Tire pressure monitors

[docjohn]

I am looking at the many tire pressure monitors on the market. I would like some feedback on experiences and recommendations for a 5er.

[InPursuit]

Originally Posted by docjohn

I am looking at the many tire pressure monitors on the market. I would like some feedback on experiences and recommendations for a 5er.

I start with this





and back it up with this:

[Dutch & Diana Irrgang]

Originally Posted by docjohn

I am looking at the many tire pressure monitors on the market. I would like some feedback on experiences and recommendations for a 5er.

We had a brand last year that just didn't work for us. 2 months ago we decided to try again and we were super impressed with the TST TPMS system. I saved us within 380 miles by letting us know a 5 year old valve stem had failed and we were losing air in that tire.
A good product at a reasonable price. Diana

[Ray,IN]

I just purchased a TST TPMS. I haven't traveled with it yet, my evaluation will follow in a month or so. After reading the instructions twice (I'm kinda old ya-know), the monitor was very easy to program and understand the display information. I read the advertising literature from about 6 different TPMS mfgrs., narrowed the field to Hawhshead and TST. I found one person using a Hawkshead, and several using a TST. These two companies seemed to provide the most bang for my buck.

[TexasPSDX]

I bought the TST system. I sent then some questions via their web site and got a call from Dan, President of TST the next day. He answered all my questions and then some, and I ordered from him on the phone then and there. Pulled 1 short trip since install and impressed with data.

[1ciderdog]

I bought the Doran Pressure pro maybe five or six years ago for a different motor home and moved it to this one. I've not had problems wiht it and it has alerted when it should letting me know an inside dual was soft and losing air. There are others on the market and I would look at them all again if I needed a new one. The only irritant is if the pressure is set at a low elevation near sea level and you end up over night in a high elevation the alert may sound in the middle of the night - higher elevation and cold air combined do lower the pressure a bit. I turn mine off at night. A great thing about these is the ability to check the pressure at any point during your trip by pushing a button.

[Ray,IN]

It kinda sounds like you have the alarm points set too close. I have mine set to 15 psi above my set pressure, which in my case is 80psi. At a 2-3 psi pressure rise for each 5,000ft in elevationTire Tech Information - The Influence of Altitude Changes on Tire Pressure, I would have to be at 35,000ft before pressure reached alarm level. Since my TST displays constantly I can watch pressure and temperature levels before they reach alarm points.

[frankparisi]

I got the TST system + it does work well. I DID have to get the metal valve stems as it did not work with the old rubber + metal ones on my 5er.
I set the high pressure at 15% above my 65psi max tire inflation but going from sea level + 70* to 4,000ft + 114* the pressure went up to 82psi with tire temp of 122*.
That was driving at 60 -65mph.
I need to contact TST to find out what kind of pressures are dangerous.
Probably a case of TOO much information;-) Without the monitor I wouldn't have thought of checking the tire pressure!

[Dutch & Diana Irrgang]

One thing you can check is to see what pressure your brand of tire is rated for. Knowing that should allow you to relax a bit as you watch the temperatures and PSI change as you are driving down the road. Diana

Originally Posted by frankparisi

I got the TST system + it does work well. I DID have to get the metal valve stems as it did not work with the old rubber + metal ones on my 5er.
I set the high pressure at 15% above my 65psi max tire inflation but going from sea level + 70* to 4,000ft + 114* the pressure went up to 82psi with tire temp of 122*.
That was driving at 60 -65mph.
I need to contact TST to find out what kind of pressures are dangerous.
Probably a case of TOO much information;-) Without the monitor I wouldn't have thought of checking the tire pressure!

[micd]

Originally Posted by frankparisi

I need to contact TST to find out what kind of pressures are dangerous.
Probably a case of TOO much information;-) Without the monitor I wouldn't have thought of checking the tire pressure!

Do post what you find out. I also have the TST system and followed their recommendation on 15% high for the alarm. On a hot day we blew right through that so not sure if my tire is overheating or if the 15% guideline is just too low.

Michelle

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by frankparisi

I got the TST system + it does work well. I DID have to get the metal valve stems as it did not work with the old rubber + metal ones on my 5er.
I set the high pressure at 15% above my 65psi max tire inflation but going from sea level + 70* to 4,000ft + 114* the pressure went up to 82psi with tire temp of 122*.
That was driving at 60 -65mph.
I need to contact TST to find out what kind of pressures are dangerous.
Probably a case of TOO much information;-) Without the monitor I wouldn't have thought of checking the tire pressure!

Unless you are overloading your tires, seeing 30 to 60F increase in RUNNING temperature above ambient temp is not out of the ordinary. There will also be about a 2% increase in pressure for each 10F rise in ambient temperature even if not driving. Altitude increase provides an additional minor psi increase too.

However the pressure you need to be concerned with is the COLD pressure. Cold means not having been driven for 3 to 4 hours and not in direct sun. Morning is the best time to check.

VALVE stem rubber parts should be replaced when you get new tires i.e. 6 to 8 years. Too often people forget that the rubber in the valves gets old just like the rubber in the tires.

[wingnut60]

Have had the TST system on my trailer for two trips now--took a little while to get the pressure alarm points set high enough to account for driving on hot surfaces for hours, and to account for cool side at 10000ft altitude after setting all night. My 120psi goes to about 136 on long drives. Temps rise accordingly, kind of neat to see that also. And differential on shady side from sunny side. Dan Covington will call back/email quickly on any questions.
Joe

[edj]

Originally Posted by wingnut60

Have had the TST system on my trailer for two trips now--took a little while to get the pressure alarm points set high enough to account for driving on hot surfaces for hours, and to account for cool side at 10000ft altitude after setting all night. My 120psi goes to about 136 on long drives. Temps rise accordingly, kind of neat to see that also. And differential on shady side from sunny side. Dan Covington will call back/email quickly on any questions.
Joe

How do you know if you are setting the high pressure into the range where the tire is liable to "pop"? I guess the problem is that I do not know how high the pressure can go and still be OK.
I bought a TST system recently, but have not hooked it up yet. Still haven't changed to tire valves to bolt-in metal type.

[powderman]

Anyone try the system that uses internal sensors?? I really don't much care for the idea of adding a sensor to the valve stem. TIA