neutral loss protection

[Smitty8934]

I'm looking at a Fleetwood Discovery motorhome and one of the options that it has listed is a "neutral loss protection".  Could this be some kind of warranty?  I went to Fleetwoods website and I see it listed as one of their options but nowhere do they say what it is.  Any ideas?

[Ned]

It probably refers to a device commonly called a surge protector that actually protects against many types of wiring faults.  A loss of the neutral wire is one and a good device will automatically disconnect the RV from the power source instantly in the event of a fault.  Other types of wiring faults are a missing leg (on 50A service) or reversed hot and neutral.  Any of these can cause problems or damage to the RV electrical systems if allowed to connect to the RV.

[Jim Godward]

I'd like to see what it actually is as none of the currently available devices will necessarily protect against an open neutral IF it opens after the initial check.  All that I know of use a contactor for the switching and that is too slow to be sure of protection.  I know I have argued with some on other forums about this and have personnaly been lucky but I know of others who were not.

[Tom]

This was all I could find on neutral loss protection - in the build options on a Fleetwood dealer's web site.

[Ned]

That page says just what I said, it's a surge protector.  But Jim is correct in that it will not respond fast enough if the neutral loss occurs after the connection is made.  That's a problem with all mechanical (contactor type as opposed to solid state) surge protectors.

[RV Roamer]

I have that feature built into the transfer switch on my rig, but it only checks open neutral & open ground at the initial hook-up. It does high/low voltage monitoring and surge protection full time, though.  This is the system used in my [Fleetwood] American Tradition. Don't know if the new Discovery/Bounder etc. use the same parts - American Coach is often different than the other Fleetwood brands.

http://www.surgeguard.com/10040A.html

[Smitty8934]

Thanks for the input. Again, I read the brochure last night and the only thing that they say about this neutral loss protection is that it is an option.  Anyway, it sounds like it may be a good option to have.  I don't know if I would pay extra to have it added on as an option but since it's on the list already, it can't hurt.   
I want to say that this forum provides a lot of information for those of us who are either new at this life style or are considering jumping into it.  I still have my homework to do but I have been searching a lot of different areas in this forum and have found that it has answered many questions that I have had.  Thanks again.