Questions on aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems

[Boatycall]

I recently had a flat while hauling my TC, and I'm looking for comments from those who have aftermarket TPMS's.

Biggest questions I have -
* I have rubber valve stems, will the weight of the sensors degrade the stems?
* Will the sensor weight throw the tire balance off?
* I have a DRW and I also haul a 7k flatbed car trailer. I need 10 sensors. Are there systems that will be fine without a repeater?
* When I'm not hauling the trailer, does the system go nuts/error out because it can't read the trailer sensors?

And of course...
Overall recommendations.

A pic of what I'm looking to take care of. (Don't have a pic with my new Eagle Cap, this is with my "old" 2012 Arctic Fox I'm selling)



Thanx all!

[Butch50]

I have a Doran system (in fact I have 2 of them which I used when I had two trucks at the same time). I used it when I was towing a 38' 5th wheel and never needed any remote antennas, worked fine without. When you have sensors on the trailer and you unhitch you do a drop hitch to the unit and the trailer disappears from the screen so the monitor just looks at the truck. Then when you hitch the trailer up you do a hook up and the trailer reappears. It was designed orginally for 18 wheelers so that was the reason for the drop and hook up feature. You can set the pressure anywhere up to 150#. It does not have a temp setting but if you have a bearing going out it is going to cause the wheel to heat up also and raise the tire pressure and the Doran is set up for high pressure as well as low pressure.

I have metal valve stems and I wouldn't want to run them without them. I have never seen any problem with it causing any out of balance problems.

[deltabravo]

Boatycall wrote:
I recently had a flat while hauling my TC, and I'm looking for comments from those who have aftermarket TPMS's.

Biggest questions I have -
* I have rubber valve stems, will the weight of the sensors degrade the stems?

YES!! I've had two flats on my dually, both were failed valve stems, and I know that the sensor caused it. First one was last year, in May, on my way home from Overland Expo. Second flat was about a month ago. This all happened on my 2009 dually, which I bought new. I used the system once I started towing, which was about 1500 miles on the truck.

Boatycall wrote:
* Will the sensor weight throw the tire balance off?

Not enough to notice, or be concerned about.

Boatycall wrote:
* I have a DRW and I also haul a 7k flatbed car trailer. I need 10 sensors. Are there systems that will be fine without a repeater?

I use this one: http://www.tiretraker.com/

I've used the sensors on three trailers: 12' Wells Cargo, 16' flatbed and 20' Haulmark race trailer. Sensors worked fine without needing a repeater.

Boatycall wrote:
* When I'm not hauling the trailer, does the system go nuts/error out because it can't read the trailer sensors?

The one I use does not go crazy when it doesn't detect the trailer sensors. It doesn't throw an alarm thinking the tire is at zero pressure. I think it shows something on the display to indicate it isn't being sensed (i.e., the signal is not present from that wheel position.)

Sadly, I wrecked the handheld remote unit last year and still haven't replaced it, so I can't remember all the details about programming it. I smashed it when i closed the ramp door of the 20' Haulmark trailer when I finished fixing the first flat tire I had.

It monitors pressure and temp.

After numerous bearing and brake problems on one wheel position of my first flatbed Jeep hauler, I wanted something that would monitor temps.

Looks like your trailer is a PJ trailer.

It's a necessary expense to upgrade to all metal valve stems.
When the camper is not on the truck, take it to Discount tire in Puyallup and have them hook you up.

Yes, I even upgraded to all metal valve stems on all my trailers. Some TPMS vendors sell all metal valve stems. When I bought my system, I was at an FMCA rally in early 2010. I bought the TPMS system direct from Tiretraker, and got metal valve stems for the trailers from a different vendor.

I was lazy and never upgraded the valve stems on the truck in the beginning. I upgraded a few last year, and after my recent flat tire (which had other issues too), and finding it impossible to get matching tires, I ended up trading in two NEW tires on 2 new ones of a different brand, and got 2 others replaced under Discount's road hazard certificate... so when that project was complete, all 6 tires have all metal valve stems now.

[CAJW]

Kerry makes some good points. My TST TPMS so far (5 mos old) seems to be working fine. It has the user replaceable batteries so no need to send them in when that time comes. It also has an easy on/off switch that I turn off when camped and turn on when we break camp. That way, by the time we're loaded up ready to go, all transmitters have reported in and readings are available. I did a lot of research and settled on this system due in part to being able to set my own parameters on pressure (+/-) and temperature ranges. Some do, some don't so check that out before spending your hard earned cash. Regarding trailers, I have a 14' Wells Cargo I pull behind my TC and no repeater is needed for that. Also the trailer monitoring is easy to disable if not towing. Hope this helps with your decision as I'm happy with mine and it's been trouble free so far.

[kerry4951]

All TPMS systems recommend changing out your OEM rubber valve stems to all steel stems. The transmitter weight causes a "whipping" effect on the stem and rubber cannot take it over time. You will probably have valve stem damage if you don't.
The sensor weight never effected the balance on my tires, and I used a system on a motorhome and a Honda CRV toad.
My MH was 38' long plus the length of the toad and I used 10 sensors with usually no problems on receiving all the signals. Every now and then one of the sensors would seem to act up and get a mind of its own. I had a few times when I considered the system to be a nuisance.
You should be able to cancel out the sensors that are not being used. I could on my system.
I used a very early Doran system and it was one of the first systems on the market. Now there are plenty more. If I ever bought another system I would try to do my homework and watch reviews. I see now some of the new systems allow you to change out your own batteries. With some you have to send in the sensor and have the company do it. Overall I liked the system and it was nice to know that my toad was monitored. There were also a few times when I wish I did not have to mess with the system when one of the sensors acted up. I havent convinced myself to get involved with another system (yet). Probably the biggest nuisance was in the wee early morning hours when the outside temperature would drop down and cause the tire pressure to decrease, activating the monitor alarm at 4AM in the morning.