If you can't decide whether you should invest in TPMS

[nadkaw1957]

For those of you who are considering adding TPMS to your trailer but are still on the fence: I left Reno Thursday morning for a 450 mile trip to Red Rock Canyon, a few miles west of Las Vegas. Before I left, I checked my tire pressure, as I always do before a trip and topped them off at 65 lbs. I check my TPMS often when I’m traveling, and, especially in 90 degree temps, the tire pressure usually rises to about 70 lbs. About 100 miles from my destination, I looked up at the monitor and saw that the rear tire on the curb side was 65 lbs when the other three were at 70 lbs. I drove another ½ hour and checked again – down to 63 lbs. I didn’t want to change a tire on the side of Rt 95 (if you’ve traveled it, you know what I’m talking about). I kept an eye out, and when it got down to 60 lbs, about 30 minutes away, I stopped and pumped it back up to 70 lbs. That got me to the campground, ending up with 65 lbs. in the tire. I changed it, and found a little tiny serrated nail in the tread. I’m sure it can be repaired, so I’m not too concerned about it – just picked it up somewhere along the way.

My point is, if you’re thinking about TPMS, don’t put if off. Without it, I imagine I would have risked a blow out or complete tire failure before I got to the campground. Also, MAKE SURE you have the proper equipment to change a tire if you need to; the correct sized deep well sockets (the spare tire nuts are a different size than the lug nuts), a breaker bar of some kind, a torque wrench capable of 120 lbs, and some type of jacking system (I carry an 8 ton bottle jack). It only took me about 20 minutes, but if I hadn’t had the equipment, I would have had to pay someone to come out and change it for me.

 

[Gran Casita]

Ditto! TPMS paid for itself!

I totally agree that TPMS is an invaluable tool for RVers. See the attached photos of my recent experience while in transit from Victor, ID to Tremonton, UT. On I-15 about 11 miles south of Pocatello, the TPMS sounded the alarm that my R/R tire was leaking. I watched the monitor (on my cellphone ap) as the tire pressure slowly decreased from around 106-psi. God was looking out for us as I was approaching a scale facility & pulled in to inspect the R/R tire. The tire pressure had decreased to around 96-psi. Sure enough, I found an “allen” wrench had punctured the tread and was “whistling” as air escaped. I changed the tire & returned to Pocatello, where the tire was plugged & patched, and re-installed. I can attest to the TPMS system saving me from trailer damage & allowed me to save the tire to boot! Safe travels! -Diego

 

[armand_c]

Great post! Sometimes we need reminders like these to always be prepared. I never thought about a TPMS as I thought that was a feature only on autos and I didnt know they made them for RV'S. I have been considering/looking at things to jack up the trailer in the event of a flat, such as ramps, levelers, etc. Never thought about bottle jacks. I am concerned about weight since we have a 150 series Reflection. Bottle jacks weigh quite a bit. Thank you for sharing on the lug nuts for the spare, that is something I didnt know and plan on getting a socket to fit the spare. Thank you for this information!

 

[bhop56]

I've had my TPMS about 6 months. Would not travel without it. I haven't had a critical issue yet but being able to monitor my tire temps and pressure 24/7
gives me a piece of mind that I do not believe is a false sense of security.

 

[FedMill]

TPMS and the Furion back up camera is a must for me !! As ones above said, peace of mind knowing you can monitor your tire pressure and temp right from the cab of your Truck !! Love the back up camera to show whats behind me and when passing that I have cleared the vehicle I passed.

Happy Holidays !!

 

[Dick Noble]

We have had TPMS on two 5ers. It has saved our bacon twice. I will never travel without it.

 

[bobter3]

What brand are you using and did you change stems if they are the cap style?

 

[BobinICT]

Also not a bad idea to have a “quality” tire plug kit. I’ll post the brand I have later on. It was recommended to me buy a good tire shop I use. A lot of times you can plug, air up and go without removing the wheel provided you’ve not broken the bead.

 

[BobinICT]

Pulled the kit out of the toolbox. I've used the elcheapo kits you can buy just about anywhere and they did soso. I've used this one twice and it is the bomb. Heavy duty, no glue to worry about going dry on you. First lick is to the manufacture and second to Amazon, $20 cheaper at Amazon.

https://blackjacktirerepair.com/sho...truck-tire-repair-kits/tire-repair-kit-truck/

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-JACK-TIRE-REPAIR-Repair/dp/B00H2WS8L2

 

[Dick Noble]

We have Truck Technology and I do use metal stems. Tires are "G" rated and with 110 pst I believe you have to have the metal ones anyway.

 

[D2Reid]

Absolute believer in TPMS. On big heavy triple axle trailers you can't particularly feel a blow out. It doesn't take long for a shredded tire to beat the rv severely. I have had about 6 flats/blowouts, all of them the TPMS alerted me to the problem before it caused significant damage, except for this one. This damage was caused by a tire that delamanated, the out casing came completely off and was causing damage. The inner tire retained good pressure. It wasn't until the swing tire parts knocked the stem off the tire behind it that I got an alarm.

I love my TPMS and will never pull a trailer without it.

 

[Overtaxed]

I'll add my experience here. Never had a tire problem on the 5er; but I have TPMS on all my trailers, and it saved me a few months ago on my dump trailer. Felt like something was out of balance, looked at the TPMS and one tire was reading a little low. Got out to look and see the tire is completely out of round, it had blown out the cords and was getting ready to shred in spectacular fashion. Now, it's a dump trailer, everything is steel; unlike an RV, I don't expect anything would have been damaged, but man, was it nice to get out, see the problem and resolve it without the excitement of losing a tire at 60MPH!

It's a small investment for big piece of mind. I agree with others, I'll never pull anything heavy without it again. I don't have it on one trailer (7K landscape) that I pull occasionally, the only reason I don't is because that trailer is so small/light, my truck could pull it with no tires on it at all and wouldn't lose control of the load. The big trailers all have it, as does my 450. TST507, a mix of flow thru and cap sensors. Doing it over, I'd do all caps, the flow thrus work fine, but they are so slow to add air I often take them off anyway and they are a lot heavier/bigger. My 450 has caps on all 7 tires, and all 5 on the RV have caps on them. Totally worth it.

 

[jleger]

Any recommendations on which TPMS to go with?? We have ordered our first 5th Wheel. I've always just checked pressure before a trip with our TT, but reading this, it seems as though its something I should have had and have been lucky to not have a blowout.

 

[Ynot4me2]

Any recommendations on which TPMS to go with?? We have ordered our first 5th Wheel. I've always just checked pressure before a trip with our TT, but reading this, it seems as though its something I should have had and have been lucky to not have a blowout.

Tst 507 and tireminder i10 are popular and reputable brands.

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[RV Sailor]

Second on the TST 507.

 

[jboleske]

Anyone have the TM TRL-4? Solar powered, windshield mounted monitor. $170 on Amazon.


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[Ynot4me2]

Anyone have the TM TRL-4? Solar powered, windshield mounted monitor. $170 on Amazon.


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I have the tm i10. The TM TRL-4 only goes to 70psi and no signal extender. Things to consider.

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[jleger]

I’m not looking for another screen on the dash. Smartphone compatibility is key for me.

 

[MN-Mark]

Second on the TST 507.

X3. Noticed one tire had a very slow leak. Stopped to check and there was a nail in it. Avoided what could have been a much more costly issue. Actually, any TPMS probably would have done the same. Point is, you need to have one in my opinion. I found the TST 507 to be pretty easy to use. I also put a sensors on my snowmobile trailer.

Mark

 

[Splatt]

Tst-507 for our 376th.