TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) To The Rescue!

[Handydc]

And God bless Discount Tire, they are truly amazing.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by Topspud

Headed home yesterday from FL, DW was headed to the back when POP the outside duel blew, knocked of the wheel trim. TPMS did not show temp or pressure issues. Xpresser, glad yours worked for you. Contacting the manufacturer to find out hte issue. tires have less than 20,000 miles.

If you had a massive tire failure the TPMS wouldn't show anything.
Say the side wall blew out because it was weak.

What does the tire look like will tell the story.

[fredhardy]

Could have used this last weekend

[emm-dee]

Good thing the OP had the TPMS. Even better is now there's a reason to get rid of the Towmax China bomb.

[RJ Anderson]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

Good thing the OP had the TPMS. Even better is now there's a reason to get rid of the Towmax China bomb.

They are not Towmax but rather Tow-Master by Greenball. Although still a China made tire they seem to have a much better reputation than the Towmax you mentioned. Find me a US made radial trailer tire for a 15" wheel and I would be happy to swap them out. May I ask what you use? Thanks

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by Xpresser

They are not Towmax but rather Tow-Master by Greenball. Although still a China made tire they seem to have a much better reputation than the Towmax you mentioned. Find me a US made radial trailer tire for a 15" wheel and I would be happy to swap them out. May I ask what you use? Thanks

My mistake. Saw the word Tow and quit reading after that. Not familiar with the Towmaster but a google search brings up a lot of negative reviews.

Don't know of any US made ST tires, but the GY Marathons are made in a dedicated company owned plant in China, which is much better than coming from the factories there that make a limited variety of tires with many, many different brand names. The Maxxis are also made in a Maxxis owned factory in Thailand.

For myself I use Maxxis E-load on my light (9K) TT and Goodyear 614 (US made) on the heavier (15K) horse trailer. The GY tires have 26,000 miles now and show very little wear. Both trailers have TPMS.

[RJ Anderson]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

My mistake. Saw the word Tow and quit reading after that. Not familiar with the Towmaster but a google search brings up a lot of negative reviews.

Don't know of any US made ST tires, but the GY Marathons are made in a dedicated company owned plant in China, which is much better than coming from the factories there that make a limited variety of tires with many, many different brand names. The Maxxis are also made in a Maxxis owned factory in Thailand.

For myself I use Maxxis E-load on my light (9K) TT and Goodyear 614 (US made) on the heavier (15K) horse trailer. The GY tires have 26,000 miles now and show very little wear. Both trailers have TPMS.

Beginning of summer I checked on the US made Goodyear's and unfortunately found they didn't make a 15" tire. I would have to move up to a 16" wheel and my current trailer doesn't have the clearance to go 16". Back then I also looked at the Maxxis M8008 and saw that they were made in Thailand. My new CC 34RL2 will come with Westlake tires, I beleive, and although a Canadian company I think those are China made as well. But that will be a 16" tire, if I recall correctly, and then I can go with the US Goodyear's. Although my uncle who has a CC 36CKTS swears by Westlake tires.

Thanks for the info!!!!

[Handydc]

Carlisle, Carlisle, Carlisle. Extremely reliable.

[OldBob]

I appreciate seeing posts like this. My TST 507 has saved me plenty of times over the years. If it only saves you once it pays for itself. BUT...not all TPMS systems are equal. My brother has a TireTraker 414 and he still can't figure out how to use it. In fact the readout doesn't even rotate from tire to tire (you have to manually press a button to change what tire to look at!). He bought it because it was $40 cheaper than the TST 507 system. Please folks...GET a TPMS system but do a bit of research first and get one that has a high consumer rating. I recommend the TST 507 system but I'm sure there are other good ones out there. I would never tow without it.

[Delco Bobby]

Originally Posted by Xpresser

So I know that TPMS's are popular with Class A owners as they have dually tires in the rear where sometimes you don't know you have a low or even flat tire due to the other tire supporting the load. But I see very, very few trailers (bumper pulls and 5th wheels) using them. I mean when you have a flat or dangerously low/high pressure you know it when towing a trailer right? Not necessarily.

So the other day we were on I-5 just north of Seattle, we had just resumed our trip after stopping for lunch. After about 10 minutes of driving I noticed that 3 of my 4 tires on my 5th wheel were building pressure just as they should be in that situation but why not the 4th tire? It just didn't seem right. So we pulled off into a rest area and I checked the visible tread of said tire but found nothing. I then asked the wife to slowly pull the vehicle forward so that I may inspect the rest of the tread that I could not see. After the tire rotated 3/4 of the way I saw it...a pretty shinny silver screw stuck firmly in the tire. Looked up the nearest tire center and there was a Discount Tire just a mile down the highway. They fixed it for free and we were delayed only 30 minutes. I'm convinced that if it wasn't for that TPMS we would have woke up the next morning at our campsite with a flat trailer tire and a long, long ways from any tire center.

