Tire Pressure Monitoring
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 disintegr...
Forum Discussion
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/
