EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a release from Mike Sokol, an electrical and professional sound expert with 50-plus years in the industry. He is the author of “No~Shock~Zone: RV Electrical Safety” (available at Amazon.com).
A new electrical safety device will be required on all new RVs manufactured beginning late 2026. It’s called a GMI for Grounding Monitor Interrupter, which is a loss-of-ground device that confirms the chassis of a camper trailer or motorized RV is properly bonded (grounded) to the campground pedestal ground.
The GMI is mounted inside the RV itself, NOT the campground pedestal. If the GMI inside the RV doesn’t detect a proper low-resistance ground connection from the pedestal, it will disconnect the connection to the shore power cord and won’t allow AC power to reach the RV’s electrical system. The purpose of this Ground Monitor Interrupter is to prevent hot-skin voltage shocks.
Misinformation on GMI installation requirements
Unfortunately, there’s been contradictory misinformation published from a number of official news sources on how and where GMI devices will be installed, which seems to be the result of incorrectly AI-generated content.
Corrected GMI information follows:
- GMI devices will be required to be installed internally in all new RVs built beginning in late 2026 (exact date TBA)
- GMI devices will NOT be installed in any campground pedestals
- There are currently no GMI devices designed for campground pedestals
- There are no GMI devices available for retrofit to existing RVs
- A campground pedestal with improper grounding will cause the GMI inside the RV to interrupt AC power from the pedestal to the RV itself, which cannot be bypassed
- Campground pedestals will need to be tested for correct grounding (bonding)
- There will be special training and test gear required to test pedestals for correct grounding, so that a GMI-equipped RV will receive AC electric power from the shore power plug
- Adding a grounding rod to a pedestal or RV will not create a bonded ground that will allow the GMI to turn on power to the RV itself
Visit RVelectrcity.com for more information.
