Newbie misc questions-internet, safe t plus steering, proteng fire system, surge supressor/ems

[tjbatl]

I recently purchased a used (2800 miles) 2023 Newmar DS 4369. Would appreciate thoughts/opinions on the following please. We will not be full-timers but will use approximately 100 days/year. Will be staying at RV resorts and not boondocking.

• For internet/streaming Youtube TV am considering Netgear M6 with T-Mobile since thats our provider - any thoughts or other recommendations?
• Does anyone have opinions on the Safe T Plus steering control system - Safe T Plus Steering Control / RV & Truck Steering Stabilizer
• Does anyone have opinions on the Fire Safety System - Protect Your RV
• Do you recommend a surge protector or EMS/Surge protector to be plugged into the 50 amp service at the RV site then the 50 amp line from the 4369?

Appreciate any thoughts.

Tom

 

[Neemer]

Hi Tom. Congrats on your new coach.

I’ll address some of your questions.

With Newmar’s comfort drive, I see no reason to put a Safe T Plus unit on your coach. Comfort drive handles everything.

Proteng may be useful for some, but I do not have it on mine. It depends on how much risk you are comfortable with.

Absolutely have a surge protection capability. I have a Hughes Watchdog hardwired in my electrical bay, and I also have a portable Progressive Industries surge protector that I plug into the power pedestal ahead of my 50 amp power cord. Overkill possibly, but it’s what I do.

 

[SteveMA]

Hi Tom,
Agree with Ed above - Comfort Drive - you have about the very best system there is. You really do not want to add anything to it, just learn how to set it up for how you like it to feel and be aware that in certain conditions you will make some small adjustments (all from sitting in the driver's seat.) Last month we were in 30-45 MPH side and head winds in the Nevada/California desert and while we felt the wind a little, the key words here are "a little". Having had another good 40' DP before, and I thought the old one handled well, the difference with Comfort Drive when passing trucks or in wind is absolutely amazing

We are all electric, I do not have a fire suppression system, however I do carry extra LARGE fire extinguishers in several bays and I inspected the engine compartment and ground every day before and after each trip for anything unusual (or wet).

Adding an external surge protector at the power pedestal has several values.
[a] Plug it in, turn on power and read the lights to check that all is good. (then turn off power, connect your 50A shore power to the external surge protector and power on at pedestal)
They are really cheap insurance, Damaging your hardwire protector is a major pain to repair and will be costly. You may also not be able to connect to any shore power until the hardwire unit is repaired. If the hard wired unit is part of your transfer switch you may not be able to get generator power either.
[c] An added layer or transient and surge protection never hurts. (we use Hughes Autotransformer) but there are many good units out there. Expect to spend 150-250.
[c] Some of them give you added ability to read power from your phone. I worked out a way to get that into our wifi so that I can get info remote to the coach (Hughes is bluetooth only (Hughes - are you listening?)

lastly - enjoy your DS. That is why you bought it. They don't like to be parked too long, they like to go places !!

 

[tjbatl]

Hi Tom. Congrats on your new coach.

I’ll address some of your questions.

With Newmar’s comfort steer, I see no reason to put a Safe T Plus unit on your coach. Comfort steer handles everything.

Proteng may be useful for some, but I do not have it on mine. It depends on how much risk you are comfortable with.

Absolutely have a surge protection capability. I have a Hughes Watchdog hardwired in my electrical bay, and I also have a portable Progressive Industries surge protector that I plug into the power pedestal ahead of my 50 amp power cord. Overkill possibly, but it’s what I do.

Thank you very much for your suggestions. First short trip is next weekend. View it as a fun learning experience.

 

[Tnedator]

Agreed no need for safe-t-plus. I had one on my previous coach, a Thor Ace, and it helped a lot, but with Comfort Steer, no need, and it might interfere with it.

On Proteng, I just had it installed. I'm NOT convinced it's worth the money, or will stop many fires that are started, but we have three dogs we leave in the coach, and if there is a chance it could stop a fire that would otherwise consume the coach and them, we decided to do it. Also, in theory, it could wake us at night, as it's supposed to sound like a gun when the tube pops.

The other NIRVC exclusive I just had installed is Rettroband blowout protection. They are fairly new and minimally tested in real word. They had a design problem with version one and replaced them all, and at least one of version two failed (not during a blowout, just driving), and it was said to be installer error (an NIRVC installer). Still, I decided to do it, because I think the number one threat, in my opinion, of a class A is a blowout, especially when you drive a lot on windy country roads with no shoulder.

If your dutchstar has an internal surge suppressor that's part of the transfer switch, then you can go with a cheap surge suppressor on the pedestal to be sacrificial, since ideally your build in surge suppressor never takes a hit, as if it does, it could protect your coach, but still be fried itself, as Steve explained above.

I use a progressive on the pedestal, but southwire also makes a good one. Mine has lights that confirm polarity and all is good. I hook it up first, without the coach plugged in, flip the breaker on, make sure polarity is good and no open ground (on mine green and blue lights mean all is good), and then turn off the breaker, hook up my coach cord, and turn breaker back on.

 

[rvkev]

Anybody have 3 fire extinguishers? Placed front middle and back. Not little toy fire extinguishers. The bigger about 5 inch round class A,B,C

 

[Rich W.]

As I recall, a steering stabilizer would interfere with CD.

This piqued my curiosity (I can’t specifically remember everything I’ve read on RVs over the years) so I dug into the archives. This is a direct quote from Ken Sherwin on the issue:

“The Safety Plus and CD both try to pull the front end back to what it thinks is straight ahead at that moment. The problem happens when the systems think center is at different places. Safety Plus pulls it one way and the CD (along with the hydraulic system) pulls it back again. This will cause heat buildup in the power steering oil. I have personally measured the CD responding to wind and road conditions to move the dynamic straight-ahead point as much as 53 degrees. This would cause a big fight between systems. I personally would not recommend it.”

It’s actually worse than just heat build-up in the fluid because the heat would come from the power steering running constantly while CD fights the STP, instead of being at rest while driving straight, causing premature wear on all the power steering components. The two systems are simply not compatible. And CD is too expensive to risk by using an after-market steering stabilizer.

 

[Rich W.]

Anybody have 3 fire extinguishers? Placed front middle and back. Not little toy fire extinguishers. The bigger about 5 inch round class A,B,C

I carry two 2A10BC extinguishers, one inside, and one in a baggage compartment. Wtih any dry-chem extinguisher carried on a vehicle, it’s important to shake up the powder at least annually because it tends to compact due to the vibration and bouncing around that happens on the road. Do this by turning the extinguisher upside down and smacking the bottom a few times with a rubber mallet. Otherwise you might get nothing but CO2 out of it which would be disappointing during an emergency.

 

[lostinfla]

I had the Proteng system installed and carry 3 extinguishers, one front, mid, and rear bath. It's something I hope to never have to use, but I'm glad it's there. I mounted a Surge Guard unit in the power bin so there's no issue with theft.

 

[DennisT]

Depending on the amount of usage for internet we use FMCA Tech Connect. AT&T box, 24 meg speed, unlimited and no throttling unless you hit a busy tower. Connected the coach to the box and we just connect everything to the coach network.

We use it for streaming and we both used it for work when traveling until we retired.

That can be put on hold when not in use but we kept it active as a backup for the house.

Streaming is difficult for local channels since they all depend on your home location and logging in there periodically. If gone too long they turn off your streaming completely.

Once we start traveling a lot we will probably go with Dish since you can just call and get things set for your new location and turn on / off as needed.