TST Saved Me

[bsmith0404]

Just got back from a great camping trip to the St
Louis area. The trip was pretty much uneventful until we were about 300 miles from home on the nearly 3,000 mile round trip. Suddenly the alarm on my TST 507 started beeping! I looked at the screen and saw the left rear tire was already down to 65 psi and dropping fast. I hit the flashers and pulled to the shoulder. I'll guess that it took me less than 15 seconds from first warning to go from 67 mph to a complete stop along the shoulder. At that point the tire was down to 31 psi and in the mirror was only showing a small amount of sidewall squat.

I would never have noticed the sidewall at highway speeds because it was the back tire so more difficult to see.

By the time I got out of the truck and back to the tire, it was completely flat. Upon inspection, I found a nail that only showed a small amount of scuffing on the head. My guess is that I just picked it up and it caused an immediate fast leak. If it had been in the tire longer, it would have showed more road scuffing. The tire tread had just started to separate, about a 2" tear with a few cords starting to show.

If it hadn't been for the TST, I'm confident that I would not have noticed the tire as quickly and would not have gotten stopped before the tire separated and started ripping the camper apart. The system really does work and it saved me our Alpine. I have been considering getting the repeater for the TST system, I didn't need it in this case, but I think I will invest some more into this system and get it. I also realized that I never added steal valve stems to my spare to be able to support the weight of the sensors. Going to make that switch now as well.

[Desert185]

You might have just pushed me over the edge on getting one of these systems. Flow through sensors?

[Campntwins]

We just returned from our first long distance trip with our newly installed TST 507 internals. Kicking ourselves for not having them before now. Another tool to help us travel safely.

[gearhead]

I've got the Tire Tracker. Probably should get the repeater, sometimes can't get a signal on one tire. I Velcro'ed the back of the receiver and have a Velcro strap around my sun visor. Sometimes helps reception being up higher, sometimes not. It does give a peace of mind. But I still check temps with a infra red temp gun at most stops.
Good save for you.
We just drove around the north side of St. Louis a couple weeks ago. Leaving Indy and headed to Arrow Rock State Park, Missouri.

[bsmith0404]

You might have just pushed me over the edge on getting one of these systems. Flow through sensors?

I don't have flow through sensors. I didn't get them when I bought the system a couple years back because the regular sensors said they would work with rubber valve stems. I learned the hard way and had to replace the stems anyway. If I were to buy the system again, I'd get the flow through sensors and change to steel stems immediately.

[Desert185]

Well, I ordered the TST507RV with flow through sensors from www.vulcantire.com. Great price, if anyone is interested.

Timely mod, as I have a six hour one way, five day boondocking trip coming up next week and the weather is hot. The kit will be here Friday. :thumbsup:

[Ken / Claudia]

This is the best outcome of any flat RV tire I have ever read. The cost of the TST just paid for itself in real dollars and just not piece of mind.

[buzzcop63]

Bought Tire Minder from Camping World on line for $246.65 total, including shipping. Model TMG400C will cover up to 22 tires, 0-145PSI on 6/23/2012. Unit comes with four sender units that screw onto valve stems, receiving unit comes with stand to mount like GPS, is battery operated with a power cord that can be plugged into Tundra DC outlet. The Tire Minder does not distract from driving as it does not cycle through the readings, had my wife push the buttons for the readings from time to time. It will let you know if your loosing any air and in which tire as well as over heating. Great thing about using the Tire Minder is knowing that all tires are being watched as well as being able to check pressure when unit is in storage or when your ready to leave park and not have to do by hand. Unscrew the 3 oz sending unit and the base unit goes nuts, red lights and sound so if you get a blowout you will know as well as any drop in pressure or dangers heat, so far no problems, still working on OEM tires.

[Outback 325BH]

Do tires have to be rebalanced after senders are installed on valve stem?


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[audio1der]

Great to hear! We also have the TST507, and have a lot of confidence in the system. I also wish I have bought the flow-through sensors.

No- you don't have to re-balance tires if you use the valve stem style sensore. I'm not sure if they recommend balancing after installing internal (OEM) style sensors; that makes sense to me.

[Desert185]

Do tires have to be rebalanced after senders are installed on valve stem?


