert. I can only share what is my experience. Being from and living on the 'wet' side of Oregon - if we only went camping on dry days we'd never go anywhere. We've camp in hot, in cold, in dry and wet. In the early camping days I did worry a tad about the surge protecter during wet (read) rainy days. Having over ten plus years of experience the only thing I'm concerned about is grounding problems. I worry that in the process of unhooking I become the ground myself so I always turn off the current before I unhook. We have camped for sometime days of off and on rain. The Oregon Coast is either raining on about to start raining. On the three days its not wet all of the folks from the valley head west to confirm there is an ocean on the coast.glen 1 Likes
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