Tire Pressure Monitoring systems

[lmpres]

ok, had to shoot me a tough one. The stems are metal at the end (where you screw in the monitor....

[Steve7]

Originally Posted by lmpres

ok, had to shoot me a tough one. The stems are metal at the end (where you screw in the monitor....

The stems themselves need to be metal, not rubber, if you will be using the flow through sensors. They also recommend them for the non flow through, but I went ahead and changed them over when I bought mine. Better safe than sorry. The centrifugal force can break the rubber valve stems. I had four changed over from a tire shop for $60 total, including the metal stems. The system works really well.

[johnboytoo]

I got the Tireminder 66 and two extra sensors for our 8 wheels - maybe our long coach was too much for the sensors or something - dunno...

Continual false alarms, so much so that if a real issue developed I wouldn't believe it enough to stop and check...

so I consider it lesson learned money down the drain...
Will sell cheap if it will work for you...

[Lloyd]

John, have you thought of adding a booster, or calling the company?

[woodwalker]

John

I have had good luck with mine but I also installed the booster in th battery box

[rcflyer]

Even if you go to another TPMS you will probably still have problems with signal strength.

Many have a problem and do not know it. Example the TST system does not give a signal loss for one hour. And if during that hour one signal does make it to the receiver the timer is reset. Thus you can have long periods where the sensor may not get a loss of pressure to the receiver.

I recommend a remote antenna that Pressure Pro offers. I prefer the remote antenna as no power source required and the antenna is fully weather proof and can be mounted under the chassis and I would go towards the rear of the coach in case you want to tow a toad that has the TPMS sensors.

If your receiver has an antenna connector that looks like the following pictures the Pressure Pro remote antenna should work.

[KingFisher]

The more I read about tpms the more confused I become.

We were taking the Windjammer 3001W I bought to take to Florida on a local camping trip tuesday just to check it out, about 90 miles away. 15 miles in a tire exploded and tore up the side of the trailer. After much difficulty since tractor trailer driving idiots couldn't get in the middle lane of a 3 lane northbound interstate and kept flying by me right next to my trailer at 70+ mph I finally got the tire changed and the Windjammer back home.

We moved our clothes and food over to our sunset trail and went ahead with our trip.

Now that I'm back I'm obviously going to get 4 brand new tires for the Windjammer. Been thinking about tpms since I drove half a mile without hearing anything after the tire exploded, my Labrador was panting heavily in my ear and I had the radio on.

I'd hate to invest in a ton of money since I'll be taking this trailer on maybe one local trip after I get if fixed and new tires, and then I'll be pulling it to Florida and it will sit there year round.

Is there a good dependable unit that I can remove easily once I park the trailer in florida, then bring back with me and put it on the sunset trail 250RB?

[woodwalker]

As far as I know they are all portable except if you wire in the amplifier. Which is easy to remove. You can move the sensors between both trailers. Just need to readjust the parameters if different air pressures in the tires

[Steve7]

I have had no problems with my TST unit. It is easily installed and removed. I took off the anti theft part so that no tools are needed. All you do is unscrew it when not in use. This also saves the battery as once disconnected the battery is not being used. The unit will send an alarm if you experience sudden pressure loss, or the pressure goes above or below the limits you preset into the unit. The Achilles heal on all these units is that it takes about 1-2 seconds to send the signal, so if you have a catestrophic failure and it damages the sending unit immediately, you may not get the signal. I believe most blow outs will be preceded by a loss of pressure, or an increase in pressure or heat prior to the blow out. In that case you will receive an alarm. I would recommend metal valve stems and a booster for the signal if you have a long rv or tow vehicle the sending will be on. I think it is well worth the money and piece of mind. I watch mine update on a continual basis while traveling and love it.

[travelin texans]

My 5er is 39' behind a long bed crew cab & don't have/need a booster, it's the TST brand & has worked flawlessly for 3+ years & 76k on the truck & approximately 40k on the trailer, of the 10 sensors I think as of now I've only replaced 6? batteries. I have the non flow thru model & also removed the anti theft devive (too much trouble), would highly recommend.

