SoftStartRV Soft Start for RV Air Conditioner, RV AC Soft Start Kit for Air Conditioner, Easy Start Even with a Small Generator, 100% Waterproof, Trailer Camper, Motorhome HVAC -NetworkRV

I finally decided I needed to add softstart to my RV AC when I decided to move to a solar generator instead of my pair of Honda 2000's in parallel that I used to lug around when dry camping. I could never get a single Honda 2000 to start my AC and would need both... I wonder if this softstart would let me do that? But doesn't matter - I switched to an Ecoflow that probably could handle the startup surge, but why stress it? This softstart was pretty easy to install. I had to lookup my particular AC model (Dometic something) and the instructions tell you where to run all the wires, jumpers, etc. Just make sure to double-check everything. I had done some of it and realized I'd done the wrong wire on one part (I read the letters from the AC incorrectly at first), so I'm glad I checked again before starting it up. That was my fault for not being more thorough, no fault of the instructions which were correct. After getting the wiring correct and finding a good spot to mount it, well... that was it, I was done. I flipped the breaker back on, went inside and started it up, and wow, it was SO much nicer when starting. Before, the AC would "clunk" when starting up and was pretty loud during that startup phase. Now, it starts up nice and calm, the clunk is gone, and that "hum" I'd hear for the first couple seconds when the compressor and fan were starting up had all but disappeared. I mean, there's still the noise of the fan and compressor, but you get to skip the other noise. Which is great if you have this running on and off at night because those clunks and hums are distracting. There are more expensive softstarts out there but this one, I think, is a good value. There are also cheaper ones out there and I'm kind of skeptical of those. This one seems solidly built, works great, and the manufacturer has been around for a while so I feel like they'll stand behind the product. As far as how it works to reduce the initial amp draw, I didn't do any direct measurements to get the peak current before/after install. Other people have done exactly that, so you can refer to them. I do know that my single Honda 2000 inverter generator couldn't start up previously (I'll have to try that at some point now), so the startup current definitely exceeded what that could handle. I even had trouble getting the AC to start if I was using a 15A circuit to power my RV... it would trip the breaker (it's a 30A trailer, but using the adapter to just keep it plugged in at home to keep batteries charged, etc... I tried getting the AC to start while nothing else was running, and the breaker would always trip). Now with the softstart and using the energy monitor on my Ecoflow, I could see that it ramps up nicely and my AC averages between 7-8 A (at 120V) which is far less than I imagined it would use. With that in mind, assuming the softstart lets it gently ramp up to that 7-8A (or could be up to 13A for a 15A circuit), I bet I could use a single generator or a 15A circuit to run *just* the AC to start it up, and a couple other low current things. My converter, for example, is a 55A converter. If it decides it needs to charge my batteries, it could be using 5-6A of 120V all by itself. Anyway, all that other stuff aside, this unit does exactly what it says, the price is decent, easy enough to install, etc. Worth the price and effort it takes to install it.

I got tired of fighting with my generator and decided to finally get this upgrade. They walked me through the process and the installation took a total of about an hour. Works exactly as it should. My generator no longer bogs down and the AC starts quieter, without that loud thump. Very happy i made this purchase.

Installed the unit in my RV, Furrerion AC and it worked great. Was able to run the AC on my 2500 watt portable generator with no problem. Easy to install in approximately two hours. Comes with all the connectors which is nice. AC runs quieter

My RV AC would nuisance trip especially on cold start. It's tripped the main breaker once. It nuisance trips the small generator breaker a lot. It had a very hard start. I installed this soft starter and the hard start is gone. It's a pretty gentle start now. Tested with the small generator and no more nuisance trips. And I think the soft start won't wake me up as often as that hard start did. I had contacted the company for the install diagram for my HVAC. They responded within an hour. That was awesome. The diagram was electrically correct. My particular HVAC does not have an "electrical box" though. So I had to focus on the electrical aspect and ignore the references to an electrical box. The diagram labelled all the terminals it was looking for on the capacitor and the compressor which made it easy to identify what needed to be done. My capacitor is literally about the size of a 12oz soda can, and sits in a cup holder in the styrofoam insulation of the HVAC. No screws, no hold down, nothing. Just a rubber insulator over the terminals. That's OEM from the HVAC manufacturer. I was able to locate the terminals on the capacitor and on the compressor. The connector on the supplied pig tail they wanted me to use was too small to fit on the connector of the compressor. Instead I traced that blue wire back inside the dry space and cut it there, and spliced the two wires in with wire nuts there. The benefit being these connections are now "inside" and dry. The other 3 connections are on the capacitor and they are also "inside" and dry. The HVAC has a lot of foam used instead of sheet metal. So there wasn't a place to screw the softstart to. Instead, I just wire-tied it inside the air intake so I can see the LED's from the side of the camper. Tested it 2 hours on the small generator with the temp set just a few degrees below ambient. That caused it to cycle on and off every 10-15 minutes. No problems the entire time.

