Internal TPMS PSA

[GolfingDave]

Found a screw somehow. Got it patched this morning and the gentleman that did the repair said that if I need another repair with the internal TPMS band to let the repair know know about it. He said they could break when removing the tire.

Never gave it a thought when I took it in to let them know.

I will now look at my TPMS monitor the morning before I plan to leave and not the afternoon or evening of.

Always figured I did not want any surprises when getting ready to leave but forgot I need time to get a problem fixed.

 

[wmtire]

That is a good thing to tell the tire shop as they would not be expecting such in a trailer rim.....as I know I wouldn't.

Even though I do locate the banded sensors on the older FORD/Mercury/Lincoln/Ford licensed Mazda stuff that has them....I haven't ever even thought about the TST banded sensors on the RV's.......which I should have.

Thanks for the reminder from a tire dealer.

 

[Tireman9]

I wrote with Black magic Marker "Internal TPMS" and an arrow toward the location of the sensor (180 degrees from valve)

 

[wmtire]

I wrote with Black magic Marker "Internal TPMS" and an arrow toward the location of the sensor (180 degrees from valve)

With Lionshead or whomever it is installing these banded sensors, I would not trust that the sensor is always 180 degrees from the valve stem. We have several customer tales in these forums where the installer is leaving pieces of these snipped off bands inside the tire. That leaves doubts in my mind that the sensors are installed in correct positions and just not wherever the installer felt at the time.

 

[GolfingDave]

The Rest Of The Story

3 1/2 weeks and 400 miles later I notice that tire is running hotter than the others by about 20 degrees. Noticed it on the previous move also but was extremely windy and that effects temps and they all did equalize over time.

This leg though about 20 miles from camp the TPMS started beeping. PSI and temp were where they have been. Cancelled it out and all was fine. A few miles later it did it again but the parameters looked ok. Once at camp I got the tire in the air and spun it expecting a brake possibly dragging, what I heard was the sensor spinning inside the wheel.

Not wanting a steel band spinning on an aluminum wheel or coming off and destroying the inside of the tire I took it to a tire shop(open on a Sunday and less than 10 miles away) and had them remove it. I was not going to trust having it tightened up if salvageable. Was the sensor damaged internally? Who knows and I did not want to chance it.

They did not have a clamp-in valve stem that fit but put one in with an internal steel or brass stem. Or so it looks as it shows a bit of smooth brass after the rubber.

Luckily I was less than fifteen miles away from an Amazon drop box. Ordered two TPMS valve caps and installed it yesterday. Seems to be working. TST says they can be used on rubber stems.

Why didn't I buy some metal ones when I saw them listed here??????? Figured I would when it came time to replace the tires or the sensors. Now I kick myself for not having them available.

Just to be on the safe side for centrifugal force on the stem with the cap I am taping a piece of firm foam rubber between the rim and the stem with some aluminum foil tape. Hardly any weight in that. I know the tape holds up well as I have strips on each wheel center bearing cover just for insurance.

First time using an Amazon drop box and it worked great. Most likely helped being somewhat close to a major city to be able to get next day delivery.

Links to the stem I should have bought and an installation sticky.

https://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f219/i-d-this-wheel-262786.html

https://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f219/clamp-in-valve-stem-tutorial-270848.html

 

[wmtire]

They did not have a clamp-in valve stem that fit but put one in with an internal steel or brass stem. Or so it looks as it shows a bit of smooth brass after the rubber.

Your description sounds like a TR-600HP snap-in stem. See post #19 of the link you previously posted for a pic of these.

https://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f219/clamp-in-valve-stem-tutorial-270848.html#post2903478

 

[GolfingDave]

Your description sounds like a TR-600HP snap-in stem. See post #19 of the link you previously posted for a pic of these.

Yep, the shortest one.

Was just thinking also, if an internal sensor battery dies before a tire change is needed probably best to remove the internal sensor instead of just adding an external sensor.

You really never know what is going on inside the tire. It does work loose and then creates a groove in the wheel? Probably overthinking but anything and everything can fail.

 

[NXR]

Was just thinking also, if an internal sensor battery dies before a tire change is needed probably best to remove the internal sensor instead of just adding an external sensor.

TST quotes a four-year battery life for the internal sensors. No way was I going to pay to drive to a tire shop, remove the tire, change the battery or whatever, and then get the tire remounted, times 6.

In addition, NIRVC will not install their RettroBands, a run-flat device, if the tires are more than four years old because they've seen an incidence of increased bead damage on older tires.

Plain old TST cap sensors with a CR2032 battery for me.

Ray