Tire Pressure Monitor

[supersquid571]

I have been using Tire Sentry for a tire monitor and am unhappy with its reliability, i.e. units keep failing.

Can anyone recommend a really reliable monitor for all 10 tires that does not require installation inside the tire.

Thanks

[Guest BillAdams]

Yes, it's called a tire pressure gauge. You push it against the valve stem each time you stop somewhere and check your air pressure. This is what we have used while full-timing since 1997 and it has worked very well. We did have a valve stem extension fail (my fault, lack of knowledge) but the sudden thumping brought me to a stop just as quickly as a monitor would have. We have traveled over 150,000 miles in the last 10 years without a special monitor and I am hopeful that the next 10 years will have the same results.

[Jon796]

I use Pressure Pro that I got off Ebay and never had a problem.

[whiteeagle]

I use Pressure Pro - monitor, 6 sensors on MH, 4 sensors on toad.. works great.. like it, would buy it again..

[tbutler]

I've had Pressure Pro for four years. The alarm goes off well before you hear the thump-thump-thump! The one tire failure I had with Pressure Pro I was able to pull off the highway to a safe stopping spot, get out and hear the tire that was punctured. The tire wasn't flat, but it was well on its way.

I had a tire fail without the Pressure Pro several years before I got the system. I checked pressures in the morning with the tire gauge just as I always had done. It caused over $1000 damage as the tire began to disintegrate. So I consider that the Pressure Pro system has paid for itself. Besides saving the damage to the coach, there is a safety factor that is priceless!

With our 40 foot motor home and toad, I do have difficulty picking up readings from the tires of the toad on occasion. I will add a repeater unit to resolve this issue. Several years ago the display unit quit working. I sent it to the factory for assessment. Though it was out of warranty, they offered me a significant discount on a new replacement unit. I consider their customer service to be excellent.

With the unit I can do my morning pressure check from indoors. If there is a discrepancy I can check with a tire gauge to verify and then adjust tire pressure. Adjusting tire pressure is easy, take the unit off, adjust pressure, replace the unit. When the sensor has been off the tire for 60 seconds it resets the set pressure to the new pressure to which you have inflated the tire.

If you use the sensor on tires with rubber tire valve stems, you will want to replace those with steel tire valve stems. I used the system with rubber valve stems on our toad until I changed tires and then had the steel tire valve stems installed. They function with the rubber stems but you are twisting against the rubber when you tighten them. Also the weight of the sensor likely flexes rubber tire stems.

[QuiGonJohn]

I was reading the below, (now closed), thread, over on RV.NET on TPMS Systems and had some questions.

http://www.rv.net/fo...ng/1/page/1.cfm

1. As far as TIRE TRAKER vs. HAWKSHEAD, it seems they are pretty similar, just that the support may be more reliable from HAWKSHEAD vs. TIRE TRAKER due to the "mom & pop" nature of TIRE TRAKER. How do people here feel about that?

2. I read some that recommended the DORAN over either of the above. But I also see that for the Doran sensors, the batteries cannot be changed by the user. This may be costly in the long run. Any thoughts on this? I see here a lot of folks like PRESSURE PRO, but it too has non-replaceable batteries.

Thanks for any helpful feedback.

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

I have TST. There was a problem with sensor failure at first but they replaced the old unreliable ones at the Madison convention.

Yes, I used the old reliable pressure gauge for years but it would not have told me about a puncture and slow leak on the toad. I'll keep my monitor along with daily visual inspection before every day's drive.

[wolfe10]

I see here a lot of folks like PRESSURE PRO, but it too has non-replaceable batteries.

Slight correction. PressurePro batteries ARE replaceable. They are not owner replaceable.

[QuiGonJohn]

How about PRESSURE PRO vs. DORAN 360RV. Both have non-user replaceable/non-replaceable batteries. But the Doran 6 tire system sells for $100 less than the same in PRESSURE PRO. I'd consider a non-user replaceable/non-replaceable batteries system, if the batteries really last much longer and there is significant benefit regarding possible leakage from the user replaceable battery sensors.

[danddferr]

I use the TST 10 system. ( Their old one ) for two years now and love it. It has already saved me from an issue by alerting me to a low pressure situation while driving. Many good ones outn there. Having a tpms is a must for my peace of mind.

Dan

[andyshane]

We just put several hundred miles in the span of three months on a TireTraker, good performance. Interestingly, I haven't yet mounted the signal booster; yet, we get signals from the dolly and toad. Very valuable, since usually the first sign you'll have the a dolly tire has failed is light-flashing/waving/horn-blowing from other motorists.

One slight problem: a sender stopped transmitting on the first trip, I noticed that a battery bracket leg had become detached, offered to solder it in my shop, if the company approved the procedure.

They said "No," and had one in the mail minutes later, with a pre-paid envelope enclosed for free return.

Two observations: the temp-sensing function of stem-mounted senders is as worthless as mounting an ashtray on a motorcycle. Make sure you shoot tire surface temps with an IR gun to affirm proper inflation*; and, a good trick is to measure tire pressure at 70F after the rig has sat overnight, use several different gages to refine inflation to the exact value mandated by the TIRE manufacturer. Then, climb into the driver's seat and make a list of the pressures shown on the TPMS. We printed a little card, that stays in the cockpit. Those numbers, not the gage-verified mandated inflation, are what you should see, at the start of a day's driving.

Of course, we all know that the pressures will increase underway, and that we never bleed air from hot tires... (A question on your CDL test, in some states).

* Tire surface temps over 120F suggest the need for more inflation. Caution: Shooting tires on the sunny side of the coach can result in a false elevated reading.

Fodder for the Never Again Collection, from yesterday's 80 mile drive: Traversing construction in the awful and perennially beat-up west side of Weatherford, Texas, we approached an intersection in which our side had narrowed to one lane bordered on the right by a concrete barrier. The light was three cars ahead, and opposing road slightly offset to the left. As a result, when the light turned green, traffic crossing from the right saw they wouldn't be able to make a right turn on red and stopped well short of the intersection, allowing us a wide swing to get the toad around the barrier making the 90 degree right turn the GPS demanded. I cleared to the left and hugged the left side of my narrow lane to start the swing, and suddenly noticed the lead vehicle halted to the right had moved forward into the intersection!! Predictably, the line behind him immediately closed the gap. Rather than abort and opt for the straight-through track, I swung within ten inches of his fender, crawled forward to assure the dolly and toad didn't catch the barrier... The moral of the story is to have the right-seater call out such an intrusion, teamwork that might one day prevent one of those dreaded traffic-blocking episodes we all have nightmares about. As my Prevost-owning neighbors attest, removing a toad amidst changing lights and a blaring symphony of horns is not fun.

[mcbrian]

After a lot of research, I just ordered the TST 507 system with flow thru sensors. I beleive it actually cost less than many of the others. The battaries are user replaceable.