The first soft start i purchased was a cheap chinese one on Amazon and i spent many hours trying to figure out the wiring, i finally got it wired and it did not work as advertised, so i went back to Amazon and sorted soft starts by ratings, and the SoftStartRV came up on top. It cost more, but let me tell you it was worth it. After receiving it and inspecting it, i opened a support ticket thru their website for how to wire it and they called me Monday morning to follow up. I sent them the schematic from my AC unit and they made me a custom schematic that was easy to read and understand. They also corrected the wiring that was wrong on the AC unit from the factory. I had it installed and working within an hour. It is a solid built unit, the wires are plenty long enough, its compact and easy to position. The quality of the SoftStartRV and the Service are top notch and it does what it says - Soft starts

Amazing!!! It was easy to install and works as advertised. Previously had to turn off the refrigerator to run the air conditioner with my 2300kw generator. Now, with the soft start the generator doesn’t even labor when starting the AC with the refrigerator running. I don’t understand why it’s not standard equipment on all campers!!

I have a 2012 Open Range 398RLS with a 15,000 btu Dometic Brisk Air II ducted system in the living area and the original Coleman Mach 13,500 btu non-ducted unit in the bedroom. The living room a/c has an RV Airflow kit installed which makes for a very quiet running unit. The bedroom a/c however is another story. As temps drop in the evenings and it starts to cycle off and on it will just about make you jump out of your skin when it kicks on because it is right above the bed. After being startled awake one too many times I began looking for solutions. My first thought was to install a mini split system in the front to take advantage of the efficiency, quiet operation and also to be able to run both units simultaneously off of my 4200-watt Firman inverter generator. It was hard to justify the money and modifications needed to install the mini split however when the Coleman unit was working perfectly fine except for the nerve-wracking startups. I ran across a few articles on soft starts and how they can smooth out startups allowing you to run a/c units off of smaller generators so it seemed like a nice way to save some money, time and effort and possibly achieve my goal of less bone jarring startups. I did some research and settled on the SoftstartRV brand because of its reviews and high ratings. I ordered from Amazon rather than the website because of Prime shipping and a $20 cheaper price. The unit arrived the next day and came wrapped in bubble wrap with instructions and an installation kit, but with no box or other packaging. First impressions were terribly underwhelming. For the price I guess I expected a better presentation, but the product itself seemed solid and well made. I went to the website and found my a/c units wiring diagram and instructions, printed it out and headed to the roof with tools and product in hand. Directions were surprisingly clear and in about 30 minutes everything was wired up. I should say at this point that I do have lots of experience with wiring diagrams and electrical devices, but very little a/c experience. That being said, I do believe anyone that can follow directions and is even a little bit mechanically inclined should be able to install one of these devices without much effort. I followed the instructions to the letter, got my green light on the first try and allowed the unit to run for the initial 30 minute set up time. After that I turned the thermostat up to a normal operating temperature and waited. I have a Power Watchdog EPO hardwired to my rig so I am able to watch wattage, voltage and amperage readings in real time via an app so I stayed glued to my screen for several startup cycles. The readings looked good as there was no initial huge spike in wattage and amperage like there was before so I knew the unit was doing what it was designed to do and was smoothing the surge out to a steadier and more gradual ramp up. The compressor and fan used to kick on simultaneously but now the blower turns on a second or two ahead of the compressor and this is very evident by the initial 300+ watt draw followed by the 1400+ watt draw after the compressor kicks in. It is a much faster ramp up than I anticipated though and without my ability to monitor the wattage and amperage it would be hard to tell any difference just by listening to the unit. Unfortunately, I do not see this solving my particular problem because from a sound perspective there is little perceivable difference. Again, I know the unit is working because I can “see” the difference in my readings, but for the money, I certainly expected more. If this was a $50 or even $100 item I would have shrugged it off and never looked back because I do see value in what it does. Maybe my expectations were just too high, and if all I was looking to do was smooth out the current draw to run my a/c off of a small generator then this might be a viable solution, but for my use case it was money not well spent. I wish now that I had spent my time and money on the mini split instead of this. I still have to give this four stars because even though it didn’t solve my specific problem, I still think it is a well made device that will work for the vast majority of people looking to smooth out their power consumption curve. I will eventually try to run both units off of my generator just to see if it works as advertised in that regard, but since that was not my ultimate goal it is not high on my priority list.

