Buying TPMS - What are top two to consider

[ByeTheWay]

PressurePro Gateway is named by SilverLeaf Electronics as the most popular tire monitoring sensor system in the RV industry Read for your self at : PressureProâ„¢ Gateway | SilverLeaf Electronics, Inc. It all depends on what you value; Safety or Cheap Battery Replacement. I'll stick with Safety!!!

[tmw188]

Originally Posted by RobbieH

Exactly. That's why I went ahead and took the Pressure Pro off my dash.

I think I paid less than that for my 10 wheel TireSafe Guard sensors? I did have a problem with one of the sensors after a short time but Dion sent me a new one and told me to call him and he would walk me thru programing it to the wheel it was going on. My MH is 37' plus the toad and tow bar which probably puts me about 57'no repeater needed. I actually thought the monitor was a little small out of the box but it it displays well, is backlit if needed and is easy to read. I like the smaller monitor size because it is less heavy.


iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

[Ed Headington]

We have the Tire Minder and also have been very pleased with it. It is interesting to note, that in the latest Motorhome magazine, the Tire Minder was the first choice of their readers for the 5th year in a row.

Ed Headington

[TonyDi]

I've been using a TST 507 for six years and it has performed great. Warned me of a tire losing air this past summer in Santa Fe and the repair was $45 versus what a blow out would have cost. They also have great customer service.

[StuartS]

I see in reviews on Amazon that EEZTire has the highest rating in customer review. The TST system is a good bit behind in ratings.

[mhbell]

Originally Posted by StuartS

I see in reviews on Amazon that EEZTire has the highest rating in customer review. The TST system is a good bit behind in ratings.

Probably because of cost. I have Eez RV TPMS and am very pleased with the service and price. got it 4 years ago.
Mel

[StuartS]

Looks like both the TST & the EEZ come out of the same factory but the EEZ has the newest antenna offered & the latest updated guts.
Looks like a flip of the coin to me.

[TVforMyRV]

Originally Posted by jleamo1

I just read a post on FMCA Tire Tracker has a delay in notifying you in the morning, it doesn't give live data 1st thing in the AM, it shows your readings from the previous day. Now that is a bad design if its true.
I scroll through all of my tires prior to leaving a campsite, if I had a low tire I would want to know before I hit the road.

MOST of the aftermarket TPMS sensors have a "sleep" mode in order to conserve battery usage. There is a motion sensor built into each tire sensor which puts the sensor into sleep or hibernate mode when motion stops for a certain period of time. So, when you park for more than an hour or so, the tire sensors go to sleep and stop reporting tire pressures to the monitor. If this "sleep mode" was not used, you would be replacing sensor batteries a lot more often. Two things "wake up" the sensor, detected motion, or a sudden change in pressure over a certain threshold.

I've used a Hawks Head TPMS system since 2008, other than sensor batteries and the rubber case on the display has gotten sticky, it's still working fine. When I want to do a pre-trip pressure check, I take the monitor with me and go to each tire and remove the sensor, this should generate a "red light alarm", and then screw the sensor back on the tire to reset the alarm and verify the current air pressure. The whole process doesn't take very long, and you have done a fairly thorough check of your tires and your monitoring system.

[rvadventure]

Originally Posted by Ed Headingto

We have the Tire Minder and also have been very pleased with it. It is interesting to note, that in the latest Motorhome magazine, the Tire Minder was the first choice of their readers for the 5th year in a row.

Ed Headington

I also have the tire minder and is now going on 4 years, and been real pleased with it. I did use a booster, and usually will replace the rubber O rings yearly. The company has outstanding customer service. Regards Marc

[Poohbear7278]

EEZ for me no problems, didn't get the tool to install the sensors but called them and got it promptly works great easy to read

[Sandy Swede]

Thanks to all who posted.

From your posts, it appears that only one or two TPMS's should be avoided and that the others are differentiated primarily by personal experience.

An unscientific review of the above posts showed a tie between EEZ Tire and TST at 7 each. My uninformed prior view was that TST and TireMinder would be neck-and-neck. TireMinder came in with 4 votes, Tire-SafeGuard with 3, and Tire Tracker with 2. Someone mentioned that EEZ Tire system includes an extender (repeater, I assume). I did not see that in the Amazon offer. Checking Amazon today, I find that the TST 507 and TST 510 are priced at $500 including 10 CAP sensors and the EEZ Tire is priced at $450 with 10 CAP sensors. Neither included a repeater. The only difference I could discern between the TST 507 and the 510 was that the 510 sensors included non-replaceable (by customer) batteries, but these are claimed to last 5 - 7 years.

Your posts have been very helpful in getting my options down to EEZ Tire or TST, however, I don't think I would be making a mistake if I went with TireMinder or Tire-SafeGuard.

P.S. Please be assured that I do not conflate number of votes in a small sample survey with quality or predictive outcome, but use the results only as a methodology to make a selection. YMMV

[tmw188]

That's good to know, whatever you just said?

