Using an RV surge protector is essential in protecting your RV and your personal property from dangerous voltage spikes that can cause the “magic” smoke to come out of everything!
However, the coax cable for TV and satellite TV is often overlooked and can lead to all the same damage as if the spike came through the AC power feed.
In fact, for years, I called on a campground in New York that had a utility pole that got hit more than once by lightning. The surge damage to RVs often came through the coax CATV connections and burned-out components throughout the RVs. The evidence of where the voltage spike had come in was compelling, as the cable TV supplier had to go in and replace the wiring in the park, and people’s coax looked like burnt snakes.
A CATV lightning arrestor/surge suppressor is a simple and inexpensive way to help prevent this kind of damage.
Several different designs are available, but a simple barrel-type model is easy to install in the system and easily replaced should it fail.
The coax CATV connection at the site should have earth grounding, just like the drop at your home. However, over the years, I have seen many sites where this is not the case.
A model that I have used over the years is the VCELINK SP250 (https://amzn.to/46NRQ4T), a diminutive, easy-to-install piece that should work on all CATV and DBS systems as well as 4G/5G boosters. It has a rated frequency range of 5-2500MHz, RFI shielding, and it passes DC current for remote power supplies that are common with KING and Winegard DBS systems. The unit is sealed for outdoor use.
Of course, adding any set of connections and a device in a coax cable will result in some loss, but I have found that this model doesn’t adversely affect any of the systems mentioned above. I use it on my equipment and have used it with clients.
Some campgrounds are adding CAT-5 internet access, as I recently discovered at Charleston KOA. So, what about that connection?
If it’s an outside connection, then yes, it should have protection.
A popular model is the CERRXIAN RJ45 inline coupler (https://amzn.to/4csVpyo). These units are inexpensive and compatible with Cat 5-7 cabling systems
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You will note that I have recommended compact, inexpensive, simple-to-use, well-rated models without a grounding connection. This is intentional.
While it would be great to bond a higher-end lightning and surge suppressor to the chassis of the RV to pass the surge voltage to the RV’s passthrough ground at the campground pedestal, we don’t always camp at hookup sites. So, I’m concerned about the effect of transferring the surge to the chassis instead of blowing out the connection the way these basically work. I asked my friend and compatriot Mike Sokol (RV Electricity) about his thoughts, and he agreed that internal differential peak voltage protection would be the best bet for a portable solution. He argued that with the inconsistency of campground wiring setups, this would be the best bet for any protection.
So, while this is not a promise of complete protection, as the energy from a direct lightning strike is hard to overcome, it offers some peace of mind against what could arguably be the majority of surge events.
Special thanks to Mike Sokol for the electrical engineering lift! See all his great stuff at
