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kbmwrs · 08-01-2018, 08:46 PM

So just got back from 2.5 months on the road going from CA-LA-MI-IL and all the states in between.

This was our first trip in our new for us '16 International 25FB. Before we left I tried to prepare as best I could. One of those preps was TPMS for the trailer.
Our last days driving across the salt flats of UT my wife notices one tire low pressure. I check and refill with air (had a compressor too). Again the TPMS warns low pressure. We get to an exit slowly and find a screw in the tire.
Replace with the spare and we were off...all in 105 temps.
Stopped at next exit to check lug torque and came upon a 5th wheel changing a tire which was in shreds with trailer damage. Offered some help and was very very happy we had TPMS.....

Get it...it works.

devolo · 08-01-2018, 09:13 PM

What brand of monitor? What's the consensus here for the best one to get?

hoagy_007 · 08-01-2018, 09:38 PM

I have the eeztire TPMS anti-theft monitor. Have yet to use but would be interested to hear others experiences with it. I also have a Viar air compressor, for situation like you had where the pressure is low or other issues.

Mollysdad · 08-01-2018, 09:55 PM

I went with the TST TPMS, cap sensors.
It was a combination of the color monitor and their customer service.

Second choice would have been Dill, because they're a leader in valve stems.

Wconley · 08-01-2018, 11:41 PM

We have Eeztire as well. Saved our bacon two years ago when we drove over some metal in the road. We got a low pressure warning and by the time we found a safe place to pull off and got back to the trailer the tire was still losing air. 30 minutes to change the tire (first time I had to change a tire but I had rehearsed at home). 30 minutes for Les Schwab to repair the puncture and mount it back on our trailer and we were on our way with a repaired tire and no trailer damage. That one incident paid for the monitor system and I’m a believer.

ShinyPete · 08-02-2018, 03:49 AM

Excellent! kbmwrs shows us exactly why a system like this is important, and they avoided a blowout and almost certain Airstream damage. Aluminum can be tender when beat up by 55 mph slinging rubber.

We put a Doran system with screw-on cap sensors on our Pete before our Summer travels started. No problems on our 2000 mile loop in early June up into WV and back thankfully. The piece of mind of being able to glance at the monitor and know what our coach tires were doing was awesome.

ROBERT CROSS · 08-02-2018, 06:06 AM

Another vote for EZtire...1000mi on our install, couldn't be more pleased...mostly.
85-90degree ambient, 60mph all 4 GTE's within 1-3 psi's and 2-4 degrees. Tells me that the loading must be pretty close.
One drawback, the mount needed a bit of a mod to get it properly on the dash W/O vibration.

Bob
🇺🇸

smithcreek · 08-02-2018, 06:44 AM

We have the TST, works great, but reports sound good on most systems so whatever you decide should work fine.

sleuthin3 · 08-02-2018, 09:53 AM

We also have the EEZ Tire TPMS; I like it and it's easy to use as its brand name suggests. While preparing to leave Flagstaff a few weeks back the TPMS alerted me to the front driver's side tire being low; it registered at 72 PSI cold when it should have been 80 PSI. The three other tires were fine. Long story short, the tire wouldn't take air so I changed it
and later learned the tire stem was broken. The system certainly gives me a piece of mind while driving. And I concur w SmithCreek: Any system (brand) is better than no system.

MikeandCarol · 08-02-2018, 10:09 AM

TST. They have excellent customer service! Mike

Jkohnle · 08-02-2018, 10:19 AM

We too had a similar experience... earlier this year we bought a new FC and immediately installed the TST system. On the day of departure for our very first weekend trip I pulled the trailer out of our nearby storage to bring it home to load up, and somewhere along the way picked up a brad type nail. It was a slow leak and I would have had no idea i had a problem until I was on the road, well on my way, and in a much more precarious position to deal with it. Instead, I had a leak indication and was able to drive to the tire store for a quick fix. I'll always have such a system. One thing for us all to keep in mind is that the majority of traumatic tire failure can be attributed to under-inflation (especially in high heat conditions) or tire age (beyond 4-years).

