Tire Pressure Monitoring

[stevemorris]

are these gadgets worth the money?

in 10 years on the road we've lost 4 tires, they went flat and we didn't know it until it was too late

would a tpms warn us of a flat before the tire disintegrates?

which would be a good choice for a 26 ft tt, transmitter range being a concern?

[Ron3rd]

bob213 wrote:
I think any of the top 3 (TST, TireMinder, TireTracker,+ One I can't recall) will do what you want and all in the same price range. TST has great customer service.
I started with flo thru but have switch to regular monitors and removed the anti theft cover. New flow thrus are smaller, so may be better.

X2 any of those brands should work fine for you. I've had TST for about 7 or 8 years. Seems to work fine

[Dutch_12078]

Gulfcoast wrote:
Do you have to remove a sensor just to add a little air?

I could buy new 4 tires for the price of that rig.

I like checking my tires.

I removed the rotating security covers from our TST 507 sensors, so now it takes no more effort to remove one to air up a tire than it does to remove an ordinary valve cap. Removing the covers also left the sensors smaller and less noticeable, plus a bit lighter. I visually inspect our tires regularly, but pressures are easier to check from the driver's seat than squatting down with a tire gauge. Particularly the inside duals...

[Gulfcoast]

Do you have to remove a sensor just to add a little air?

I could buy new 4 tires for the price of that rig.

I like checking my tires.

[2manytoyz]

After my second blow-out, I purchased a TPMS. The first blow-out was obvious, the trailer shook, giving me physical feedback the tire had gone.

The second one had no vibration. Someone pulled up alongside us, and pointed towards the trailer behind us... as we're traveling up I-95 at 65MPH. Sure enough, I could see bits of tire coming off. Still couldn't feel or hear anything.





I also got rid of the Marathon tires, and went with the highly recommended (thanks to this forum) Maxxis tires. Zero issues since.

Late last year, we bought the Class A motorhome. We also tow our Jeep with it. I was going to move the TPMS to the new setup, and simply buy more sensors. It was actually cheaper to buy an all new system, with 6 sensors, and use the original 4 sensors from the trailer, on the Jeep. I keep the original monitor as a hot spare. Now I can monitor all 10 tires at once.

Before we roll, I cycle through the tire readouts, and cruise down the road. The screen goes into a sleep mode, only showing the outline of the MH and Jeep, with a dot indicating which tires are being monitored. If a tire pressure changes, or the temperature increases, it will alert, and the display will immediately show which tire is having an issue, and exactly what reading is out of range. So the monitor is NOT distracting at all. It is doing its job in the background, only wanting attention when there's a problem.

I bought the TireMinder A1A Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) with 6 Transmitters. Here's the source: https://amzn.to/2BD2sWX

[maillemaker]

The main reason I'd like a TPMS has nothing to do with diagnostics while driving, but simply the ability to jump in and confirm the tire pressure is good without having to pull hub caps and lay on the ground with my hand-held tire pressure gauge. Anything else is gravy.

Sadly you can get a 4-tire system for about $50 but you go to 6 tires and you're looking at closer to $300. I'd probably pay $100 but that's tops for me.

[ependydad]

TakingThe5th wrote:
When we came home and parked we discovered that we had a problem. Tires looked absolutely fine, no pressure loss. But neither of the X-chocks would fit on one side which was very strange since they were pre-adjusted and interchangeable. I looked everywhere for a problem but could not find anything. Took it to a frame shop and they replaced some spring bushings but knew they hadn't found the problem until they measured the diameter of the tires. Two tires on the street side were larger in diameter then the other two on the curb side. But the tires looked fine to them too. I took the rig to my favorite tire shop and the problem became obvious only when the tires were dismounted. Iit took no special skills or tools to see that two of the four tires had lost their integrity. Those tires probably hit something, got damaged, and were ready to blow. Lucky me! And I'm careful with my tires - don't roll over curbs or cut corners and I try to avoid potholes.

So how can I realistically expect a TPMS system to detect something that myself and several experts cannot readily detect. No, I don't have a TPMS system, not yet anyway, but it sounds like a good tool to have onboard. Although tire pressure was never an issue, It might have discovered some excess heat being generated.

I actually had a TPMS tell me that I had broken a belt in a tire. But, it was only through regularly checking pressures and temperatures. I could see that one tire went from being consistent with the others to running at a higher pressure and temperature than the other 3. Sure enough, when I finally dealt with the problem- the tire had a broken belt.

For me, TPMS are an invaluable tool. We don't watch it like a hawk like we used to, but we do definitely like the information at a glance.