[WyoFree]

Hey Sandy, I'm a numbers guy myself except when I'm er, not! But the top two you noted have excellent reputations so why not go with a leader. Tires are no place to take chances "in my humble opinion"! Doesn't it make you feel good to just spell that out once in awhile?

[c92vette]

Let me throw some more data into this thread (As if we really need more but...) This statement piqued my curiosity because my TST system does not "sleep" per se. How do I know this? Because I've been awoken at 2am due to the alarm going off.

Originally Posted by TVforMyRV

MOST of the aftermarket TPMS sensors have a "sleep" mode in order to conserve battery usage. There is a motion sensor built into each tire sensor which puts the sensor into sleep or hibernate mode when motion stops for a certain period of time. So, when you park for more than an hour or so, the tire sensors go to sleep and stop reporting tire pressures to the monitor. If this "sleep mode" was not used, you would be replacing sensor batteries a lot more often. Two things "wake up" the sensor, detected motion, or a sudden change in pressure over a certain threshold. I've used a Hawks Head TPMS system since 2008.....

This is not entirely correct. I did some research to quell my curiosity on the intricacies of the different systems. Here's what I found. With the Hawks Head system the monitor detects motion and enters "sleep" mode not the sensors. This is what they are currently advertising. Being the quoted system is going on 8-9 years it may be different because of design changes. But due to the many different systems available each one has its own way of doing the same thing and that is telling you the pressure and temperature of your tires. I compiled some information on the different set ups available. I didn't include all systems but hopefully I covered the popular ones. They are all basically the same and even the sensors look the same whether they are flow through or cap style. Most monitors looked and operated alike with some exceptions and installations were all basic DYI easy. Even the manufacturers recommended using metal valve stems on all systems and were not concerned with rebalancing the wheels after install. So there's not much difference with the physical characteristics between each of the systems. What is different is how and when the systems signal pressures and temperatures between sensor and monitor along with the accuracy of the pressure reading.

With that said, here we go.

These TPM Systems do not have a sleep mode and should be accurate at any time:

EEZTire - Sensor reports continuously unless there is 0 pressure on the sensor as in removed from the tire. The monitor updates every 5 minutes unless there is a warning. The sensor accuracy is 1.5 psi. Sensor replacement battery is the CR1632.

PressurePro - Sensor reports continuously unless there is 0 pressure on the sensor as in removed from the tire. The monitor updates every 5 minutes unless there is a warning. The sensor accuracy is 5% psi. Sensor replacement battery is done by the manufacturer.

TST - Sensor reports continuously unless there is 0 pressure on the sensor as in removed from the tire. The monitor updates every 2 minutes unless there is a warning. The sensor accuracy is 0.73 psi. 507 Sensor replacement battery is the CR1632. The 510 Sensor replacement battery is done by the manufacturer.

These systems have a sleep mode and may not display correct pressures at the start of the day:

TireSafe Guard - Sensor detects wheel motion. No motion the sensor signals every 2 hours unless there is an issue and warning. The monitor updates during operation every 3 to 5 minutes unless there is a warning. Pressure indication should be accurate within the previous 2 hours. The sensor accuracy is adjusted to match the users preference as in to match the users tire gauge. Sensor replacement battery is the CR1632.

Tire Tracker - Sensor detects wheel motion. The system continually monitors tires and immediately notifies of issues. The TT-400 requires motion and 20 - 30 minute delay before correct pressure is displayed. The TT-500 has a reset button and 10 minute delay before correct pressure is displayed. The sensor accuracy is 2.7% psi. Sensor replacement battery is the CR1632.

Hawks Head - Sensor reports continuously unless there is 0 pressure on the sensor as in removed from the tire. Monitor detects vehicle motion. No motion for 15 minutes monitor shuts down. The system continually monitors tires and immediately notifies issues. Correct pressure is indicated 5 minutes after monitor activation. The sensor accuracy is 1.5 psi. Sensor replacement battery is the CR1632.

Of these I reviewed only 2 of the 6 had the sensors at the wheel sense motion. On one the monitor sensed motion and for 3 the was no motion sensing at all. Only one system, Tire Tracker TT-400, would not be accurate until the vehicle is in motion. All the others showed pressure at start up with a delay of zero time up to 10 minutes. The TireSafe Guard monitor showed pressures available within the last 2 hour window. There was no information as to time delay once the wheel was in motion. Refresh rate varies between 2 and 5 minutes for all of the systems. The most accurate according to the manufacturers specs is the TST system. The least accurate is a toss up between the PressurePro at 5% psi and the TireSafe Guard which is based on user input for accuracy. Only one, the PressurePro, required returning the sensor to the manufacturer for replacement. TST 510 system also requires manufacturer battery replacement but the TST 507 series as well as all the other systems use the CR1632 battery in the sensor. All systems except the PressurPro offered a range extender if needed. PressurePro may offer it but I didn't see one on their website.

So after all that you can make your own decision which system is best for you. Most importantly with technology available today a TPMS is a great investment for safety and damage prevention. Price out the cost of replacing components damaged due to tire belts ripping out your wheel well vs a good quality system and you'll know what I mean.