[OhioMark]

Originally Posted by Lloyd

John, have you thought of adding a booster, or calling the company?

I just bought the TireMinder system and they now sell their new RhinoBooster as a separate unit.

I mounted mine on the tongue and it has a wiring setup with alligator clips to the battery. Works great!

Give Tireminder a call, they have great customer service and they can tell you if it work with your model.

Here's the link -->TireMinder Rhino Booster - Minder Research

[lmpres]

So I had metal valve stems put on yesterday. Quite the project though. Had to bring the tires to the store in order to get them down to $80 for the job. Lowest I could find. The biggest problem was finding the right way to jack up the unit to get 2 tires off at a time. Called Cruiser to find out where the best point was. Didn't get much help, "Jack it up by the frame....
Looking under one side looked problematic. I was using a good jack, but was going to have to put wooden blocks under it because the frame is so high. The propane line that runs to the rear is attached to the frame, 1/2 an inch below the frame. Jacking it would put a lot of pressure on that line. Didn't think that was a good idea....
I ended up jacking it up on that side by the suspension unit. Took 5 or 6 attempts but finally got it.

By the way. This was my first time jacking up the 5th wheel. Warning to others who haven't before either. If you think you can jack it up on the side of the road without a very good jack, blocks, and jack stands, good luck!

[travelin texans]

You can put the jack under the axle where it is attached to the springs, just not in the middle of the axle. If just needing a wheel up, drive the other up on blocks.

[dedmiston]

Originally Posted by lmpres

Warning to others who haven't before either. If you think you can jack it up on the side of the road without a very good jack, blocks, and jack stands, good luck!

Your best bet on the side of the road is to set down leveling blocks and drive the good wheel up onto the blocks to raise that side of the rig. Luckily most of our flats have been out in the desert in the dirt, so we can combine the leveling blocks with digging a hole under the bad tire.

[lmpres]

I tried the blocks under the other tire. The tire I was trying to get off was still in contact with the ground.....

[woodwalker]

Then you need higher blocks under the tire

[Dayle1]

Originally Posted by dedmiston

Your best bet on the side of the road is to set down leveling blocks and drive the good wheel up onto the blocks to raise that side of the rig. Luckily most of our flats have been out in the desert in the dirt, so we can combine the leveling blocks with digging a hole under the bad tire.

I've done it in 15 min in 100 degree heat. Leveling boards and bottle jack under the axle right against the U bolt. Truck brake set. I use an 8 ton bottle jack.

[lmpres]

Woodwalker, When I took one tire off and lowered the trailer, the axle with the missing tire was a good 8-10 inches lower than the axle that still had a tire on it. The axle was just a couple inches off the ground. So yeah, I guess I could have tried higher blocks, probably 10"s higher!
Dayle, I didn't have a bottle jack, but will be getting one now. That's a great idea.

An additional point. I called Crossroads to ask them where I should jack it up. The tech I spoke to told me to jack it up by the frame....

I just posted that because I am sure I am not the only forum member here who didn't pre-think the problem....

[johnboytoo]

Originally Posted by Lloyd

John, have you thought of adding a booster, or calling the company?

If you were talking to this John, Lloyd

Yes to both - have 2nd booster and lot's of 'try this....' suggestions from them...

While they were great - TPS still not 'trustable'

and honestly, tire of crawling under the coach to put the last two on each tag, each time I have to reprogram !

[Dayle1]

Originally Posted by lmpres

Dayle, I didn't have a bottle jack, but will be getting one now. That's a great idea.

Some yrs ago a friend turned up a steep driveway off a freshly asphalted highway and by the time his truck stalled out, one of the trailer tires was off the road and the rear skid on his Alfa was sunk in the soft asphalt. Shut down the highway and no commercial tow truck available. My 8 ton bottle jack raised that heavy Alfa and plenty of leveling boards (even under the skid) allowed him to back out. I never travel w/o that bottle jack.