Wiring a surge protector

[bikefever]

Today took delivery of our new 3455SA today. Wow, what a machine. I have a hard wire surge protector to install. Trying to figure out how to install and where. The power distribution panel is located under the desk. I thought the location should be in front where the generator should be installed. Any help is appreciated.

[H. John Kohl]

I did a search on Surge Protection and found this link. Bingo did a great job.
If you are Generator prepped and wired this is where we mounted ours.
Hope this helps.

[bikefever]

The new 3455 may be different. It appears that the shore power is hooked up in the rear - near the roof ladder. The only connections that I see in the front are DC, including battery.
The distribution box is under the desk. Would be nice to have a wiring diagram.

[RickW]

I just completed a similar project on my 3400 yesterday. If you unit has the generator pre-wire already installed (which it appears that is a standard feature on the 10th anv package) I would look for the other end of the pre-wire. On my 3400 the pre-wire ran from the generator compartment to just behind the TV hookup in the basement. When I removed the wall in the basement I found the other end of the pre-wire. That junction box was attached to a small plywood wall that was large enough to hold my transfer switch & EMS. There was enough of the 50amp power cord looped there to connect both devices with out needing to splice any wires. I believe this is where Keystone intended for these items to be installed based on what was there and the extra power cable coiled up in this spot. There was more than enough room for both items to fit behind the wall.

I do not plan to install a generator but I did go ahead and install a transfer switch. Because the generator pre-wire appears to be a 10g wire and not 6g wire like the 50amp shore power I will install a 30amp receptacle in the front of the coach. This will allow for a connection for a portable generator that I can leave in the bed of the truck if I ever decide I need a generator. It would have also been handy last week as all the spots in this campground had the pedistool at the front of the campsites. I had to use a 50amp extension cord due to distance from the rear of the coach to the pedistool. The front connection would have allowed for just a single shore power cord and it was cool enough that 30amp would have been enough power as no A/C was needed.

I am not good with auto cad so doing a flow chart is out of the question but here is how it works:

Shore Power or Generator --> Transfer Switch --> 2800w Inverter/Charger --> EMS --> Montana Electrical Panel.

[Art-n-Marge]

Hey bikefever, don't do what I did. I have one of those too and while I feel great that I am protecting my rig especially from brownouts, there are better products that actually regulate the voltage and thereby will increase a low voltage supply as well as protect from a surge. I think one of these products is called an AutoTransformer.

The device is more expensive, but for what I paid for the surgeprotector this will be good for shutting off the low power and leave me high and dry, versus what is provided by the hookup. Knowing what I know now I should have taken my Surge Guard back and gone with something that does a better job.

There are quite a few members who provide how they installed their Autotransformer with different model Montanas.

My last two rigs had the Surge Guard(a 30 amp version in my Sprinter and in my Montana a 50 amp version) but I wasn't as aware then as I am now.

If you are still gonna go with it, then good luck with the install.