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Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems


GhTh

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Carlos, there are RVers that will look at their tires and check for hot hubs when they stop for fuel or stop at rest areas.  Even with a TPMS I will still go around and visually inspect each tire plus feel the hub/bearing for excess heat.  The TPMS provides ambient air temps so it will give a good indication of problems but I still check.

I have never witnessed anyone in an RV, or commercial rig for that matter, getting out a tire gauge and checking all their psi in all tires.  I still see some trucker's bang around on some of their trailer tires with a club or bat but not much else.  I also have never personally witnessed another RVer walking around their RV in the morning checking tire pressure prior to leaving a CG.  So either most RVers have a TPMS or most don't check on a daily basis.

Joe & Cindy

Newmar 4369 Ventana

Pulling 24' enclosed (Mini Cooper, Harley, 2 Kayaks)

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On 1/19/2019 at 4:50 PM, GlennWest said:

I can count on one hand the flats I have had in my life. I would not waste money in such a system. I know this is not popular on this site. I have never had a tire to blow out. Just leaked down slowly due to a nail. TPS won't prevent this.

I consider my TPMS all but essential.  I only had one leak due to tire damage.  A sharp rock actually went through the middle of the tread of a new tire.  Even then we did not actually need the TPMS.  My wife heard the leak when we stopped for the day and at that time the tire still had near full pressure.  You can take your chances and be lucky....or not.  I would rather know in advance if I have a tire issue, am loosing pressure and are likely to have a blow out.  If our tire damage had occurred a little earlier, we could have had a blow out at highway speeds and our truck camper and truck would be unlikely to survive the event.

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I wish I'd had a TPMS on my motorhome when an inside tire got a leak while driving.  That put all the pressure on the outside tire, which then threw a belt.  Filled the inside, swapped the outside, and back on the road.  I would have saved a tire if I had TPMS.

Very similar thing happened on my dual-axle boat trailer.

 

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TPMS saved me ruining a tire on the dually.  Picked up a large nail and the tire alarm went off after about 15 minutes on the road.  30 minutes earlier the tires were fine.  Pulled over and outside tire was flat as the TPMS had said,  Put on the spare and continued.  

If the TPMS had not alarmed, I would have continued with a flat and an over loaded tire until it failed.  They are well worth the money.  I have had two other TPMS, but the TST, Truck Systems Technologies is the best.

The TPMS will not prevent a blow out if you hit something.

Ken

Edited by TXiceman

Amateur radio operator, 2023 Cougar 22MLS, 2022 F150 Lariat 4x4 Off Road, Sport trim <br />Travel with 1 miniature schnauzer, 1 standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot

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On 1/25/2019 at 1:58 PM, FL-JOE said:

Carlos, there are RVers that will look at their tires and check for hot hubs when they stop for fuel or stop at rest areas.  Even with a TPMS I will still go around and visually inspect each tire plus feel the hub/bearing for excess heat.  The TPMS provides ambient air temps so it will give a good indication of problems but I still check.

I have never witnessed anyone in an RV, or commercial rig for that matter, getting out a tire gauge and checking all their psi in all tires.  I still see some trucker's bang around on some of their trailer tires with a club or bat but not much else.  I also have never personally witnessed another RVer walking around their RV in the morning checking tire pressure prior to leaving a CG.  So either most RVers have a TPMS or most don't check on a daily basis.

