TST 507 REPEATER REGUIREMENT

[kirbybear]

Just had a blowout on the 5th. I installed the TST 507 in June of 2011. During the blowout the 507 reported all tire pressures were A OK even when I was standing looking at the tire remains.

Mike at TST indicated the problem is when the 5th is over 33 feet and after driving over one and a half hours the tire pressure signal may not be received by the monitor if a repeater is not installed. If signal interrupt occurs the monitor will beep and a red lite occurs.

I do not have a repeater and in 4 years and 30,000 miles, I have never had a beep or red lite occur while underway.

Mike is sending me a repeater to resolve the issue. Mike suggested that after 1 1/2 hour to stop and remove a sensor to simulate a blowout.

I will verify after I receive the repeater but it will be a few months.

[GMandJM]

wyoming3310 wrote:

GMandJM wrote:
...Was looking at the Tire Minder manual earlier and it looks like they now have the lock-on sensors. That's new since last time I looked at them. They also have a low battery icon and alert, which my TST doesn't.

My TST system reports low battery, and I prefer the TST anti theft wrenches over the Minder screw.

You're right, I think. I've never gotten a low battery alert with my TST system. Maybe because I change the batteries and o-rings every year - whether they need it or not.

I'll confirm that on my system and correct my post if needed. Thanks for pointing that out.

[GMandJM]

Nice that you're happy with your TPMS, Di. That's mostly what matters.

You might want to look a bit further into why your monitor has gone blank and what that really means.

Heck, for the fun of it, you could just do our test outlined above where you drive away from your camper and see how long your monitor gives you readings on your obviously-out-of-range sensors and how long it takes beofre your monitor blanks out.

I hadn't noticed any snide or rude comments, but I understand why you would rather track the "fun" discussions than a more serious one like this.

Happy trails and safe travels.

[ncjimgr]

I have had a TST tire pressure monitoring system on my coach for about seven years. We have been full time for eight years. I have had the 510 cap system and then changed over to the 507 cap and flow through system. I like the convenience of the flow through system to be able to air up the RV tires with the sensor still on the valve stem. I use the 507 cap system on the car because the sensor is smaller in length and, with my Saturn, the cap sensor does not stick out as far. I have a 40' coach and the Saturn tow vehicle. I used the original 510 system without a repeater for a time and had a sensor drop out once in a while. Tech Support at TST told me to add a repeater and that did the trick. No more sensor dropout and a reliable signal. For $49.95 for the repeater, it was not a financial crisis to add it and try it! If you are having problems with the system, first call TST for technical support at 770-889-9102 and do what they suggest. They deal with the nuances of the TPMS systems day in and day out and will be of great help. Don't complain about an issue if you did not contact them first. I am sure they will make it right. They have always done so with me. On another note, I got a high temperature warning from my towed vehicle front tires and pulled over. I found the Roadmaster air brake in the car was adjusted too tight and the brakes were rubbing, thus causing the wheel to overheat. The system saved my bearings, tires and probably some other car parts too. So the fact their system also shows temperature is very important. I am a happy long-time Truck System Technologies customer.

[Dutch___Di]

I'm always willing to ask questions if I don't know the answer and will give my opinion or take on things when I feel I can help.
My dropped sensor warning is apparently much different than yours. I do not get an alarm, there is just no temp & pressure reading when it comes to that tire----it is blank. We keep our monitor in a place where it is very easy to glance at to be sure all is OK. The passenger also scrolls thru all sensors periodically and I feel we glance at or scroll thru the monitor more often than once an hour so I don't feel our dropped sensors were off for an hour or more. We also check all the gadgets in our trucks dash frequently. Every time we stop we take a walk around looking at things, feeling tire hubs, making sure our awnings and toppers are closed tight,etc. It is just something we have done for all of our 19 years of fulltiming.
To other posters, I can only say that it doesn't take many snide or rude comments to make me not reply but I do not know if that is the reason Mike at TST has not responded. I try to help but if people become ungrateful, snide or belligerent, I usually stop posting and go on to another topic I am interested in and join in the fun discussions. Hugs, Di

GMandJM wrote:
Your experience with the caliper is the example I used to give people for why they need a TPMS. Thank goodness you had one! Nice to hear that it helped.

