Today we decided to install it, and were pleasantly surprised to find it was easy to install! Sometimes this type of gadget can be tricky to understand the directions. We went with this brand because it has a temperature reading as well as tire pressure. We felt this was important for safety reasons. A hot tire is a dangerous tire and we prefer to know it before there is a major problem, or blowout.
The system comes with an antenna, and 12v adapter. You can use the monitor with or without the 12 v adapter. The monitor has a built in lithium battery that has about a 3 hour battery life. It recharges when hooked up to 12v. The monitor can be taken out to tell what the pressure is when you are adding air to the tires.
This is the monitor and two of the sensors. They just screw onto the valve stem by using a special tool. They are not completely theft proof, but you need the installation tool to remove them or put them on. Better not lose it! They highly recommend metal valve stems.
The system we bought only has 6 sensors in it, so we will need to order the extra four. We need 6 for the Motorhome and 4 for the tow car. The TST system is on sale at Camping World for $299 with 6 sensors. The other 4 sensors will cost $150. It's not cheap, but we feel it's good insurance.
One thing we found out about all of these TPMS is that the sensors have a battery with a life of about 5 years, and the battery is not replaceable. You have to purchase new sensors when the battery goes. I feel this is something they could resolve, but I guess it keeps them in business! I believe more people would buy them if they didn't face replacing sensors every few years. One thing I learned though, was that the sensors don't all go at the same time, so you can replace them gradually :) When the vehicle is stored for a period of time, if you take the sensors off, you will save battery life.
Anyway, as far as installation. You just turn on the Monitor and program in each sensor. The sensors each have a specific number on them and you program that particular number into the corresponding tire position showing on the monitor. You give it a minimum and maximum setting for pressure and a maximum temperature. When Al was putting on the sensors, he let a little air out, and the tires were a few pounds low to start with. So when we programmed the tire in, it gave us an audible alarm and flashed a red light that the tire pressure was low! I guess it works. The temperature of the tire was also there. I need to do some research and see if exactly what temperature we need to have as a high temperature warning. The tire temperature will change with the weather and movement. I don't want it beeping for just normal heat. The RV-Net Forum is a great place to find that kind of information.
We decided until we get the other 4 sensors, we'd put 2 on the motorhome front, and two on the outer rear tires, and two on the toad front tires. That would give us a pretty good warning on the most dangerous tires. We don't have a backup camera on the MH, so if the toad blew a tire, we might not know about it for days :)
I wish Roger get us one of those TPMS, but he won't. I think having every opportunity to be safe driving these monsters is a good idea. We have a back up camera and can see the toad, but I don't think that would help much unless we saw smoke or something from the tires.
ReplyDeleteWe have one too, a different brand that Camping World was selling last year. Sure is nice to have it to warn of a tire getting too hot -- before it blows!
ReplyDeleteKaren and Steve