Michelin LT failure

powderman426 wrote:

SeniorGNC wrote:
Tireman9,
At this time I am investigating TPMS brands and models.
Kevin

I think your on the right track. Knowing when a tire is developing a problem such as losing pressure or heating up will go a long way toward keeping out of trouble no matter what type of tire you have.

There is no such thing as a "Fail Proof" tire. Any brand, any size, any type, no matter where it is made, can have a puncture or valve leak.

TPMS are not 100% guaranteed to give you advance warning for every possibility but for the normal reasons for people to suffer "Run-Low Flex Failure" they are as good as any current technology can deliver to providing warning that should be sufficient for you to slow down and pull off the road before the tire is completely without air.
If you start slowing down as soon as you get the warning you should be able to stop before generating the heat needed to melt the body cord or fatigue the steel in TBR size Class-A unit.

I know from experience after conducting a number of tests, that a heavy truck suffering a "C" shaped 2" dia cut through the tread can easily come to a controlled stop and not shred the tire.

A 30ga deer slug through the sidewall doesn't result in the tire exploding, just hissing air. (see my blog of June 11, 2013)

The bottom line is that if you take immediate action you should have no damage to the RV and in some cases of slow leaks you might even be able to save the tire that had the puncture or valve leak. The key is...You must take action. This means you need to know there is air loss occurring. Without TPMS you will almost never know soon enough to avoid expensive problems.