TPMS saves the day

[MN-Mark]

I had a couple extra TST507 cap sensors so I installed them on my snowmobile trailer. Last Friday we were heading to a friends cabin when the monitor alerted me to a fast leak. As luck would have it, we were right next to a parking lot so I pulled into the lot to change the tire.

I hope I never get an alarm on the 5er but it’s good to know that the system works. And it saved me from changing the tire on a dark narrow county road in the middle of nowhere.

It convinced my wife that some of the gadgets that I buy are actually useful!

[Redapple63]

Hey Mark, so glad it worked out. Blowouts are bad enough, but on utility, travel trailers and fivers, it can wreak havoc. Glad you got through it safe!

[theclarks]

I think I need to replace my TPMS, last we had a blow out (we heard it go) on our 337, TPMS didn't go off for another 10 minutes. . . . . .

[Hoopy Frood]

I think I need to replace my TPMS, last we had a blow out (we heard it go) on our 337, TPMS didn't go off for another 10 minutes. . . . . .

Can you pass on the name of the system? Knowing what works well, and what doesn't, helps everyone.

[theclarks]

Can you pass on the name of the system? Knowing what works well, and what doesn't, helps everyone.

Tire Tracker TT-500 (non flow thru), it's also in my signature . . . . .

[xxn5ac]

About 17 years ago my wife decided to stay at home with out 2-year old while I took our 6 & 8 year olds camping. We went to Colorado from Texas. On the trip back home, I stopped at a pizza joint in Dumas, Texas for some lunch. The kids and I piled out of the vehicle and started walking inside. I turned to have a look at the rig and ... I couldn't believe what I saw: the front tire was there but the rear tire and wheel were GONE. I just stood there dumbfounded and looked for a minute. I walked over to the trailer and three of the lug bolts were missing and the remaining ones were bent. This was on a 36' travel trailer.

It's a really long story what happened next and I won't bore you with all the details, but I had to get new lug bolts (in Amarillo several miles away) and replace the tire. I had to order a replacement aluminum wheel. After that, I always used a TPMS and I'm sure glad the other tire didn't blow.

[Hoopy Frood]

About 17 years ago my wife decided to stay at home with out 2-year old while I took our 6 & 8 year olds camping. We went to Colorado from Texas. On the trip back home, I stopped at a pizza joint in Dumas, Texas for some lunch. The kids and I piled out of the vehicle and started walking inside. I turned to have a look at the rig and ... I couldn't believe what I saw: the front tire was there but the rear tire and wheel were GONE. I just stood there dumbfounded and looked for a minute. I walked over to the trailer and three of the lug bolts were missing and the remaining ones were bent. This was on a 36' travel trailer.

It's a really long story what happened next and I won't bore you with all the details, but I had to get new lug bolts (in Amarillo several miles away) and replace the tire. I had to order a replacement aluminum wheel. After that, I always used a TPMS and I'm sure glad the other tire didn't blow.

Well, depending on the TPMS brand, it may not have done any good. The TST brand has an hour delay between when the monitor loses the signal from the sensor, and alerting you to that fact. That's something to be aware of.

[tonygoncalves]

About 17 years ago my wife decided to stay at home with out 2-year old while I took our 6 & 8 year olds camping. We went to Colorado from Texas. On the trip back home, I stopped at a pizza joint in Dumas, Texas for some lunch. The kids and I piled out of the vehicle and started walking inside. I turned to have a look at the rig and ... I couldn't believe what I saw: the front tire was there but the rear tire and wheel were GONE. I just stood there dumbfounded and looked for a minute. I walked over to the trailer and three of the lug bolts were missing and the remaining ones were bent. This was on a 36' travel trailer.

It's a really long story what happened next and I won't bore you with all the details, but I had to get new lug bolts (in Amarillo several miles away) and replace the tire. I had to order a replacement aluminum wheel. After that, I always used a TPMS and I'm sure glad the other tire didn't blow.

Same thing happened to me, and I had TPMS installed, but didn't make a difference. By design the sensors read pressure and temperature every second, but only transmit every 30 minutes or so to save battery. The receiver usually waits until two missed "check-ins", so up to an hour, before it will state Sensor Missing error. So if the wheel goes flying off but the pressure on the tire was ok when it left, the TPMS receiver won't know about it.
So in my situation, nearly the same as yours, we pulled into the campsite only to notice our front left wheel was completely missing, along with all the lug nuts. The bolts were fine. About 30 minutes later, just as I finished installing the spare tire, the TPMS finally alerted me to the missing sensor. My issue was I didn't properly torque the nuts down earlier that year when I serviced the wet bolts, so the nuts worked themselves loose over the next couple months.

[tonygoncalves]

I asked the TPMS manufacturer about this, (TireMinder) and they said they could design a system in which the sensors are constantly transmitting to the receiver, but then the batteries would either be big enough to throw off the balance of your tires, or you'd be changing the current sized batteries every few days. At least they were nice enough to send me a replacement TPMS transmitter for free.

Either way, I've now learned to check the torque on the nuts before every trip.

[xxn5ac]

Either way, I've now learned to check the torque on the nuts before every trip.

Yeah it's a hard lesson to learn for some When I was a kid -- maybe 13 or 14 -- we were driving a pop-up through the mountains in Colorado and lost a wheel. Of course there was only one on that side of the trailer so the rotor and axle hit the pavement, carved a nice slot into the asphalt and broke the flooring in the trailer. What a mess. And still I didn't torque my lug nuts as an adult. My mom constantly tells me "check your lug nuts." Well with our new GD 390RK, I went ahead and purchased a torque wrench and a breaker bar and will carry them with me!