EMS/Surge Protection or.... TPMS???

SpeakEasy wrote:
I'm interested to know if anyone here has actually suffered damage to their electrical components due to bad power.

I've heard lots of stories of tire blowouts and the damage caused.

I've heard stories about how EMS systems have protected people from damage.

I'd like to know if there are people here who have actually suffered damage because they didn't have an EMS.

-Speak

In 43 years of towing campers, I've had two tires come apart and no failures from bad power. The only power protection that I use is an autoformer when voltage is down.

My TPMS has alerted me to low tire pressure several times. That system can save a lot of damage and increases safety.

SpeakEasy wrote:
I'm interested to know if anyone here has actually suffered damage to their electrical components due to bad power.

There are occasional threads on this forum about someone sustaining damage. The response is ALWAYS "you should have had an EMS."

I havent had damage, but i know 3 people that have. ( well 2 had damage the other had an ems that disconected) and it didnt matter where it was , one was at disney. You never know. I got the ems. My tires are easy to check though. If i had to take off hub caps or had a large 5th wheel I could probably afford both or at least save for them. I figure if it saves the AC , fridge or converter im happy. And TBH its more about the time spent replacing them. Reading here some fridges dont fit in the main door. I would never want to take a slide or window out to replace something like that. Get the ems first, tps nect year. Have fun.

I'm interested to know if anyone here has actually suffered damage to their electrical components due to bad power.

I've heard lots of stories of tire blowouts and the damage caused.

I've heard stories about how EMS systems have protected people from damage.

I'd like to know if there are people here who have actually suffered damage because they didn't have an EMS.

-Speak

I have had far more electric events than tire events.
I went with a Progressive Industries hardwired EMS.

Two out of three tire events were loss of tread with no loss of pressure. So really one tire event in 15 years. Ok I did spot low pressure from a road hazard once and changed the tire. Also had a rim leak where I lost pressure while parked at camp.

I don't have a log but I am sure I have an electrical event almost every year.

Dusty R wrote:
Question. Will tire monitor work on air bags?

Thanks,
Dusty

Since the pressure in the airbag system varies as the airbags are compressed by the suspension, I'd be worried that it would exceed the range of the TPMS when you go over a bump. You may start at 100psi while parked, but hit a big bump and you might see a short 200psi or higher spike. Not sure if that would damage the sensor, cause it to leak, or maybe not be a problem at all. The pressure variance while driving might confuse the system and set off the leak alert while driving.

Since they do sell special purpose airbag pressure monitors, I'd probably just go with one of those.

Question. Will tire monitor work on air bags?

Thanks,
Dusty

SpeakEasy wrote:
If you only had $200 or $300 available, would you spend it on an EMS/Surge Protector or on a Tire Pressure Monitoring System? Which would you consider the higher priority?

Probably depends on how many tires you have and how hard they are to check. I can't check the inside duals without taking the hubcaps off -- I've found extenders tend to leak air so don't really want to use them. If yours are easier to reach (and if you're diligent about checking them), then it may not be an issue for you.

With the TPMS, it's trivially easy to check the air pressure *every* time I drive, and will know if I have a leak while I'm driving. Haven't had it alert on any problems yet, but the car's TPMS alerted me twice so for when I ran over something and had a leak while driving.

Well worth the money and peace of mind for me, even though it's over the top end of your range -- I paid $390 for a 7 tire EEZTire system (6 tires plus spare). Have only had it a few months but so far have been happy with it. Just need to remember to turn on the display about 5 minutes before I leave so all of the wheels have a chance to check in.

I also considered a Tireminder system for around the same price. They include a booster for "free", but it's one more thing that needs to be installed and it turns out that I really didn't need it -- all 7 wheels on my 28' Class C check in reliably.


I've been thinking about replacing the power converter with a newer 3 stage one, so I wouldn't be too upset if I had a power surge that fried this one. When (if) I replace that, I'll probably put in a hardwired EMS.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
promiscuous Power Pole Princess

We resemble that remark. We do dry camp for about 5 days each year now. Agree that my comment is tailored to being tethered and for those that dry camp, the TPMS would move up in priority.

SpeakEasy wrote:
I don't see a clear consensus.

I have great tires: new GY Endurance.

I don't have a power-hungry rig; about a quarter of the time we dry camp.

So - based on input given, no clear consensus other than "get both."

-Speak

You will never see a clear consensus here. On anything. You have to take the differing opinions, with their rationale, and decide which one fits your needs better.

Whether the rig is power hungry has absolutely no bearing on the question. The question is whether the power supplied to the rig is clean, reliable power. That is totally independent of what you have.

I do believe that both are very useful. I have both. I got the EMS immediately. I got the TPMS when I discovered an inside dually tire completely flat. Not low, flat. It was fine when I started driving that morning, but at the end of a 500 mile leg, it was flat.

However, I also understand the funds conundrum. My personal opinion is EMS first. Like someone else has pointed out, every time you stop for gas you can kick each tire. If they go THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUD, then you know the THUD tire is different. My father was a professional, over the road, bus driver. He kept a ball peen hammer in his carry-on. He would hit each tire with it before getting in the bus. It didn't tell him the psi number of the tire pressure, but if all the tires had the same THUNK sound, the tires were all inflated about the same, and would be fine.