The unit does what it says it will do...cuts down on start-up load. While I didn't measure the actual amp reduction just the sound of the generator proves it's working as advertising. I can't say enough good things about the Customer Support team...my every question (and I had a lot...see below) was answered promptly whether by email or phone. They even offered to Facetime with me during the installation. However, the written instructions were terrible. In order to obtain those instructions for your specific AC unit, you must first climb onto the RV roof and open the AC cover and another cover on an electrical box to find a tiny 7-digit code that is unique to the model number. Apparently, a single model number (in my case a Coleman-Mach unit) can have multiple wiring configurations. You take that unique code and enter it into the online SoftStart database to download the specific instructions. It would appear that Coleman-Mach has never heard of configuration management. Then the fun begins, because the instructions are at times vague or missing key instructions (maybe my AC model is an oddity). Both my adult son and I could read an instruction (mostly swapping colored wires between the SoftStart and AC) and come up with different meanings. It took emails and calls to Customer Support to determine what the written instructions really meant. Finally, we abandoned the printed instructions as near useless and went with the clear instructions provided by the Customer Support team. Also, YouTube videos were very helpful even with differences in AC units wiring. I felt a 5-star score was appropriate due to the device itself and the great Customer Support team. The printed instructions are a 1-star and reminded me of a late-night Christmas Eve many years ago as I struggled to decode the assembly instructions for my 6-year-old daughter's Barbie Dream House.

This amazing device works exactly as described. It functions flawlessly. When the ac kicks in, it’s so smooth, there’s no “hammer” when it starts. I can run the ac and microwave at the same time while plugged into a regular receptacle, as well as when plugged into my generator. I installed it on our 14 year old Coleman Mach rv air conditioner and installation was very simple. The step by step instructions from the SoftStart website made it really easy. One feature that I really appreciated was the small size of the unit itself. This enabled me to easily find a spot to install it that made it look like it was installed by a professional. I believe that the SoftStartRV will make it easier on my ac and easier on my generator.

Received the unit promptly, but it was too cold here to do the install right away. Finally got to put the unit in and found the instructions incredibly easy to follow and the install went great. The unit worked well on the test run and seems to be quieter, not sure how much it saves on start up draw as my home plug supplies 30 amp. The draw test will come when we get to our seasonal site as it is a very old campground and only has 20 amp service to the sites. Update! OMG! This thing is awesome. Last year when the a/c cycled it would pull so much amps ( old campground and we are on a power supply that is only 20 amp) the satilite tv would cut out and reset. No more, not only that but we also run a bar fridge this year and still no issues.

I've just install the SoftStartRV SSRV3T in my travel trailer. Instructions were simple and clear. Installation was easy. The AC started and ran smoothly with my Honda generator EU2200i. The generator is also running smootly. The SoftStartRV operated as advertised. We're extremely satisfied. Definitively a big plus. We recommend to buy.

After two months of daily use, in my driveway on house shore power, and while camping, this soft start does exactly what it promises. I can now run the rv ac without tripping a breaker in the house or overheating any circuits. Everything about this company is first rate. The instructions are clear and specific, and the kit incudes every necessary item for a successful installation. I installed it on my old Dometic ac in an hour and a half. It’s an easy job for any competent diy-er I recommend using Wago connectors vs wire nuts. I hadn’t used them before, and now I’ll never use wire nuts (Mar connectors) again. You’ll also want a wire stripper/crimper, which you can find in any hardware store or on Amazon.

Have been on the fence about a soft start for a while. However, we have a couple of unserviced trips coming up and no break to the current heat/humidity, I thought I'd give it a go. Even if I can only run a generator for a couple of hours, at least the kids will get to sleep comfortably. The SoftStartRV arrived this morning and was easily installed in about an hour at lunch. I have an electrical background but the install was really simple. Took longer to layout the cables than to make the connections. Plugged the trailer into a residential outlet, turned off everything else, set the thermostat to low and she fired up first time! Green light on the SoftStartRV. Followed the instructions to set thermostat to outside temp for 30mins, then have had the AC running no issue all afternoon. Super impressed, thank-you. Looking forward to trying this out on the road at the weekend. This will also give us many more options for some longer road-trips we are planning for next year!