Folks a TPMS is so worth it. There are many good systems out there and a lot of info on how to choose the right system for you. I highly, highly recommend using one.

Photo: That little black thing on the tire valve stem is the sensor that sends a wireless signal to a display in my truck. It tells me the pressure and ambient temperature of the tire.

That made the expense worth it.

I just had a nail pulled from my car tire. I got in to drive and a second after starting the car I received a warning from my Ford instrument panel. Without the warning I would have driven away.

[Blackhat6mike]

I also have the TST 507 system and couldn't be happier. Works great and has saved me on several occasions. Information on your tires is not much help unless its real time.

[grumpyoldman]

Does anyone make a TPMS with internal sensors like new vehicles have. I'm concerned that the external sensor won't give a true temperature reading. After reading all these posts it looks like my first upgrade for next year will be a TPMS.

[FordHauler]

On the trip home from Alaska this year, while in Colarado, I noticed a 2 pound drop in one TT tire one morning and thought hmm I will watch this. The tire held pressure right there all day. Next morning another 2 pound loss. Well this requires a better examination, I looked the tire over and found nothing so I added air. The third morning I had a 3 pound drop, so we stopped in Woodward, Oklahoma to have a tire shop inspect the tire and wheel. In the water tank, the shop found that the nut on the metal valve stem had backed off just enough to let a minute amount of air escape. That Alaska highway will test ALL of your equipment! Without my TPMS I would not have noticed the air loss as soon as I did. I am sold on the TST 507 and highly recommend it.
Travel safe

[waiter21]

The Schrader system I bought for my toad and dolly uses internal sensors.

The main reason I went with this unit is it allowed significant differences in pressure for each axle (front and rear).

I have the dolly tires (front axle) set to alarm at about 75 psi, and the toads rear wheels (rear axle) set at about 30 psi.

The temperature alarm points can also be set for each axle.

Dolly / TOAD Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) | 2001 Coachmen Mirada 300QB

..

[RJ Anderson]

Originally Posted by waiter21

The Schrader system I bought for my toad and dolly uses internal sensors.

The main reason I went with this unit is it allowed significant differences in pressure for each axle (front and rear).

I have the dolly tires (front axle) set to alarm at about 75 psi, and the toads rear wheels (rear axle) set at about 30 psi.

The temperature alarm points can also be set for each axle.

Dolly / TOAD Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) | 2001 Coachmen Mirada 300QB

..

I too can set different alarms based on different pressure and temperature ranges with the EEZRV system. Each sensor is individually programmable. I believe the same is true with the TST products.

[palmettoe]

TPMS saved my butt as well, highly recommend one!

[rsdata]

I'm concerned that the external sensor won't give a true temperature reading.

Just like the old days before TPMS or even laser temp sensors... when you just put your hand on the tire sidewall and the hub on all 4 wheels, and felt for a difference in temp between the 2 or 4 wheels...

a temp sensor may not give a perfectly accurate temp reading if mounted externally, but between 2 or 4 (or more) sensors, there will be a difference in one of the temps relative to the others, if that wheel and tire has a problem...

I like my TST507

[hdmtnrider]

Speaking of tire temperature, I have a TST 507 system with 4 non flow thru sensors. The last time I towed my TH, I had one tire and wheel show as much as 10 degrees higher that the other 3. So, my question to all is when should I be concerned? I that still normal to see a difference like this?

[waiter21]

10 degrees, I wouldn't loose sleep over. But it would be interesting to check and see if you could explain it.

A couple things that could cause the difference:

Faulty sensor
Different make/model tire
Inflation pressure
location of engine exhaust in relation to tire.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by hdmtnrider

Speaking of tire temperature, I have a TST 507 system with 4 non flow thru sensors. The last time I towed my TH, I had one tire and wheel show as much as 10 degrees higher that the other 3. So, my question to all is when should I be concerned? I that still normal to see a difference like this?

It really isn't inside tire temps you are reading but the exterior valve stem temp.
You can have tires with different temps just because of the sun reflection, engine exhaust pipe location etc.
My TPMS goes into a high temp alarm at 129 degrees.
If you are running at 90 degrees and one shows 100 degrees that doesn't mean it going to blow just that it needs to be watched.

I still watch my PSI first then tire temps.