Tire Pressure Monitoring

[tim5055 120]

I consider myself a little over the top when it comes to towing and equipment. Before every trip I torque the lug nuts, check air pressure in all tires and generally make sure everything is working. This has served me well all the years we had the pop up.

With the purchase of a 35' 6,000 pound (dry) trailer I took a friends suggestion and purchased a tire pressure monitoring system. After doing research and talking to people whose opinions I,trust I agreed that I needed one and settled on the PressurePro TPMS offered by http://www.tirepressuremonitor.com

Yesterday I towed 12 hours from SC to South Florida. About 10 hours into the trip the alarm went off showing my L/R tire on the truck was at 60 pounds (should be 80). There was a FlyingJ at the next exit so I pulled off and checked. The tire looked the same as all the others, the normal "kick" made it feel full, but the true test with a gauge showed 60 pounds. Sigh...... I topped it off to 80 and continued on. I arrived at the campground at 6:30AM and jumped into the trailer to take a nap until the office opened at 9. About 8:30 I got up and went to the truck to find the alarm going off again. 60 pounds in the L/R again. Again it looked fine but the gauge doesn't lie. I checked in, set up and needed another nap. Afterwards I went to a tire store to find it was now 40 PSI! Even at 40 it looked the same as the others.

It turns out I picked up a nail which was easily repaired. Without the TPMS I would have continued to drive because it looked fine. With the larger trailer I'm sure it wouldn't have been long before that tire was destroyed due to under inflation. It saved me from sitting on the side of road.

[McMonsters..........Kelly 48]

Good to hear you made it safe!  I got some after we had a blow out on 95, never want to go through that again!

[tim5055 120]

A blowout is what I really want to avoid. They paid for themselves already in my book.

I'm just surprised that there was no difference in how the tire looked between 80, 60, and 40 pounds

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

I recently invested in a TPMS and have been pleased with it the last 3 trips I used it on. Fortunately I have not had any alarms come on, but it gives me a little more peace knowing it is there.
Oh, and I am also the guy checking lug nuts and air pressures before I leave somewhere... I'll take the extra 2 - 3 minutes for that little bit of assurance.

[fortpartyof4 108]

I consider myself a little over the top when it comes to towing and equipment. Before every trip I torque the lug nuts, check air pressure in all tires and generally make sure everything is working. This has served me well all the years we had the pop up.

With the purchase of a 35' 6,000 pound (dry) trailer I took a friends suggestion and purchased a tire pressure monitoring system. After doing research and talking to people whose opinions I,trust I agreed that I needed one and settled on the PressurePro TPMS offered by http://www.tirepressuremonitor.com

Yesterday I towed 12 hours from SC to South Florida. About 10 hours into the trip the alarm went off showing my L/R tire on the truck was at 60 pounds (should be 80). There was a FlyingJ at the next exit so I pulled off and checked. The tire looked the same as all the others, the normal "kick" made it feel full, but the true test with a gauge showed 60 pounds. Sigh...... I topped it off to 80 and continued on. I arrived at the campground at 6:30AM and jumped into the trailer to take a nap until the office opened at 9. About 8:30 I got up and went to the truck to find the alarm going off again. 60 pounds in the L/R again. Again it looked fine but the gauge doesn't lie. I checked in, set up and needed another nap. Afterwards I went to a tire store to find it was now 40 PSI! Even at 40 it looked the same as the others.

It turns out I picked up a nail which was easily repaired. Without the TPMS I would have continued to drive because it looked fine. With the larger trailer I'm sure it wouldn't have been long before that tire was destroyed due to under inflation. It saved me from sitting on the side of road.

 

Excellent advice.  Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

I will be looking into getting one of these.

[Davydee 3]

Just FYI: For those of you looking into this, TPMSs are recommended to be used on metal valve stems (and I think it's worth that small investment though all our leaks have, so far, been bad valve stems).  David  

[tim5055 120]

Just FYI: For those of you looking into this, TPMSs are recommended to be used on metal valve stems (and I think it's worth that small investment though all our leaks have, so far, been bad valve stems). David

pressure Pro says you can continue to use your rubber stems, but recommends metal with new tires.

From their web site: Valve stems: PressurePro works equally well with rubber or metal stems. Most stems have a rubber seat that are subject to the same deterioration as tires and should be changed at the same interval. We recommend metal stems at your next tire replacement.

[mommy rainbo.....Bo 41]

Good to know. I am amazed at the stuff I have learned here. I will be ahead of the game when I finally do buy a TT.

[McMonsters..........Kelly 48]

I did notice that occasionally if a big rig passed by my sensors would go crazy for a bit, I'm guessing same frequency.  Freaked me out the first time or two!