The Automatic Transfer Switch was exhibiting signs of distress so I went on a search to find a replacement. Todd Engineering made the original and they went down the drain with a lot of other Elkhart based companies during the last downturn. The key to finding a replacement was to get one that could handle the 50Amp power legs, a 15KW generator and was configured in a way to utilize the existing wiring. In the end I found a great replacement called the Surge Guard Plus made by a company right here in Clearwater, Fl. Tweety's Truck Supply wanted $650, but I got one from Dyer's RV for $250 incl freight.

As the name implies, the replacement is both an ATS and a surge protector. Following is a detailed look at the units and in part 2 I have done the replacement.

The existing setup consists of the Todd unit on the left, on the right are two dedicated contactors that I believe are for the two different shore power inlets (power cord or Hubble twist connect cord). I've actually got one of the contactors in that box on order as it is humming loudly. I stuck a tie strap in it to force it shut and eliminate the humming temporarily.


A close up of the Todd unit. Not bad work, but cheap plastic box, nothing special. Now a pic of the new unit:

It's much larger and has a sturdy metal box. The contactors are huge and look much more up to the task. I plan to swap out tomorrow and will post the pics.

Part 2:
Here you can see the old Todd unit next to the TRC unit. Note that the wiring configuration is nearly identical despite being entirely different brands. Perhaps there is an industry standard, but my earlier research seemed to indicate there were varying wiring set-ups - some of which would have caused great pain if the existing wires couldn't be utilized. Sometimes the installation is the easy part if you do your homework properly.

I've removed the old unit and you end up with 1) set of power cord in, 2) set of Generator in, and 3) set of output to the 110V fuse panel. There are two hot legs as this is a 240V system. I always wonder why 110V and 240V don't add up????

The new unit getting installed.

Finally, the finished product, tested on shore and gen power. All is good. Note the new unit is upside down as was the Todd unit which was dictated by the wiring setup. I did re-route the Generator input to make it neater.

This was an easy enough project with basic tools and know how. One needs to have a healthy respect for electricity and some wiring knowledge to tackle this.

Great job! I am going to have to do this job soon on the Breakaway. The transfer relay has been good until this last trip. I use the generator going down the road because the dash A/C quit so the last few times when I shut off the the roof A/C units and then turn off the generator, I get an inverter fault, it is a back feed so one of the transfer relays has slowed down or maybe sticking.

My first effort will be to clean the contacts, if that doesn't work, I will get a new one, probably the same as you. I like the bigger box, my existing transfer relay is very tightly packed, hard to work on!

Thanks Ed.

I'm really impressed with the new ATS. Because the new one has built in surge protection, I also expect it will both last longer and protect all my many electronic goodies from campground spikes.

who heard of campground spikes ? O Bill knows
lenny

Corey enjoyed you at Hillsborough glad you are in Florida . let us know when you will go camping down here
lenny