Forum Discussion

garyemunson's avatar
garyemunson
Explorer II
Mar 22, 2017

Tire Pressure Monitor Systems

After seeing another post asking about TPMS I felt compelled to jump back up on my soapbox. A friend of mine recently avoided disaster when a quite new front tire blew on his Class A putting him in the median. This happens too often and most times the tire is so shredded that a cause can't really be determined and it is just written off as tire failure. My feeling is this is most likely an issue of low pressure caused by some sort of road hazard. Most of your driving in your car is less than an hour duration and picking up a nail just results in a slow leak that becomes obvious when you come back out of the store/work/school and find a flat tire. RVs are generally driven for longer stretches of time and if you collect a nail, the tire has plenty of time to leak down to the danger level and it's also likely that you are driving at highway speed that will cook the underinflated tire and cause a blowout at speed. THAT'S why i would like to implore EVERYONE to install a TPMS!
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Mar 22, 2017
    While I agree with you that many, if not most, tire failures are due to slowly losing air and being destroyed by low inflation, there are also tires that simply blow out instantaneously. A TPMS can prevent tire loss and damage due to the first, but not the second.

    I have TPMS on my truck and 5er and recently had a truck tire blow with no low pressure warning. Destroyed my rear fender in the process.
  • DougE's avatar
    DougE
    Explorer
    Mar 22, 2017
    I use them on my motorcycle trailer as it's too narrow to see the wheels when towing. The TPMS temperature capability can also alert you to a dragging brake and even, perhaps, a bearing going bad.
  • lanerd's avatar
    lanerd
    Explorer II
    Mar 22, 2017
    BB_TX wrote:
    While I agree with you that many, if not most, tire failures are due to slowly losing air and being destroyed by low inflation, there are also tires that simply blow out instantaneously. A TPMS can prevent tire loss and damage due to the first, but not the second.


    This is true. However in the case of a tire blowing on a trailer or toad, without a TPMS, you probably won't have any idea until a passer-by honks and waves you down to get your attention.

    There are posts here weekly of someone who pulled a trailer or toad for miles and miles not knowing a tire had blown and is tearing up the sheet metal (fiberglass) wiring, plumbing as he blissfully drives down the highway.

    Ron
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    Mar 22, 2017
    Hi,

    I installed a TPMS. I'm not at all happy with the battery life on the monitor.
  • DarkSkySeeker's avatar
    DarkSkySeeker
    Explorer
    Mar 22, 2017
    My friend sold his Class A and offered his TPMS to me. His Class A had huge tires, but my TT has much smaller ones. I asked him if the weight of the sensors require me to rebalance the tires. He said he had not thought of that. But the web pages I reviewed suggest adding a half ounce weight to the side of the wheel opposite the sensor. So I declined them. It is not that much of a hassle but I declined anyway.
  • DougE's avatar
    DougE
    Explorer
    Mar 22, 2017
    My tire valve sensor weighs 0.4 oz. I got a couple of stick-on weights from my local tire store to offset it even though its probably not enough weight offset to matter.
  • lanerd's avatar
    lanerd
    Explorer II
    Mar 23, 2017
    DarkSkySeeker wrote:
    My friend sold his Class A and offered his TPMS to me. His Class A had huge tires, but my TT has much smaller ones. I asked him if the weight of the sensors require me to rebalance the tires. He said he had not thought of that. But the web pages I reviewed suggest adding a half ounce weight to the side of the wheel opposite the sensor. So I declined them. It is not that much of a hassle but I declined anyway.


    You do realize that normally if you have a low pressure tire, it will eventually get hot or break the bead on the tire and it will come apart....taking large chucks of your trailer's wheel well and siding along with it causing hundreds of dollars worth of damage? The same with a blow out. Most never know they have a tire problem until someone comes along side of them and gets their attention. Not having a TPMS system is just plain silly.

    If you're worried about the sensors causing your tires to become un-balanced, why don't you just take them down to the local tire shop and have them rebalanced with the sensors on them? The cost would be much, much less than the repair costs if you have a tire problem.

    Simple and cheap.

    Ron
  • kwplot34's avatar
    kwplot34
    Explorer
    Mar 24, 2017
    I just purchased and installed the Tire Minder TPMS, it is the one with Bluetooth and use the app on your phone. Simple set up and install.
  • crasster's avatar
    crasster
    Explorer II
    Mar 24, 2017
    I like TPMS and have used them in times past. I don't anymore, not because they are bad, but because there are so many complications to the RV anyway. Here's what I do. Before I trip I check my pressures. If it is a 2-3 day trip, I do it once. That's it.

    If it is a long cross country trip, I check them before I go. Then after my destination is reached, I check them before I come back. I have a 12V tire pump to add pressure if needed.

    I do think it's a good method.
  • lanerd's avatar
    lanerd
    Explorer II
    Mar 24, 2017
    crasster wrote:
    I like TPMS and have used them in times past. I don't anymore, not because they are bad, but because there are so many complications to the RV anyway. Here's what I do. Before I trip I check my pressures. If it is a 2-3 day trip, I do it once. That's it.

    If it is a long cross country trip, I check them before I go. Then after my destination is reached, I check them before I come back. I have a 12V tire pump to add pressure if needed.

    I do think it's a good method.


    That's all fine and dandy...but what about you're traveling down the road and you pick up a nail and the tire develops a moderate leak and five miles down the road, it gets so hot, due to low pressure, that it comes apart with chunks of tread flying off taking out hunks of fiberglass, fender skirts, wire bundles, brake lines, hydraulic lines, fuel lines and what ever else that happens to be in the path of the tire chunks causing hundreds (maybe thousands) of $$ damage? No problem tho, you checked the pressure three days ago and it was just fine.

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