Yes, we use a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TMPS) that watches both our GMC Dully tires and all 6 397TH tires. There are a lot of options out there for TMPS systems. We went with the EEZ RV Products TMPS System. We chose EEZ vs TST and others on the market due to their reputation and longevity in the industry.
We started out with the original EezTire TPMS system on our old coach that had a black and white display. It was a very reliable system and easy to read in direct sunlight, but it started to get dated when others such as the TST came out with a color monitor for their units.
What is nice about using a well respected vendor like EEZ RV Products is their components all work together. When we got our new 397TH we initially moved the sensors and components over to it and all worked day one. EEZ RV finally released a new device that has a color monitor. It worked perfectly with our existing system. All we had to do was change the display and program the old sensors into the new device.
Here's a link to the new color display system. This is the display only. You also need sensors (one for each tire). You can click on the picture to see teh product details on Amazon.
For a long coach like the Momentum 397TH you also need to have a repeater. We installed ours in the front battery compartment.
Our GMC 3500HD has a GPS and so do our phones, but we can't rely on either of them completely. There are a number of challenges with GPS's. The first being connectivity.
Phone-based GPS systems like Google or Apple Maps are useless if you are Boondocking or anywhere that does not have data connectivity. I have had many occasion to be out somewhere and the phone goes haywire and has no idea where it is. Most of the time that is due to being outside of cellular coverage, but any interference with reception such as driving through mountains or the city will cause issues with accuracy. Internet connected apps work so well it is easy to forget that the map data is in the cloud. When cloud access is lost the maps are lost as well. Turn your phone into Airplane Mode to see exactly what happens when data connectivity is lost.
There are apps that have databases that download and install onto the phone. CoPilot GPS is one that is used fairly often in the traveling camping community. The challenge with CoPilot and many of the apps is they license their routing algorithms from third-party providers. Licensing is expensive. At the end of the day someone is collecting the height and width of every road to make routing work. Small businesses like CoPilot do not generate a lot of revenue. The end result is they use suboptimal routing systems that can get you into a situation you may not be able to get out of. Apps are nice for planning, but not for actual driving.
Our truck GPS is fantastic. Many of the issues such as data loss and routing work very well. GM can afford to license legit technology that works for most of their customers. The problem with the vehicle GPS is bridges, tunnels, tight roads, etc. Onboard GPS systems simply do not take into account anything other than the vehicle it is installed in when routing. It is another great system for planning, but it is useless when actually on the highway.
So what do we use? The industry standard system – Garmin. Garmin is a Goliath company. They produce GPS systems for Aviation and Transportation. The systems they build are rock solid and reliable. They license their data from a company called Here Technologies that maps planet earth. Here generates millimeter accurate data for locations throughout the world. Their coverage far exceeds Google and anyone else that maps roads. Garmin is a smart company. They license data for everything from Here, including bridge heights, traffic, road grades, railroad track locations, etc. Here is a Big Data Internet of Things company. They map everything. When you are using a Garmin unit, you have access to the same data points.
The system we actually use is the Garmin RV 785 with Traffic. The system not only takes into account the length, height, width, propane, etc. it also has an onboard dash cam that saves money from having to buy a camera to record the road in front of us. We highly recommend Garmin products. The best of the best for RV travel is the 785 with Traffic. Here's the link to Garmin 785 system we use.
We use the Ring Alarm system and cameras in our rig. We went with Ring because their service can be self monitored. Campers that move frequently cannot be professionally monitored. They would not know where to dispatch police or fire, which could lead to big fines.
I did a full overview video of the Ring Alarm system install. This video walks through everything we are using and how it works.
This is a great topic to discuss. Modern campers have a ton of sensitive electronics on board. I cannot even imagine the cost we could incur if we had a power surge through our rig. The answer is yes, most certainly we have surge suppression. We actually have several levels of surge and power protection on our coach.
If one were to walk by our rig at a campground it would look like we are directly plugged into power with no surge suppression whatsoever. We installed everything inside of the storage compartment behind the Nautilus Water bay. Keeping gear inside is a good idea. Expensive parts hanging outside on a power pole are open targets for theft. Even cable locks can be cut.
Our first line of defense is a 50 Amp Hughes Autoformer. The Autoformer is classified as a voltage booster with surge suppression. The device doesn't just monitor power like most systems, it actually interacts with the inbound power feed to bump up the voltage to a safe level that is around 120 VAC. The system has step up transformers inside of the unit that are designed to get the voltage to a safe level. If for any reason it cannot safely do so, the Autoformer will disconnect power. It is fully automatic and can bump either leg of the AC power source up by 10%. For example, one leg of power can be coming in as low as 108 VDC that would kill air conditioning compressors, computer power supplies, etc. and it will transparently step the voltage up to 119 VAC that is safe to use. The Autoformer also has a field replaceable surge protector that can safely dissipate 4800 Joules of power.
The second level of protection we use is also made by Hughes. It is called the Watchdog with Bluetooth, surge protection and Emergency Auto Shutoff (EPO). One of the items that really sets the Watchdog ahead of their competitors is the Bluetooth app. From the comfort of the couch I can see exactly what is going on with the power coming into our rig. It also has a cool watt counter that will track exactly how much power we have used. This is very helpful when trying to calculate how much power we need for solar and off-grid living. It is also useful when staying in parks that charge for power. It is nice being able to audit the bill. The watchdog also has a 4800 Joule field replaceable surge device like the Autoformer. Most of these types of devices are sealed and cannot be serviced in the field. Having a spare surge part can keep the rig running and protected.
The sharp eye reader may notice that I posted the picture of a standard unit that is not hard-wired in and recall that I said above that everything is wired inside of our coach. We chose to use plug-in devices so it would be easy to remove a device out of the system if we are experiencing problems. It is a major pain to crawl deep inside of the rig and un-wire heavy AC lines because a surge suppressor popped. The plugs make it easy to remove a device and fix it in the morning vs going all night without power.
To accomplish the feat of having plug in units effectively hard-wired in we used one more part from Hughes called the hardware kit. It has a heavy duty 50 amp cable that wires into the transfer switch. And a 50 amp plug that is wired into the line coming in from the outside. When the two are plugged together is is exactly the same as OEM. Power follows the same path. However, when the two are joined by putting parts like the Autofomer in the middle that is where the magic happens. This is the link to the install kit.
We use a combination of two different devices. The first one is a physical device that screws onto the tank valves. It has a pressure meter that reads the approximate state of charge. It also protects us from a rapid propane leak that could happen if a line comes lose or is cut. It is called a GasStop Emergency Shutoff Valve. The GasStop is a must have device. We are carrying 60 lbs across two tanks of Propane. A leak could create an explosion.
The second and more convenient device to use is a wireless system called Tank Check Dual. The system is genius. It has two wireless transmitters that magnetically stick to the bottom of each propane tank. The sensors send a signal into the tank and it measures the level of the liquid propane in the tank. The measurements are then sent via a Bluetooth signal back to a battery operated receiver that can be mounted just about anywhere. The level meter alone makes the system worth every penny, but what is cool is they also have an App that lets you read the level of each tank from a smartphone. It is very nice to know how much propane you are using at any given time and if you are going to make it through the night on a tank.