LBelle · 08-02-2018, 10:29 AM

I hear the value of a TPMS system but am still wondering just how "needed" they are on a Bambi, rather than your tandems... I think I would (knock on wood - no tire/wheel problems in 10,000 miles the past 5 years) immediately notice a flat if one occurred and I diligently check the PSI at each stop along the way so should catch any slow leaks. But maybe I am deluding myself??? And I am open to being convinced otherwise.
Oh yes, my TV has a built in system for its tires.

sprusegoose · 08-02-2018, 10:49 AM

Single axle"s TPMS are more important. First sign of a problem is reworked AL. Tires go down faster as there is no additional support from an additional tire.

thewarden · 08-02-2018, 11:49 AM

I have been using the TST system for several years on 3 different trailers. I like the fact that they monitor temps as well as pressures. They have saved my bacon on a couple of occasions. The last was a temp alarm on a single tire yet the pressure was normal. Got out, looked at the tire and could see it the tread was in the process of separating from the tire. Had I not been alerted to an issue not related to tire pressure this would surely have ended with a blowout and damage to the trailer.

VaTravelers · 08-02-2018, 12:22 PM

We have the EEZ Tire TPMS on our 2017 28' International. We use the cap sensors and have had pretty good luck with it. I started having connection issues after about a year of use but changed the batteries and it solved the problem. I also use it on my F250 TV. On our last trip towing on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I started to note higher than normal temps in my TV right rear tire. I then noticed the front right was also climbing but not as much. I was careful not to use the brakes excessively but the temps continued to climb. I surmised I had calipers that were not releasing fully. By the time I was able to get to a safe pull-over I had 190 degrees and smoking on the right rear and 145 degrees on the front right. I was also getting a violent shimmy when I was applying the brakes. I let them cool down and made it to my Galax destination. My TV is a 2005 with only 57K on it, and I expect the calipers are corroded so I am replacing them. My TPMS alerted me I had an issue and sure enough I was. Highly recommend one for piece of mind if nothing else.

bradt · 08-02-2018, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaTravelers

We have the EEZ Tire TPMS on our 2017 28' International. We use the cap sensors and have had pretty good luck with it. I started having connection issues after about a year of use but changed the batteries and it solved the problem. I also use it on my F250 TV. On our last trip towing on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I started to note higher than normal temps in my TV right rear tire. I then noticed the front right was also climbing but not as much. I was careful not to use the brakes excessively but the temps continued to climb. I surmised I had calipers that were not releasing fully. By the time I was able to get to a safe pull-over I had 190 degrees and smoking on the right rear and 145 degrees on the front right. I was also getting a violent shimmy when I was applying the brakes. I let them cool down and made it to my Galax destination. My TV is a 2005 with only 57K on it, and I expect the calipers are corroded so I am replacing them. My TPMS alerted me I had an issue and sure enough I was. Highly recommend one for piece of mind if nothing else.

I have a Dill system and really like it. They provide a remote antenna that I installed at rear of TV. It picks up the tire signals from quite a distance away, so when hitched up there is a solid signal. The display just constantly cycles thru the pressures and temps and is easy to read. No false alarms ever. Very pleased. I got mine from Discount Tire.
Brad

NWRVR · 08-02-2018, 01:03 PM

TST three years, excellent.

BJL170 · 08-02-2018, 01:29 PM

We use Tire minder and it’s been good as well

Razorhog · 08-02-2018, 02:27 PM

I have used the Tire-SafeGuard TPMS for a couple of years. I DO NOT recommend it or the company, which in my case, has demonstrated poor customer service. I will be replacing it with another brand.

Mollysdad · 08-02-2018, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LBelle

I diligently check the PSI at each stop along the way so should catch any slow leaks. But maybe I am deluding myself???

Before I owned the Airstream I had a motorhome and towed a motorcycle trailer. I experienced two blowouts. In both cases, I never saw anything in the road, or felt anything. In the rear view camera everything looked normal. Until a trucker pulled alongside and pointed back.
In both cases the tire was just two rubber beads on a beat up rim, and the fender was gone! So forget evidence like a nail.
One blowout happened within 20 miles of packing up, so it wasn't heat related.
Here's the rub. You're two thousand miles from home and you suddenly need to find a new spare. When you get home you need to find a new fender. And worse, every little thump or road noise has you paranoid that you just had another failure. I couldn't see the tires in my mirrors, so I'd take an exit and weave back and forth to see the tires on the trailer. I started carrying two spares and two jacks.