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According to TST, no. They only weigh something like 12 grams.

[Lic0rice]

Do tires have to be rebalanced after senders are installed on valve stem?


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x2 Same question I have. Seems as if it would make it difficult to balance the tires.

[Outback 325BH]

I always wondered about the stress they put on the stems too. I know they are light, but the force of spinning can be quite great.

I see they are 1/2 ounce. The weights on my wheels, used to balance them, are in 1/4 ounce increments... ant the are close to the same distance from the center.




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[Outback 325BH]

x2 Same question I have. Seems as if it would make it difficult to balance the tires.



I won't take the word of the manufacturer of the TPMS. It is in their best interest to say "no balancing required".

It should be easy to balance, you just have to do it with them on.

After paying to have my wheels and tires balanced, I'm not going to just slap these on and go.

I do like the idea of TPMS, although I probably won't worry about it after my "bullet proof" Duravis R250 upgrade. I'll just take my chances.


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[sourdough]

I can put an exclamation point behind the OPs comments.

We had been in FL for almost 2 months and had to leave because DWs mom became ill. Had everything ready to go and decided to check air pressures. I had just had all the tires replaced prior to the trip and had them all set to 80 psi upon leaving. When I checked to leave they were all at 77psi so I was good with that.

Drove for about 8 hrs. just keeping a visual on the tires as we went along and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Started to set up for the night and my wife said she thought the driver rear tire on the RV was low. I said "it looks OK" - didn't pull out a gauge. Woke the next am and went out to get ready and.......now the tire WAS low. Went to check the pressure and as soon as I pulled the cap off I could hear the air coming out of the valve stem. Well snot!! Somehow the inside of the valve stem had gotten beach sand inside it while it sat at the RV site OR, as I suspect, when I checked the pressure to leave and left it slightly open. Had to unhitch, get the compressor and air it up (and remove the sand). All was well all the way home.

The kicker? I have a brand new TST system in the box sitting on the shelf at home that I've had for 6-8 months...still not installed. When I had the new tires put on I told the service manager at CW I wanted steel stems to add the TPMS. He said "don't do it, they cause much more trouble (steel stems)". He used to be a manager at Pirelli so I went with that. I had only two days to leave so didn't get the TST system put on either. If I had installed it, I would have known the tire was losing pressure. It didn't lose a lot by the time we parked, but when we were ready to leave 17 hrs later it was at 25psi.

The TSTs will be installed asap. I'm thinking I'll just go ahead and put them on the new rubber valve stems. I saw one post that said they had learned the hard way that the rubber stems weren't the way to go. Why? Why would steel stems cause and issue? I've not heard that before.

[slow]

There are many types of metal stems, some of which I would not use since they are dependent on the installer's attention to details. The best are those that have a physical stop to control the amount of rubber seal compression.

I use N-1600 Ford metal valve stems.

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[bsmith0404]

Even though they say the sensors are only a few grams and can be used with rubber stems, the centrifugal force while driving at 60+ mph will actually bend the rubber stems over and the sensor will rub on the wheel. My wheels now have a nice scar on each one where the sensor rubbed on them. I had heard this could/would happen so I tested them out on a couple short trips without any issues. That gave me the confidence to leave the rubber stems on and go. The first longer trip I took (250 miles) and the damage was done. That also worried me that the stems flexing that much could also cause a problem with the stem. Installed the steel stems and haven't had a problem since.

Not sure why anyone would say not to use the steel stems. I've had them on my truck for over 100k miles without a problem. I have used steel stems on many different vehicles in the past and have never had a problem. You do need to change the washer/gaskets each time you change tires, but that's just like changing the rubber stems each time you change tires as well.

I had the sensors in place when I balanced the tires, but I really doubt they would make much difference. Think about how many times you have tires balanced and they were out by half an ounce or less, that doesn't cause the wheel to shake all over the place. The only time I can say I've actually felt an out of balance situation, the wheel had thrown a weight and was out of balance by over an ounce. I do get my wheels balanced every 5k miles, so typically they just need small adjustments.