But the issue we're concerned about is this:

Dutch & Di wrote:
It didn't take long to see a dropped sensor here and there.

When you SEE a dropped sensor, it's signal has actually been lost for the past hour.

By the time you hear the alert beep and the reading on the monitor for that sensor goes blank, your monitor has been "frantically searching*" for your sensor's lost signal for an hour.

You don't see or get any alert that the signal has actually been lost for an hour.

You still have a reading on your monitor for the lost sensor. But that tire pressure and temperature shown is from the last reading received...which could be an hour ago.

Alot can happen in an hour. Imagine if your caliper had had an hour more to heat up and you didn't know your sensor's signal was lost because your monitor was still giving you readings from memory.

Until recently, I didn't know that.

When you hear the beep alert and the reading blanks out, it means your monitor has given up trying to locate the sensor's signal "after an hour of trying*".

I'm really glad that your system worked well for you when you needed it, Di. It could have been so much worse! And it's great that you and Dutch have added a repeater/booster. We added one, too.

I wonder how many people out there don't even realize that they need one, ya know?

(*per Mike Benson of TST)

[wyoming3310]

GMandJM wrote:
I agree. It's nice to have the auto-scrolling through the tires. Both Tire Minder and TST have that.

Was looking at the Tire Minder manual earlier and it looks like they now have the lock-on sensors. That's new since last time I looked at them. They also have a low battery icon and alert, which my TST doesn't.

A signal strenth indicator, as you mentioned previously, would be useful.

None of the TPMS systems makes us bulletproof...but I still feel safer driving with one than without one. Ya know?

My TST system reports low battery, and I prefer the TST anti theft wrenches over the Minder screw.

[GMandJM]

Yes, that was Mike Benson from TST.

He told me on phone (and might have even said here, as well) that the 60 minute "looking frantically" mode while displaying phantom readings is considered normal and that it's industry wide for TPMS's.

I would have liked his input on the e-mail from Pressure Pro (posted above) that their system will alert about a dropped sensor after only five minutes.

And I wonder if he would offer to trouble-shoot the guy who did the out-of-range test and didn't get notice of a dropped sensor for two hours. That can't be good.

[fj12ryder]

They sound like great folks for sure, but I wonder why they've not come back and directly addressed the issue that is being discussed in this thread. Namely why can it take an hour or more to discover that the monitor has lost contact with the sensor. At least I figured that mandmlikerving was actually TST posting.

[stripit]

When I sold the TST systems while full time traveling & weighing RV's I let folks know the cost of the repeater was low in comparison to the system price and for them to try the system without the repeater. If anything showed amiss, and after trouble shooting the valve cores to make sure they were making good contact with the sender unit, then a repeater was needed. With the amount of interference generated by all the electronics now in many of the trucks, the length of distance from the sender to the receiver and the quality of components used in manufacture of these RV's, a repeater solved many of the issues. Not all rigs required them and I only sold them when they were needed. I was amazed on how much distance the repeater added to the signal strength. I also liked the fact that the people at TST were so eager to help get any issue resolved. I called at times when I was sure to be leaving a message for a return call only to have someone actually pick up the phone and help me. I will always have a TST system on my rigs as they do work and work well.

[GMandJM]

Your very first post. Welcome to the forums, benlikesrving.

No doubt Mike Benson will be appreciative of your endorsement.

And Dahlonega GA is so close to TST in Cumming, GA. How convenient for you. 😉

[GMandJM]

Your experience with the caliper is the example I used to give people for why they need a TPMS. Thank goodness you had one! Nice to hear that it helped.

But the issue we're concerned about is this:

Dutch & Di wrote:
It didn't take long to see a dropped sensor here and there.

When you SEE a dropped sensor, it's signal has actually been lost for the past hour.

