Community Forums

jerichorick · 04-19-2015, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by docj

Personally, I didn't like the flow-through sensors and just swapped them for the traditional type. For my >100psi tires I found the flow rate to be frustratingly slow.

I had a 125psi compressor. Didn't work on the flow-troughs. My tires take 110psi. Sold it and got a 150psi pancake compressor. That works fine.

There should be no reason to put a large amount of psi change in any one tire. +/-5psi is not unusual because of weather changes.

Where the TPMS really help is with a sudden rise in temperature on one tire. Slow way down and get off the road ASAP. Trouble is happening!

Wish I had a system when I had my blowout. Not a fun day or repair time after.

Happy trails.

Rick Y

divingdoc · 04-19-2015, 08:51 AM

I have a question. I have heard that the tire sensors that attach to the stem on the outside can have a tendency to leak and cause a blow out. They say the best are the ones that are inside the tire. Is this true and if it is , is there a way to eliminate the leakage. I am a firm believer in having some system. I was following my friend habd he had a rear tire blow and it destroyed his rear fender well. That convinced me that you need something to help warn you. I am just not sure of which way to go

stan5711 · 04-19-2015, 08:56 AM

I have the EEZE system and it works great,

Don and Dale · 04-19-2015, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by divingdoc

I am a firm believer in having some system. ----you need something to help warn you. I am just not sure of which way to go

I am in the same boat. I'm still shopping around and watching these posts pretty close for advice, ideas, and recommendations. Some good thoughts and experiences here though....I just need to finalize something before my trip next month.

Cooperhawk · 04-19-2015, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by divingdoc

I have a question. I have heard that the tire sensors that attach to the stem on the outside can have a tendency to leak and cause a blow out.

I am probably one of the first customers that TST had. I have been running the TPMS on the valve stems for many many years with not a single problem. I have had problems with extensions on the valve stems leaking. If you use them, buy good quality ones.

docj · 04-19-2015, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerichorick

I had a 125psi compressor. Didn't work on the flow-troughs. My tires take 110psi. Sold it and got a 150psi pancake compressor. That works fine.

That was probably my problem; my compressor is rated at 130psi and my front tires have to be inflated to 110. I don't find it a problem to remove the sensors from the tires in order to add air to them. I normally only need to do do it 2-3 times a year.

Tireman9 · 04-19-2015, 02:28 PM

On my RV tire Safety blog I wrote on May 24 2014 about "Best TPMS" and started the post with...

"As an engineer I feel that just as Henry Ford was wrong when he decided everyone would want a black car, there is seldom a "Best" anything that is the best for everyone. However, having said that, you probably still would like some guidance in selecting a TPMS.

NOTE: I am certain that ANY brand TPMS is better than not having a system."

Each of us has wants, needs and desires and only when you take a bit of time and do some hard thinking of what your priorities are, can you reach a reasonable conclusion.

jerichorick · 04-20-2015, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tireman9

On my RV tire Safety blog I wrote on May 24 2014 about "Best TPMS" and started the post with...

"As an engineer I feel that just as Henry Ford was wrong when he decided everyone would want a black car, there is seldom a "Best" anything that is the best for everyone. However, having said that, you probably still would like some guidance in selecting a TPMS.

NOTE: I am certain that ANY brand TPMS is better than not having a system."

Each of us has wants, needs and desires and only when you take a bit of time and do some hard thinking of what your priorities are, can you reach a reasonable conclusion.

Well stated. And each day new systems are coming along that have good features and better pricing.

ShapeShifter · 04-20-2015, 01:31 PM

I've had the Doran 360 RV TPMS for several years now. It works well, but I've been disappointed with battery life. I take the sensors off for the winter to help stretch battery life, but they still don't last long enough for my tastes. Then, when they die, the whole sensor needs to be replaced, which makes the costs add up fast. I'm now on my second set of sensors, and it's time to replace them yet again. When replacing a full complement of 10 sensors (6 MH, 4 toad) it can be cheaper to just buy a complete system rather than individual sensors.

I think it's time to move on to another system, and my prime requirement is going to be replaceable sensor batteries. There seems to be a few systems now that offer that, which were not available back when I got the original system.

My other requirement (and what I would suggest for others) is that you can explicitly program the monitor unit for your tire pressures. Some systems claim that they are easy to set up with no programming, because they assume the pressure in the tire at the time you install the sensor is the pressure you want. The problem with that is you must always make sure you have the correct tire pressure EVERY TIME you put the sensor on the tire. Well, what happens if the tires are hot? The pressure is now higher than normal, and if you put the sensor on at that point, you will start to get low pressure alerts when it cools. So I would rather have a unit that you program one time with the pressures and thresholds I want, not what it thinks I should have. Then I don't have to worry about it after that, and can take off a sensor for a top-off or manual pressure check without worrying about the correct replacement conditions.

There seems to be some good information in this thread, I'm reading it myself to see what my next system might be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerichorick

I had a 125psi compressor. Didn't work on the flow-troughs.

It probably didn't work too well on the bare valve stems, either. If your tires are at 110 PSI, you still need some pressure differential to get air to flow at a reasonable rate. The problem is that 125 PSI is the maximum pressure at which it cuts out the compressor, but it probably doesn't start the compressor again until it gets down to the cut-in pressure of 90 or 95 PSI. No air will be flowing into the tire at that point. Been there, done that, had to bleed off air from the tank until the compressor started pumping, then could put a little more air in the tire. My solution was a 175 PSI 5HP compressor: no problems now as the compressor can keep up and cuts in well above 110 PSI.