Remember tire thumpers?  I''ve seen a lot of truck drivers use one when checking tires. Studies have shown there can be a 40% pressure difference between duals which cannot be detected with this club.  https://truckertotrucker.com/blog/tire-thumping/

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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34 minutes ago, Ray,IN said:

Remember tire thumpers?  I''ve seen a lot of truck drivers use one when checking tires. Studies have shown there can be a 40% pressure difference between duals which cannot be detected with this club.  https://truckertotrucker.com/blog/tire-thumping/

One of the tire companies used to have a booth at some of the heavy truck shows with several identical mounted tires and a "thumper". Anyone correctly identifying tire inflation order won a prize. They didn't have to guess the actual inflation PSI, just the relative levels. The only time I saw anyone win the prize he admitted it was purely a guess.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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On 1/19/2019 at 2:03 PM, GhTh said:

I am interested in hearing from members who have experience with tire pressure monitoring systems.  I know there are many brands and hoped to benefit from experience of those in the forum.  Thanks

I have the Ford OEM system on my 2017, F-350 diesel.  they have a problem with leaking slowly.  I've replaced them twice under warranty with equal success - at least one always leaks.  I lose about 2-3 lb per day.  Fortunately it is the left front so easy access.  I have a good compressor that is quick to set up so  I've left the system in place.  That experience has led me to not install a system on the trailer.  I've no problem with leaking on the trailer.

Jinx and Wayne

2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

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Had a friend lose pressure in the left front tire when the steering wheel lock failed.  Tire $120,  wheel $250,  body repair $1500 minus $500 deductible. $500 will buy a great system. Besides the lost time and lost car availability during repair. 

As we stood there looking at his damaged car he said "You have told me to get a tire monitor. Guess I will now."

Bill

Bill & Lynn Baxter

MCI102A3 Conversion, Detroit Diesel S50  

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4 hours ago, hemsteadc said:

With a TPMS I don't have to.

Trust but verify, I always do a walk around(with temp gun) every time I stop the MH for fuel or rest. The TPMS does its thing and I verify.

Edited by Ray,IN

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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Not RV related, at least not a camping type. My current motorcycle has TPMS and it's a real pain. I have non stock tires and run them at an appropriate pressure, but the TPMS doesn't like it. Instead of telling me the pressure it only gives a yellow or red warning and nothing to indicate if it's a too high pressure or a too low. They supposedly take into consideration the ambient temperature and determine if the pressure is higher due to the temperature or lower due to the temperature. Hot days it seems to change to yellow or red depending on how far I have rode. I stop and check the the pressure is within my range so I just keep riding. If there was a way to disable. I would. 

I did buy a set of pressure pro for my truck and trailer shortly after getting an HDT. It was a used set, but did replace a few of the sensors as the batteries needed changed. Three warnings from them that were not real got them thrown out. I do the walk around with the infared temperature wand and call it good. I do have the cross over on the dual tires with the single fill and yellow or red indicator. You still have to get out and check and that's fine to me. 

 

Rod

White 2000/2010Volvo VNL 770 with 7' Drom box with opposing doors,  JOST slider hitch. 600 HP Cummins Signature 18 Speed three pedal auto shift.

1999 Isuzu VehiCross retired to a sticks and bricks garage. Brought out of storage the summer of 2022

2022 Jeep Wrangler Sport S Two door hard top.

2007 Honda GL 1800

2013 Space Craft Mfg S420 Custom built Toyhauler

The Gold Volvo is still running and being emptied in July. 

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On 1/25/2019 at 1:58 PM, FL-JOE said:

there are RVers that will look at their tires and check for hot hubs when they stop for fuel or stop at rest areas.  Even with a TPMS I will still go around and visually inspect each tire plus feel the hub/bearing for excess heat. 

A good tool for this to avoid getting grubby hands is an infrared thermometer.  $25 from Amazon (and available elsewhere for those who don't shop from Amazon).

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On 1/25/2019 at 1:58 PM, FL-JOE said:

I also have never personally witnessed another RVer walking around their RV in the morning checking tire pressure prior to leaving a CG. 

Every time.  It takes just a few minutes. Tire failure is much more costly.

Jinx and Wayne

2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

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11 hours ago, lappir said:

I have non stock tires and run them at an appropriate pressure, but the TPMS doesn't like it.