By the time you hear the alert beep and the reading on the monitor for that sensor goes blank, your monitor has been "frantically searching*" for your sensor's lost signal for an hour.

You don't see or get any alert that the signal has actually been lost for an hour.

You still have a reading on your monitor for the lost sensor. But that tire pressure and temperature shown is from the last reading received...which could be an hour ago.

Alot can happen in an hour. Imagine if your caliper had had an hour more to heat up and you didn't know your sensor's signal was lost because your monitor was still giving you readings from memory.

Until recently, I didn't know that.

When you hear the beep alert and the reading blanks out, it means your monitor has given up trying to locate the sensor's signal "after an hour of trying*".

I'm really glad that your system worked well for you when you needed it, Di. It could have been so much worse! And it's great that you and Dutch have added a repeater/booster. We added one, too.

I wonder how many people out there don't even realize that they need one, ya know?

(*per Mike Benson of TST)

[fj12ryder]

What if it only drops occasionally? If it doesn't drop for an hour or more how do you know if it dropped? That's the $64,000 question.

[Dutch___Di]

We have the TST but unfortunately, I was in a weak/no signal area for over a week & couldn't get online to see or reply to this or any topics.
I can only tell you of our experience. We have had the 12 sensor TST system for almost 5 years and it has "saved" us several times. The 1st time was to show me a slow leak causing the tire to start going flat from the rubber stem which came from the valve stem hardening and cracking over time as we are fulltimers and our Carriage is never under roof. We replaced our 5th wheel valve stems with metal ones which took care of the issue. The 2nd time we were pulling into a Verizon parking lot and the alarm went off showing high temperature, 165 degrees if I remember correctly. We stopped and took a walk around. When we walked towards the middle 5th wheel drivers side tire we could feel the heat. The tire looked OK so Dutch checked further. I turns out that a brake caliper had stuck causing so much heat it caused the alarm to sound. We would never have known we had a problem until too late. Did we lose the caliper? yes but the alarm sounding potentially saved the rotor, a tire and possible 5th wheel damage.
We had our TST system on our 1996 Dodge for over 2 years & never had a dropped signal. We have always checked our monitor periodically to make sure everything is working as it should. When we bought a 2014, now a 2015 Dodge, I put the monitor in the same place. Our new Dodge came with its own tpms system, which I don't like as well,so we just have 6 sensors now. It didn't take long to see a dropped sensor here and there. A call to TST verified that because of all the electronics in the dash boards of the newer trucks causing interference, the probability of needing a repeater was high. Dutch installed one inside a forward exterior cabinet and we have not had any issues since, so I feel strongly that the dropped signals, which I agree would be nice if they alarmed you, are probably from interference. Another way to check to see if a repeater is needed is to move the monitor away from the dash but to a place where you can still see it. If the signal don't drop, move it back to where you had it and if they start dropping off again, it is letting you know a repeater is probably in your future. I love my TST system and wouldn't be without it. Hugs, Di

[GMandJM]

fj12ryder wrote:
The key word there is "seems". Mine seems to work okay too, but now I'm not so sure.

Nicely said, fj12ryder. Kirbybear's "seemed" to be reading the signals from his sensor, too.

I guess the best we can do is know that our TPMS systems have this issue. Phantom readings on lost sensors are just "the nature of the beast" so to speak.

Personally, I'd dump my entire system (16 sensors, 3 monitors and a repeater/booster) for one that would let me know within a more reasonable amount of time that a sensor is out of contact.

One with user-set time parameter would be perfect.

[sjholt]

The GPS being close to the Tireminder may be my problem. I also have a refrig temp senders.
I keep losing my car tire senders and right rear tire while running. I'm gonna turn off the GPS and turn off the refrig temp senders and see if the tireminder works like it did before the new stuff.

[bluie5]

I'm watching this thread very closely. I think I have done my homework and intend to purchase a TST system soon. I however have a 37 foot TT and am now concerned about possibly having dropped signals. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and input on this thread.