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Old 09-19-2017, 09:27 PM   #1
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2018 28' International
Renton , Washington
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TPMS to the Rescue!

It's not the Marathon's fault, I swear! Today, tooling along at 65 on I-82 in Washington, our TPMS went bonkers showing the pressure on the right rear trailer tire dropping fast. By the time we pulled over it was down to 23psi. I assumed one of my 4YO Marathon's had suffered a blowout as one of my winter projects is to replace them all for prevention of such an event. However, it turns out we picked up some sharp metal that sliced cleanly through the tread.

Not having practiced this in my driveway I was pleased that it took only 30 minutes from start to finish to get the front tire up on blocks, remove the flat, drop the spare and install it and finally be back on the road again.

We stopped at the next Les Schwab in Sunnyside, WA where they repaired the tire, remounted it, checked it for leaks and reinstalled it on the trailer in another quick 30 minutes. All for free and with a smile! Les Schwab in Sunnyside rocks big time!

Lessons learned:
1) TPMS quickly alerted us to the flat, possibly saving thou$ands in damage if we had continued driving on the flat.(Thanks Ryan Lex)
2) If you haven't practiced changing a tire, at least read through the instructions and make sure you understand every step. We had a sunny afternoon today. Had it been a rainy night, getting Everything done might have been harder.
3) Make sure you have enough blocks to get the second tire off the ground.
4) Thankfully I had a long breaker bar which made quick work of loosening the lug nuts. (Maybe I should have a torque wrench to keep from over-tightening the lug nuts)
5) It's not that hard if you have the right tools.
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:31 PM   #2
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I keep both a breaker and a torque wrench for this purpose. Been thinking about TPMS and this gives me more encouragement to pony up.
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:42 PM   #3
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I've certainly experienced the joy of a flat and I've intended to add the TPMS with a system that uses an APP on the Iphone. Glad it went well and that you accomplished the task in record time. When it happens you kind of groan and get on with it!
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Old 09-20-2017, 04:27 AM   #4
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Appreciate you sharing this experience. We're at the point of making this decision for our tires. We'll be adding these to the GY Endurance install--too many other priorities for me to do the 16" Michelins this time. Seems like cheap insurance to monitor them via TPMS.

Did you get an Endurance to replace the Marathon? And have you settled on what you're replacing yours with this winter?

Thanks again!!!
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:14 AM   #5
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Nice to hear all went well. TPMS are worth the money. I understand time wear was not the cause of the flat but yes you are about do for a new set of tires.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:36 AM   #6
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Les Schwab excels at customer service, truly. I have had them fix flats for me several times, with no charge...and each time they had to fully remove the tire from the wheel. It is just too bad they carry only crap tires, and that they are such a large player in off-shoring tire manufacturing to the lowest contract bidder.
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Old 09-20-2017, 11:26 AM   #7
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Another proponent of TPMS ... pick your brand. We have been using PressurePros for 10 years. They will not sudden catastrophic failures like a blowout, but they will save your bacon when you develop a leak bad enough to lose pressure in motion. Ours have saved us going to a complete flat and potential shredding (=potential damage) twice in those 10 years. It's like any other form of "insurance" ... feels like a waste of money ... until it isn't.
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Old 09-20-2017, 11:29 AM   #8
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Any recommendations for a specific TPMS setup?
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Old 09-20-2017, 12:12 PM   #9
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I've used Pressure Pro for several years.

Saved us once when we had a slow leak. Able to get to a tire store for a quick wheel replacement.

Wouldn't be without TPMS, especially with a single axle trailer.
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Old 09-20-2017, 12:32 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveMc View Post
Did you get an Endurance to replace the Marathon? And have you settled on what you're replacing yours with this winter?