Quote:

Originally Posted by divingdoc

I have a question. I have heard that the tire sensors that attach to the stem on the outside can have a tendency to leak and cause a blow out.

The real problem is from standard rubber valve stems. They tend to flex, eventually start leaking, and can get to the point where it might blow the stem right out of the wheel. The best bet is to always use metal bolt-in valve stems.

The screw-on sensors may sometimes leak (often from over-tightening!) but a valve stem with no sensor can also leak. But at least if you have the sensor in place, you should know about the leak well before it gets too low, overheats the tire, and causes a blowout. That's the whole point of the sensor.

Moxy · 04-20-2015, 06:14 PM

The real problem is from standard rubber valve stems. They tend to flex, eventually start leaking, and can get to the point where it might blow the stem right out of the wheel. The best bet is to always use metal bolt-in valve stems.

The screw-on sensors may sometimes leak (often from over-tightening!) but a valve stem with no sensor can also leak. But at least if you have the sensor in place, you should know about the leak well before it gets too low, overheats the tire, and causes a blowout. That's the whole point of the sensor.[/QUOTE]

rubber stems have worked fine on my toads, dolly's and trailers for years without a problem ever. even being the longer ones that clear hub caps on the cars, switching to bolt on metal stems is over kill, the manufactures do not insist or recommend that stems be upgraded, if you were getting new tires and not creating any expense why not, but to remove tires, partially dismount tires to install bolt on metal stems, don't waste your money.

Moxy

Moxy · 04-20-2015, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerichorick

I had a 125psi compressor. Didn't work on the flow-troughs. My tires take 110psi. Sold it and got a 150psi pancake compressor. That works fine.

There should be no reason to put a large amount of psi change in any one tire. +/-5psi is not unusual because of weather changes.

Where the TPMS really help is with a sudden rise in temperature on one tire. Slow way down and get off the road ASAP. Trouble is happening!

Wish I had a system when I had my blowout. Not a fun day or repair time after.

Happy trails.

Rick Y

I can tell ya that I have added and removed over 10lbs pressure from and into my tires on numerous occasions, nothing wrong with the tires, no leaks, just travelling from 0 F to 80 or 90 F in two days and visa versa in order to maintain decent ride going down I remove pressure and coming home to cold I have to add air to maintain safe pressures. As far as watching for temperature changes, I have to disagree, my tires will be way over on pressure before the temperature alarms sounds at 150 F I believe, if your pressure alarms are properly set, you will see and hear the spike in pressure resulting from tire getting hot in time to get off the road, mine only allow for an extra 15 lbs over before alarms sounds which is about where they end up after 30 minutes on the road and less than 2 under minimum as they are never allowed under minimums

Moxy

Clayobx · 04-20-2015, 08:16 PM

TST very good product and great customer service.

ShapeShifter · 04-21-2015, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moxy

but to remove tires, partially dismount tires to install bolt on metal stems, don't waste your money.

As always, there is no single answer to cover all conditions. My statement was in response to the statement that external TPMS have a tendency to leak and cause blowouts. That generally is much more of an issue with rubber valve stems, and not rigid metal stems.

I'm glad you've had good luck with rubber valve stems, but your luck is not universal. While I don't necessarily recommend everyone immediately replace all of their valve stems, I do advocate that everyone be aware of the potential situation and be on the lookout for it. Yes, metal valve stems are not an absolute requirement, but they have advantages.

While on the road, I had a flat tire on my toad (it was fine while traveling, but the next morning in camp it was flat.) It turned out to be a leaking rubber valve stem. I had it replaced with a new rubber valve stem. Some time later that same year, at home, another toad tire went flat: it was also a leaking rubber valve stem. I never had a leaking valve stem in 40 years before that, and once I started using external TPMS sensors I had two during the second year. Once is a fluke, twice is the beginning of a trend. At that point I had all of the rubber valve stems replaced with bolt-in metal stems. At my local shop around the corner it was $6 per stem, installed: $24 total, including re-balancing and taking the wheels on/off the toad. Hardly breaking the bank, it was good peace of mind: I never had a tire stem problem in the seven years since then.

Of course, everyone's experiences will be different.

Tireman9 · 04-21-2015, 11:02 AM

From my 1/23/13 post on Valves
"For passenger and light truck wheels that use the standard "snap-in" rubber valves, you will usually find them to be either 0.445 to 0.461" or 0.618 to 0.633" dia hole. There is also a maximum metal thickness of 0.156" at the hole. Some aluminum wheels have special step machining to cut the thickness down to the proper dimension. Most steel wheels do not have this problem as they are thinner than 0.156" and run closer to 0.070". These "snap-in" have a 65 psi max spec and carry part numbers such as TR412, 413, 414, 418, 423 and the large dia. TR415 & 425. The difference is the total length which runs from 0.88 to 2.00 outside the rim surface.
Note. some have chrome covers but are still basically the same rubber valve under the thin cover. Do not be mislead into thinking these chrome valves are like the bolt in metal valves. Look for the TR number."

There is more if you want to learn.

Basically if you use a large RV you should have metal valves. or if you run an external TPMS you should have metal valves. BUT there are fitment issues that must be considered as not all valves will fit all wheels.