TireMinder w/ Bambi necessary?

[Vagabonds_2]

Originally Posted by KKbambi

I had a blow out on a 19’ Bambi on I 84 between Pendleton and Baker City Oregon. No tragedy but put the fear of god in me an the wife. We decided to get a 23FC, a double axel ,and a monitor we fell much more secure now.
Definitely get a good monitor, at the least, an check those tires at every stop.

Yes, our AS dealer recommended the Tire Minder A1A, our original one shot craps, see: https://www.minderresearch.com/produ...-and-trailers/

[steilkurve]

While I have yet to do it myself on my Bambi, I agree. Get ´em. Note they will require metal valves be installed first.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Get one that also alerts for over temps, that is also a good indication of an imminent tire failure.
They do little in predicting 'blowouts'.
FWIW...We use a EEZTire system with a signal booster.👍
POI...we survived 28 Seasons without one...YMMV

Bob
🇺🇸

While it is true that TPMS do not warn of impending belt separations, The Temperature warning is really a warning on hub bearing or break problems that can heat up the wheel. The increase in temperature of the wheel can trigger the TPM sensor as the metal conducts heat much better than rubber. Rubber is actually an insulator and the warm air in the tire air chamber is actually cooled with heat transfer to the outside through the wheel.
In testing I have confirmed that the TPM sensor is actually cooled by external air so you can't, and shouldn't depend on increased temperature readings to try and predict tire failure. The pressure will build faster and the TPM sensor does report that increase quickly.



RE tire failures in general. Did you miss THIS post on why tires fail?


BTW doing a "Free Spin" inspection can many times reveal increased radial and lateral runout and an impending belt separations caused by Interply Shear.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by GammaDog

That is helpful marital guidance in every situation. In this case, it’s true also. IMO it’s more important to monitor tire pressures on a single axle trailer since you’ve go no redundancy. There are some serious “tire guys” who hang out here. They may know better, but my impression is that “blow outs” typically follow a leak or over heating that a tire monitor might warn you about.

Well you need to remember that Belt Separations are the result of Interply Shear forces acting on older rubber. The Interply Shear forces are higher in multi-axle trailers than is single axle trailers.
Not sure how to balance the increased probability of belt separation due to higher Interply Shear forces of multi-axle trailers against probable trailer damage.

[janicemd]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Here is an example of a tire on an AS that was checked just 50 miles earlier.
The tire had a slow leak but it lost enough air in less than an hour to destroy itself and do damage to the AS.
There are a umber of systems out there. Do not buy just on price. Get a Lifetime warranty. Get a system from a dealer that knows RVs (Not ebay or Amazon) and has a web site and phone number. I have run what I believe is the only direct comparison test of TPMS on my RV and published the data for all to see. It shows that the systems give reasonable pressure info. I also have posted how to set the warning levels to be what I believe to be the most useful.

What an interesting thread! Just checking, is this the article you referenced? https://www.rvtiresafety.net/search/...S%20comparison

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by janicemd

What an interesting thread! Just checking, is this the article you referenced? https://www.rvtiresafety.net/search/...S%20comparison

yes that is the comparison. Guess you did a search and found the post. I do wonder why no one else has run a direct comparison of TPMS systems.

[Popsx4]

I really appreciate everyone’s experience and thoughts on TPMS.

I have a 2016 F150 for a Tow vehicle, which has a built in tire pressure monitoring system.

I was planning to purchase the TireMinder A1A for our new AS schedule to pick up in April- do I / should I purchase monitors (valve sensors) for my TV? Obviously it drives up the cost but if there is a benefit I will consider it. Thoughts?

[Mollysdad]

Yes, I'd get it. Especially on a single axle trailer.
I had two blowouts on a single axle trailer and neither could be explained. One was 20 miles into a trip in a town, the other was on I-70 but I saw and heard nothing. Not only did it do damage, but then I was forced to find a new tire and rim in strange places.

[GammaDog]

It’s a matter of personal choice. I have a 10 sensor TST system for the truck (4), trailer (4 for me, 2 for your Bambi) and spare tires on each.

My Tundra has digital, tire-specific TPMS on four wheels.

By adding sensors there anyway I get temperatures on all four truck tires and alarms at pressures I pick (35 lbs) rather that what Toyota picked (who knows what that is!), I monitor my spare which Toyota doesn’t and it’s all integrated so I can use the truck’s display for a different function (typically the trailer brake controller while towing). For the cost of five sensors, that’s worth it to me.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

Yes, I'd get it. Especially on a single axle trailer.
I had two blowouts on a single axle trailer and neither could be explained. One was 20 miles into a trip in a town, the other was on I-70 but I saw and heard nothing. Not only did it do damage, but then I was forced to find a new tire and rim in strange places.

What tire company store did you present the failed tires to for their examination. Many managers have some knowledge in examining failed tires. As you know If pictures are provides I can sometimes provide a probable reason for the failure unless the tire has beet too severely damaged from running flat and the evidence is spread along miles of highway. One advantage to having TPMS i you can get a warning as son as air is lost and if you can stop soon enough the evidence is retained for examination.