Thanks again!!!
Dave, the tire guy didn't know if he could fix it until he saw the inside. After pulling the tire off he determined it could be fixed so we didn't have to buy one on the fly. Unfortunately Les Schwab doesn't carry Goodyear and we will go with the new Endurance tire so we would have had to find a local Discount Tire to get a replacement. If they carried Goodyear I think we would have bought four right on the spot since it's already in our winter plans. I think it's important to get your tires from a national chain so if you have a problem on the road you can get service quickly and conveniently. I would consider Costco but they don't normally stock trailer tires so anywhere we had problems, they would have to order them - and the local Costcos won't deal with tires while mounted on the trailer so for me they are out of the running.

I don't have any comparison to other TPMS systems. The EEZTire system works well but occasionally loses connection with the senders which I don't know if it's common with other systems. It's easy to reestablish connection. Generally not a big problem except for once when we lost readings from both rear tires at the same time so I finally pulled over to see if I had lost the whole axel along the way. Somewhat comical but curiosity got the best of me.
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Old 09-20-2017, 12:55 PM   #11
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TPMS to the Rescue

I have used the TST TPMS 507 cap kit for my 25-foot FC and it works well and is pretty easy to set up. I would highly recommend it.
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Old 09-20-2017, 02:59 PM   #12
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Is everyone that has TPMS using all steel tire valves. Mine are only part steel.

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Old 09-20-2017, 03:10 PM   #13
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Is everyone that has TPMS using all steel tire valves. Mine are only part steel.

Rick
Either all steel or all brass, except for the sealing washer.
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Old 09-20-2017, 04:54 PM   #14
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I use Tire Tracker TT500 on our '99 30' Airstream Land Yacht motor home. Easy to set up, as are most brands, and very happy with our choice. This product sems to be the TPMS of choice for Roger Marble, of RV Tire Safety blog.
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Old 09-20-2017, 04:55 PM   #15
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Happy TST with steel valves user for the past 3 plus years. Last month I was alerted to a slow leak before any damage was done. Culprit was a roofing nail. Picked up somewhere around Pensacola. It made a confirmed believer out of me.
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Old 09-20-2017, 06:01 PM   #16
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On the last trip we had (Texas to Mich.) I got an alert on my phone 15 minutes from our home on the way out. I had checked the tires before we pulled out so I didn’t believe what it was telling me. But I could see the pressure getting lower and lower so I turned back towards our DIscount Tire store. Sure enough there was a nail in the tire. I had hazard insurance on the tires so 1 hour later we were back on the road with a new tire.

We got the TPMS from Rand McNally.
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Old 09-20-2017, 06:07 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lara Me View Post
I keep both a breaker and a torque wrench for this purpose. Been thinking about TPMS and this gives me more encouragement to pony up.
LARA;
Add me to the list of: "Me Too! Me too!"

For over ten years of RVing, I have NEVER had a flat; relying on those little valve caps that show a red band when pressure is low. That could be spotted on your walk around.

Then last May, I bit the bullet, and purchased a Tire Minder TPMS. ($400+ with taxes.)
Heading off to a rally in June, I installed the 'gizmo' and took off for the weekend.
While on 'The 401' at 100 KPH; Within one hour, the TPM started beeping and telling of a low tire.
I had picked up a screw in the tire, R/H aft.
A call to 'Coach Net' brought a local service guy to change the tire, and get me on my way.
That little $400+ monitor just saved me several thousand dollars in repairs.

YAH! Get A TPMS! There a quite a number of members in this Forum who will confirm what I say.
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Old 09-20-2017, 06:43 PM   #18
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Old 09-20-2017, 07:05 PM   #19
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Also - Get a Trailer Aid! Makes short work of getting the wheel off the ground! When I upgraded to Michelins I made the tire dealer use the Trailer Aid as they were very unsure of where to jack even though I told them. Took a bit longer for all four but worth it!

Also have a TST 507 TPMS with pass through sensors. Very nice system.
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Old 09-20-2017, 07:18 PM   #20
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Peace of mind

I installed the tst 507 and really like them. Have been quite a few miles with no issues. One thing is when you have a tire monitor you don't have to check the air pressures with a gauge prior to departure - just turn on your monitor before you head out. Saves some time.
With the TST 507 you get temperatures which could give you a heads up if the wheel bearings are getting hot.
A real peace of mind tool.
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