Quote:
Originally Posted by scootingranny
On another thread, one person said they never used a surge protector on several campers and only periodically now; another I infer from comments has never used one. So this morning I was wondering if that's something we really didn't need and could save some $$. But I think we will err on the side of caution and get one until we can afford the EMS unit.
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It's all about experience scootingranny and personal evaluation of what cost and risk you are willing to live with, what your insurance company will cover, and so on. Forums are for sharing advice and experience. Some of us have great depth in experience, some great expertise, and some both. Just because every single last one of us has a "I've been doing this for [inserted exaggerated number here] years and never had a problem..." story about something
it does not not mean that you won't. The sunshine just shines on certain people sometimes regardless, and because a lot of things in life have an inherent safety margin already designed in to capture at least one standard deviation of outliers.
In my field, a key consideration for beginning an analysis of any sort is to determine the threshold of acceptable risk, and this is sort of where you are with your weighing. Low threshold, you better plan on belt, suspenders, and some tape and velcro for your choice. So you invest (spend) upfront for future security. High threshold, you go bare bones and are comfortable with the gamble and will draw on reserves to resolve issues as they arise.
Sure, there are folks on every forum that say you must have or have to have. I try to just recommend when I provide input, or offer food for thought from a more technical orientation. Reality is, only you can assess your personal margin of risk, however, and the best way to do that is to gather as much information as possible to evaluate it.
I will share my personal one with you regarding an EMS, and it is simple. I have a low threshold for lost camping time and waste of my personal time due to preventable power issues even though I know my insurance will cover all replacement of appliances and electronics for my $100 deductible. So, I absolutely invested $300 in a hardwired EMS with lifetime warranty that has migrated to its second camper now. So my risk threshold is not related to damage to my camper, but to my loss of enjoyment. So it is easy to see why someone with a used camper and insurance with a $1K deductible might then have a very different risk threshold related to damage to their camper.
So, my recommendation would be to evaluate your own threshold for risk and make your decision accordingly.