Tire pressure monitoring systems

Too many users treat these systems as a install and forget it...even when using these systems they require checking. They are NOT fail-safe systems...the best defense against failures is a hands-on approach with a proper set up, if you're running duals on the rear, with a professional dual foot air guage. The most reliable is a Schrader dual foot which can be purchased from many sites on the net.

We have had Pressure Pro sensors on all 14 tires for going on ten years. Accuracy? They can be off by 4-5 PSI from actual, but that does not matter since you are looking for change.

Before heading out on a trip I check all tires with a good gauge, then look at the PP numbers so I know what they should be showing. Then I can run through the PP every time I stop to watch for potential problems. I run the duals on my fiver (8 tires on 2 axles) at 65 PSI cold, the PP shows 60-61 at that point. So I know that is the correct pressure when I check the PP.

Best thing about it is not having to crawl around in the grass/mud/gravel/whatever to check pressures on a rainy morning!

lanerd wrote:

Effy wrote:
Granted they won't alert to an immediate blowout, but they may very well alert you to a potential blowout.

Oh, but they will! Last year I had a blow out on my left rear toad tire....my Pressure Pro Monitor immediately started flashing and beeping me alerting me to take immediate action. I was able to pull off the highway prior to the tire coming apart and doing additional damage to the toad's fender or undercarriage.

If my PP had not alerted me, I hate to imagine what damage would have been done.

As for a decent set that won't break the bank? Just think what the cost can be in damages when a tire disintegrates! It will be a LOT more than the cost of a good TPMS.

Ron

#1...posting info with absolutely NO EVIDENCE of coach damage!
#2..I carry insurance and IF I should sustain supposed damage....insure will fix it!

Tom/Barb wrote:
how accurate are they? worth the 300 price tag?

Yes I do realize one answer reflects the other.

Some accurate...some arent. Worth $300? Not to me and Ive had 2 different brands

Effy wrote:
Granted they won't alert to an immediate blowout, but they may very well alert you to a potential blowout.

Oh, but they will! Last year I had a blow out on my left rear toad tire....my Pressure Pro Monitor immediately started flashing and beeping me alerting me to take immediate action. I was able to pull off the highway prior to the tire coming apart and doing additional damage to the toad's fender or undercarriage.

If my PP had not alerted me, I hate to imagine what damage would have been done.

As for a decent set that won't break the bank? Just think what the cost can be in damages when a tire disintegrates! It will be a LOT more than the cost of a good TPMS.

Ron

I never thought much about TPMS, especially given the cost. Recently one of my tires started losing pressure. After having it checked out, the cuplrit was the valve extensions. Was told that eventually they always leak. I digress, but the point is that had I not cheked my pressure immediately before a trip I would have never known. That is something I always do, but I have no protection for something like this that happens during a trip and while driving. I now have a new perspective on TPMS and plan on getting a set. Damage to a coach from a tire, especially an entry level like mine can be catasrophic if not fatal. Granted they won't alert to an immediate blowout, but they may very well alert you to a potential blowout. I am starting to think that a slow leak undetected usually leads to a blowout that appeared to be immediate. Worth a few hundred and it adds a new gadget. :)

Now the trick is getting a good reliable set without spending a ton o money. Anyone reccomend a decent set that won't break the bank? Wireless of course, and one easy to install?

lanerd wrote:
I really don't think it's about accurate tire pressure....it's more for knowing the current status of each tire as you go down the road. Weather it's 2lbs off or 5lbs off...it's just a base line for knowing if a tire is showing a significant loss of air while moving.

As for Mr. Marks reply....Checking your tires before you start out and checking after you stop will do absolutely nothing for a blowout or picking up a nail. It is very difficult (if not impossible) to know if an inner dual or a tire on your toad is losing or has lost its air. It doesn't take long for an empty tire to disintegrate. If you had defective TST sensors that were causing your tires to lose air, you should have contacted TST and have them replaced.

Ron

I did visit the TST Quartzsite booth and the owner replaced the two non-working sensors. The repeater for the Honda never worked. I also had two additional sensors sent to me by mail. What a headache. It was just too much trouble to mess with that system (for me). I didn't have the time or the patience to keep changing sensors and filling up my tires.

And I certainly understand the 'picking up a nail' which could cause immediate loss of pressure. I decided to take the chance and it was worked out OK until it doesn't.

I'm not telling anybody to not to have a Tire Pressure Monitoring system, that particular system didn't work for me.

Hopefully the 'built-in' system on the new coach will be trouble free. If not, out it goes.

MM.

I really don't think it's about accurate tire pressure....it's more for knowing the current status of each tire as you go down the road. Weather it's 2lbs off or 5lbs off...it's just a base line for knowing if a tire is showing a significant loss of air while moving.

As for Mr. Marks reply....Checking your tires before you start out and checking after you stop will do absolutely nothing for a blowout or picking up a nail. It is very difficult (if not impossible) to know if an inner dual or a tire on your toad is losing or has lost its air. It doesn't take long for an empty tire to disintegrate. If you had defective TST sensors that were causing your tires to lose air, you should have contacted TST and have them replaced.

Ron

Last Summer I made the decision to install a TPMS system after 70,000 miles of MH driving with no demonstrated need for such a system.

The system was easy to install, all 10 senders worked immediately after installation, the dash gauge battery lasts about a month on one charge, and the gauge has alerted me to a problem twice while in a parked mode. No repeater is installed on my 38' rig plus toad.

I do like the monitoring of tires while driving down the road as I am now in the 7th year of my rear tire life.

Alas, I have had no fewer tire problems because I now have the monitoring system. That is likely because I had no prior problems in the first 11 years of motorhoming and manually checking my tires prior to departure.

It has just finally started to warm up here in Pa. So the other day went out and started getting the RV out of its winter hibernation... I plugged the TST monitor in to charge the battery in it... When it is plugged in it is automatically on.. Yesterday I walked past the RV and heard the low tire beeper going off.. After finding that it was coming from the right front I discovered I had a small leak around the valve stem.. I would have not found it without the TST and would have just aired it up thinking it was just air loss from sitting and drove it... The TPMS is worth every penny...