do tow vehicles need tire pressure sensors

This should be in the "dinghy towing" forum, but here is my answer:
Do you NEED TPS on a dinghy? IMO, no.
Have I ever used TPS on one of my dinghys? No.
Have I ever regretted not having TPS? Not at all.
Have I ever owned a vehicle that had TPS? Sadly, yes.
Did I like the TPS? No, not at all.
Would it be a good idea for YOU to have TPS? That is entirely up to you. Just because I had some bad experiences with the systems I had several years ago doesn't mean that you will have problems with a newer system.
Good luck.

IMO a TPMS is just another type of insurance. You never need insurance, until you need it. Usually at that point it's too late, and you can only wish you had insurance. A TPMS is never needed until you either blow a tire or have a slow leak, and you don't have direct eyes on the vehicle. Until that happens it's just another place to spend your money.

I have one on my trailer and consider it one more thing I could regret not having if I ever need it. IMO it boils down to Dirty Harry's catch phrase: "Do you feel lucky?"

X2 on almost everything in previous post. Except I have my first TPMS factory installed on our toad, and it did give me warning when I got a slow leak in one tire. So, yes, I don't have one on our rig, can't monitor the one on the toad while towing, and if I could afford a good one, would like to have one on our vehicles.

Definitely. You have a tire loosing pressure on the toad your first warning is when it goes completely flat and starts to disintegrate, damaging the vehicles body work, wheel and suspension. With a TPMS it alerts you to the pressure loss BEFORE things get critical. So which is cheaper a TST 507 system with 10 sensors or substantial tire/body damage, you decide it's your choice.

When we purchased our new to us Class A, I selected the RVi brake system specifically since it comes with an optional TPMS that transmits tire pressure through the brake controller.

The reason why is because I was concerned that there would be no way for me to tell should a tire on the dinghy go flat and possible cause significant damage.

To those who do not use a TPMS on the dinghy, how would one recognize a tire went flat?

vjstangelo wrote:
To those who do not use a TPMS on the dinghy, how would one recognize a tire went flat?

When the guy in the next lane at the light rolls down his window and shouts and points and waves . . . .

clicky

Aftermarket sensors installed on rubber valve stems can cause leaks or flats. Just something to consider. When I've used them on trailers I switched to metal valves.

I have heard horror stories about the tpms sensors....and I have heard a few good stories. I drive slow and stop every couple of hours at the least. I then check tires on the coach and the toad. My vehichle has its own sensors so I know the tires are aired correctly and I check and adjust prior to each trip.So I feel safe with what I do. Someone else may not feel safe and feels the tpms system is what helps with their piece of mind.

vjstangelo wrote:
When we purchased our new to us Class A, I selected the RVi brake system specifically since it comes with an optional TPMS that transmits tire pressure through the brake controller.

The reason why is because I was concerned that there would be no way for me to tell should a tire on the dinghy go flat and possible cause significant damage.

To those who do not use a TPMS on the dinghy, how would one recognize a tire went flat?

IF you check your mirrors and/or rear view camera often (as you should do) chances are you will notice it!

I would no longer want to be without a TPMS. Keep in mind that almost all RV driving is long distance as opposed to a car where you are usually driving around town/to work. Picking up a nail almost always results in a slow leak that, with your car, just causes the nuisance of coming out of the store and finding a tire flat. Driving 5-6 hours in your RV after collecting a nail give the tire enough time to leak down to the danger level and fail while driving. If you already have a TPMS in your rig, it's not much more expense to add a few more sensors for the toad. My preference is NOT to get the "fill-through" sensors as they seem to be more likely to leak as opposed to the "cap" style sensors.