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.

[fj12ryder]

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

[allen8106]

I dont have a repeater on my TST507 and it seems to work fine.

[GMandJM]

MARKW8 wrote:
BUT I see small regular changes to both temperature and pressure while driving, or rest/fuel stops? That would not happen with a dropped sensor. You can't just listen for the beep. They aren't called monitors for nothing.

Mark

All I can add is: Lucky you, if you have never had a problem with a dropped signal from a TPMS sensor (and believe you never could).

We're just gonna have to agree to respectfully disagree on this and move on.

Read Kirbybear's first post in this thread. He didn't think there was any problem either....right up until the point when he was looking at his shredded tire and his monitor still said his tire pressure was just fine.

Safe travels, Friend.

[fj12ryder]

But I can just listen for the BEEP, it's loud, that's why they call it an alert. I am not going to take my attention from the road long enough to watch the monitor cycle through all 6 tires a couple times to make sure they are changing. Ain't gonna happen.

[MARKW8]

BUT I see small regular changes to both temperature and pressure while driving, or rest/fuel stops? That would not happen with a dropped sensor. You can't just listen for the beep. They aren't called monitors for nothing.

Mark

[fj12ryder]

The whole problem is exactly what you say: "I have NEVER seen anything to say one of mine have dropped..." You won't know if one has dropped, that's the problem. It can drop and you'll never know about it.

[MARKW8]

I'm deaf so I have to pay attention to the monitors. My wife hears and will tell me if there is a problem. Just because your last pressure reads 1+ hour after you drive away from your trailer doesn't mean you've ever had a sensor drop out on the road. I have NEVER seen anything to say one of mine have dropped and they will continue to read after I leave the park. HOWEVER, the ones on the truck DO read and CHANGE.

Mark

[GMandJM]

MARKW8 wrote:
I fail to see a big problem here. The pressures and temps change a little up and down all the time. A stop for only 10 minutes will cause a change. Especially if going from sun to shade. I always notice that there are small changes. If they're not changing, then there is a problem. If your trailer is parked and your miles away, the readings aren't changing and shouldn't.

Mark

I rely on my safety equipment. I don't want to have to babysit it to make sure it's working.

To be honest, I'm usually paying more attention to my driving than the TPMS readings...and by the time it cycles through 12 sensor readings, I couldn't tell you if sensor #9 reads the same or different than it has for the past hour.

If my sensors are miles away from my monitor and it's still showing readings, then there IS a problem, IMHO. They're not true readings; it's just the memory of what the sensor sent an hour ago.

Same if the sensor on a tire loses contact with the monitor. You're driving along for an hour or more thinking everything is okay when, in reality, the tire might be heating up, going flat or even fell off.

I'd like to know a little sooner than an hour about that.

[fj12ryder]

The big problem is that you have no way of knowing if the pressure/temperature that is being shown is current, or from an hour ago. While traveling, if the monitor loses contact with the sensor, when do you find out? The consensus is that it could be an hour or more. The does not give one a reliable status of your current conditions.

After I've been on the road for about an hour the pressures and temperatures tend to stay pretty steady without much change. And I don't look at the monitor that often, since I rely on the alert to notify me of an issue. I don't need another device taking my attention away from my driving.

[MARKW8]

I fail to see a big problem here. The pressures and temps change a little up and down all the time. A stop for only 10 minutes will cause a change. Especially if going from sun to shade. I always notice that there are small changes. If they're not changing, then there is a problem. If your trailer is parked and your miles away, the readings aren't changing and shouldn't.

Mark

[wyoming3310]

I have been reading all of this back and forth regarding repeaters. I also have read on hear that there seems to be an issue with folks disabling the tow vehicle. I run a TST TPMS, and have for years. I hit MODE and (-) simultaneously to deactivate the towed. My TST 507 system has saved my bacon reliably more than once. I saw TST won a couple of readers choice awards too. Their equipment has worked well for me and others.

[fj12ryder]

GMandJM wrote:
Two hours....wow. Let us know what your next test shows.

Hey, Mike Benson: Is that normal/acceptable with a TST system?

Exactly what I want to know, but there seems to be a problem getting a straight answer about how long it takes for the monitor to determine that it has lost contact with a sensor, and then sound an alert.

We seem to be getting a rote answer "A repeater will solve the issue". But if the issue is notification of lost contact, then a repeater isn't going to address that. It may improve the odds of you not losing contact, but it's not going to help if you do lose contact.

[GMandJM]

Two hours....wow. Let us know what your next test shows.

Hey, Mike Benson: Is that normal/acceptable with a TST system?

[Specularius]

GMandJM wrote:

Specularius wrote:
I performed this test on my 507. It took 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 38 seconds via stop watch before it signaled a lost sensor. Then over the next five minutes it reported the other 3 sensors lost. This really bothered me as I lost a tire on the first trip with the tst507.

That is way too long before the system notified you that your equipment had failed.

Makes me wonder if there is an issue with your monitor since Mike said the monitor should "look" for a sensor for about an hour. Yours took nearly TWO hours.

You lost a tire on a trip? Like, it fell completely off?? Did your TPMS catch that right away or not?

Btw, do you use a repeater/booster?

No repeater. Tire blew out. I called myself watching the pressures and temps but could not say if they were changing or staying the same. It did sound the alarm within seconds of the tire going boom.

I am concerned that it took nearly 2 hours before the monitor signaled that it could not get a signal from the trailer. To test this I was parked in front of my toy hauler and turned the 507 on. After I made sure it was reading all four sensors, I started a stop watch and drove off. I had a long drive to make and after nearly 2 hours it finally started beeping. I do not know if that is normal or an anomaly. I plan to test it again in the near future.

[Beaker]

Makes me wonder if there is an issue with your monitor since Mike said the monitor should "look" for a sensor for about an hour. Yours took nearly TWO hours.

You lost a tire on a trip? Like, it fell completely off?? Did your TPMS catch that right away or not?

Btw, do you use a repeater/booster?

I bought my system last year(flow thru) and with the first trip out, 80 miles from home tire blew and monitor sounded, although we knew the tire blew even if we had not have the system. Because it was the first, I was watching the monitor closely. The tire exploded, was no heat buildup and no loss of air before. The monitor was working fine as I was watching temperature changes.

On the way back, I notice readings stayed the same. Someone at TST said to use a repeater which I bought and everything has been fine since.

The tire thumpers can keep on thumping.
I like the system.