Your TPM doesn't have the ability to reset? The one on our 2019 car says to reset it any time that tire work of any kind is done, after making sure that all tires are properly inflated. It seems to work quite well in the 6 months that we have had it. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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3 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Your TPM doesn't have the ability to reset? The one on our 2019 car says to reset it any time that tire work of any kind is done, after making sure that all tires are properly inflated. It seems to work quite well in the 6 months that we have had it. 

Reset doesn't change the fact that aftermarket tires with different pressures will still set it off.  I have had several vehicles with non-standard tires and used a programmer on them to change their internal settings.  But that's a minimum $125 cost if there's a programmer available for it.  My current Jeep has "factory upgrade" tires (Rubicon Gladiator) but I still skirt the line of getting warnings because when unloaded, the chalk test shows that it needs to run much lower than the stated "normal" pressures.  I have a programmer and am just waiting for enough testing to know what to set it to.

 

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Wow.  Almost $1,200 for the TST 507 for our rig.  That requires some head scratching.

We had a triple tire failure a couple years ago.  Center tire suddenly failed and the flying debris grabbed the sensors on the  outer two tires, resulting in three new tires rather than one.  Unfortunately, TPMS's don't help much in sudden failure situations.

We have a lot of tires, including two semi trucks with various trailers and lots of farm equipment.  In 50 years of driving, I've had a few tire failures.  Well over half have been on a camper, yet camper towing has been less than 5% of my total miles.  My solution is to install  heavier tires than specified.  We run load range H rather than the load range E spec'ed for our trailer.

BTW, a blow-out on a motorcycle is real interesting. It'll cause pucker marks in the seat.

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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10 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Your TPM doesn't have the ability to reset? The one on our 2019 car says to reset it any time that tire work of any kind is done, after making sure that all tires are properly inflated. It seems to work quite well in the 6 months that we have had it. 

Nope 2015 Motorcycle. Have heard they stopped the "Calculated Pressure" but not ready to buy a new one to find out. 

Rod

White 2000/2010Volvo VNL 770 with 7' Drom box with opposing doors,  JOST slider hitch. 600 HP Cummins Signature 18 Speed three pedal auto shift.

1999 Isuzu VehiCross retired to a sticks and bricks garage. Brought out of storage the summer of 2022

2022 Jeep Wrangler Sport S Two door hard top.

2007 Honda GL 1800

2013 Space Craft Mfg S420 Custom built Toyhauler

The Gold Volvo is still running and being emptied in July. 

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20 hours ago, Carlos said:

I have had several vehicles with non-standard tires and used a programmer on them to change their internal settings.  But that's a minimum $125 cost if there's a programmer available for it.

My 2019 VW gives instructions on how to do it in the owner's manual. It takes a couple of minutes when you need to read & follow the directions. The guy at Direct Tire did it in less than 1 minute.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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From the VW website....

Quote

 The Volkswagen TPMS specifically is an indirect system, meaning it doesn’t directly measure the tire pressure at the tires. Instead the TPMS uses the vehicle’s anti-lock braking system to track this.

The tire pressure monitoring system looks at the ABS wheel speed sensors and uses that information to track the rotational speed of the tires. Any time a tire has lower pressure, it will roll at a different number of revolutions per mile than tires that have the correct tire pressure. If one tire’s rotational speed seems off compared to the rest, the TPMS will alert the driver that one of the tires has low pressure.

 Indirect TPMS has really only been implemented by most manufacturers since 2012-2013.

 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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Our PressurePro system gave us so many false alarms we disconnected it so I wouldn't have to listen to any more of those. They sent us some replacement caps but I gave up when not all of those worked either. For me, the alarms were actually painful to hear.

Linda

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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10 minutes ago, sandsys said:

Our PressurePro system gave us so many false alarms we disconnected it so I wouldn't have to listen to any more of those. They sent us some replacement caps but I gave up when not all of those worked either. For me, the alarms were actually painful to hear.

Linda

Sorry to hear that.  Our PressurePro's on our motorhome and our car were good for 8 yr.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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