More information on TPMS (what they can and cannot detect along with brand suggestions and links to buy):
http://learntorv.com/how-and-why-to-monitor-tire-pressure/

And here's a "How to Use Your TPMS" article that gives helpful hints on programming and how to not get information overload from it:
http://learntorv.com/how-to-use-your-tpms/

[stevemorris]

i can pretty well garenttee that anything selling cheap and like hotcakes on the internet is junk!!
facebook sellers? yeah right!!

[Gulfcoast]

Do any of the cheaper solar units work good enough?

They are selling like hotcakes online.

If so, which model have you had good results with?

[myowneq]

The sensors I have are the ones mounted outside on the valve stem. I prefer that because if battery needs changed, I need a small screwdriver, not a tire shop. They are ok to mount on plastic valve stems, but I've had metal ones in my trailer just for s&g.

[Dutch_12078]

I've used TST TPMS's for the past 10 years, a 510 system for the first 6 years, and a 507 system for the past 4. Over the years, I've been alerted to a failing wheel bearing and a sticking caliper on our toad, and a sticking caliper on our coach, as well as a few slow tire leaks. We did have one blowout on our previous toad caused by a piece of steel road debris. The wheel sensor alerted almost instantly...

[bob213]

I think any of the top 3 (TST, TireMinder, TireTracker,+ One I can't recall) will do what you want and all in the same price range. TST has great customer service.
I started with flo thru but have switch to regular monitors and removed the anti theft cover. New flow thrus are smaller, so may be better.

[TakingThe5th]

So if we are in favor of a TPMS, what are the best ones to look at? Looking at this thread I see the TST 507 being shown as the frontrunner. Any others? And what type of wheel sensor works best?

[myowneq]

I've owned a TST system for a few years now. I take 3-5 trips a year, usually less than 3 hours one way. My trailer is 31 feet, truck + trailer is 49 feet. I have no issues with distance.

I like having mine. I have the four sensors on the trailer, and two on the rear axle of my truck. The display cycles each tire sequentially about every five seconds I guess. While the system cycles the display, it is constantly monitoring all sensors. If there is a problem (high /low pressure, high temp), it will jump to that sensor immediately and sound the alarm. I can't remember for sure, but I believe the owners manual for the TST says this. Im not near my book so I can't confirm this at this time.

It doesn't take but a second to look at a pressure and temp, then back to the road. You don't sit there and watch it. Many of us spend longer than that figuring out which lane you need to be in for that interstate split. If you want to watch it 24/7, have your passenger monitor.

I have had three tire failures while using the TPM. I can say now I know the problem is I was sold tires that are not rated for my weight. When brand new, they were fine. After a few years, not so much. Two times, I was warned of decreasing pressure and able to get off the road before the tire or camper were damaged. Now the blowout, no warning but that alarm went off and alerted to 0 pressure and a quick check in the mirror told me I was in some deep doo doo. While there was some damage to the camper, it was mostly cosmetic.

Thats my experience. Hope it help you decide.

[Ralph_Cramden]

fj12ryder wrote:

BB_TX wrote:

ajriding wrote:
With campers, towing, truck camper or any high payload weight you will also need to keep an eye out for pressure going UP.

In the desert on hot pavement your tire pressure can double easily. Tires are usually fine up to double the max pressure stamped on the side just to cover any defective tires.
...............

I have driven at 65-70 mph for hours at a time in temps as high as 108 and have never seen my 80 psi tires pressure rise more than 10% or so. So hot that my tires stuck to the hot soft asphalt at a rest area and I had difficulty getting them unstuck to start rolling again. :E

Well, I've seen more than 10% rise, maybe 15-18%, but nothing anywhere near 100%. I mean 130 psi with a 65 psi tire? 220 psi with a 110 psi rated tire? Seems pretty unlikely.

If you twist up and smoke enough Scooby Snacks while driving across the desert, the chances are fair to midland the internal pressure in your cranium can double also.

[fj12ryder]

BB_TX wrote:

ajriding wrote:
With campers, towing, truck camper or any high payload weight you will also need to keep an eye out for pressure going UP.

In the desert on hot pavement your tire pressure can double easily. Tires are usually fine up to double the max pressure stamped on the side just to cover any defective tires.
...............

I have driven at 65-70 mph for hours at a time in temps as high as 108 and have never seen my 80 psi tires pressure rise more than 10% or so. So hot that my tires stuck to the hot soft asphalt at a rest area and I had difficulty getting them unstuck to start rolling again. :E

Well, I've seen more than 10% rise, maybe 15-18%, but nothing anywhere near 100%. I mean 130 psi with a 65 psi tire? 220 psi with a 110 psi rated tire? Seems pretty unlikely.