3 RV Safety Essentials for New RVers

So, you just got your new RV, and you are ready to get on the road!  Unfortunately, even after you spent all that money for your RV, you still don’t have everything you need to travel safely.

Got a new RV? We'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

If you ask experienced RVers, they will tell you there are safety devices that every RVer needs before they use their RV for the first time.  We call these the 3 RV Safety Essentials:

• Total Electrical Protection System
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
• Propane Shutoff Device

Total Electrical Protection System 

The Surge Guard Total Electrical Protection System not only monitors your power at the campground, but shuts the power off to your RV in the event of low or high voltage, elevated ground, open neutral, and more.  It also protects against surges, although these are far less common than the other issues mentioned. We wouldn’t plug into a pedestal without one.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)

The TST TPMS monitors your tire pressure and temperature in real-time and alarms you when you have low or high pressure, a slow leak, rapid pressure loss, or high temperature.  The 2 leading indicators of a blowout are low pressure and high temperature, and if you can be notified of these issues, you could have time to get off the road before a blowout occurs. We've never taken one trip without using our TST TPMS.

Propane Shutoff Device

GasStop is the only propane shutoff device on the market, and it completely and automatically shuts off the propane to your RV in the event of a major leak, cut, or ruptured line.  It only shuts the propane off if you have propane flow well above normal use, and it can also be used to test for minor propane leaks.  

24/7 RV Safety Monitoring

I'm sure you can now see why these devices are recommended for all RVers.  They continuously monitor important things in your RV that you simply cannot, no matter how hard you try. 

You may check the pedestal with a multimeter when you arrive at a campsite, but that will not protect you against low and high voltage that occurs hours or days after you plug in. Having a Surge Guard is like having a full-time electrician sitting at your campground pedestal at all times!

You can check your tire pressure before you set off for the day, but you cannot monitor it while you are driving and that is when tire issues occur.  Even if you stop occasionally and check the pressures and temperatures, tire failure can happen between stops. The TST TPMS is doing what you can't possibly do while the tires are moving.

Your propane tanks do not have any safety feature built in that completely shuts the propane off during excess flow. Even the Excess Flow Valve (EFV) on your tank doesn’t completely shut the propane off in the event of a major leak. The EFV is only designed to stop 75-90% of the flow, and this is simply not enough when you live in an RV.  Sure, you can test your propane system for leaks every once in a while, but the GasStop is always there to ensure you don't have propane issues.

Want to learn more about the 3 RV Safety Essentials? 

Download our new RV Safety Essentials Guide where we go into more depth about each device and what they protect against.