[jsmith948]

Don't use the rubber stems! Installed our Tire Traker sensors (.46 oz) on rubber stems and approx. 1600 miles later (Quartzsite to home and home to DS's house near Bremerton) we were going to discount tire to replace the rubber stems. They were all either chafed/cracked.
As far as steel stems being a problem, once in a great while you may have to snug them up. Been used on 18 wheelers for years.

[Desert185]

My TV and all my trailers have metal stems (even the car hauler and 16' enclosed utility trailer with LRD tires). I have never had a problem with a metal stem. Discount Tire charges minimally for metal stems and they have good ones.

With 80psi tires and added TPMS sensors, having metal stems just makes sense.

[sourdough]

My TV and all my trailers have metal stems (even the car hauler and 16' enclosed utility trailer with LRD tires). I have never had a problem with a metal stem. Discount Tire charges minimally for metal stems and they have good ones.

With 80psi tires and added TPMS sensors, having metal stems just makes sense.


Thanks for all the feedback.

Using steel stems made sense to me as well, particularly when putting the sensors on the ends. I've never used steel stems on anything I've owned so didn't know what kind of issues they could have. I had never heard anyone say anything negative about them. I let my common sense get overruled I guess. I'll have the tires pulled and new stems installed because I don't want to let the TST system sit on the shelf any longer - especially after this last little episode.

[buzzcop63]

My "Tire Minder" sending units (.3 oz sending unit) have been on our trailer since June of 2012, no mark on tires caused by rubber stems, tires have never been balanced and no internal evidence of vibration. 3,900 miles on this OEM set of Towmax Power Kings. Check stems each time tires are checked by hand gauge and air added, seem fine, no leaks. My maximum speed is 55 MPH and trailer scale weight is 6,100.

[Desert185]

Holy moly! Lucky guy. I'm going to start drinking what you're drinking.

[Tesoro]

For the life of me I cant imagine why anyone who tows a camper wouldnt invest in a TPMS system! Esp considering most trailer tires arent that great. I would bet that most of the horror stories you read about are not due to badly made tires but to operator abuse by running them at low pressure and overheating them. After all how many people do you see at gas stations checking/filling their tires hot??!!

On my first big 5'er I bought one after doing the research and cant live without it anymore! I have on my now camp trailer and my boat and my pickup.
The one I chose was the eeztire system after a few hrs of reading and research. Cant remember why as its been 3 yrs but I think because could change out the batteries yourself and no extenda antenna.
Like all they can be frustrating to mate up initially but once you get the knack it works like a charm. Instruction booklet is confusing but if you call the number 'fred' answers down in yuma and patiently walks you through the whole process.

The eeztire monitors are accurate to about a psi. The prob I found was buying a handheld gauge that was super accurate. Maybe I am a bit ar but once you have the monitor it bugs me to see uneven tire pressures. I think I went through 2 mechanical a few electronic to get the right one. I wound up with the husky electronic one bought at home depot and its dead on. Can get them now on amazon for 10 bucks. If you do get one realize the 2aa batteries only work the led light and there is another semi hidden flat round battery that operates the psi sensor. Many, including me, have tossed em thinking the were defective after replacing the aa batteries!

[bsmith0404]

It's difficult to get a tire gauge that matches the sensors exactly because the standard deviation tolerance in the industry is plus or minus 2-3 psi. That means each of your sensors could be off by as much as 6 psi from each other, one at +3 psi the other at -3 psi. Your gauge has the same tolerance. I like to see the same pressures across all 4 tires as well, but realize that the standard tolerance means that even if they read the same, doesn't mean they ARE the same. I set all of the tires to read the same with my hand held gauge and from there, it is what it is.

I like the TST system, I just need to get a few more sensors to add them to my truck. When I bought the system I didn't have a dually so I had the OE system on the truck. The batteries are replaceable on the TST sensors as well, simple watch type batteries, CR1632.

[Tesoro]

Maybe i have lucky sensors or the eez tire ones are more accurate? I fill my tires exactly the same on my digi handheld and all 8 match up on the monitor within 1 to 1.5 psi of what I filled to. most are the same or within 1 psi.This is one of the reasons I went through a few digi hand held gauges to find one that was accurate and consistent for airing the tires. I always fill and measure in the early cool morning before any sun hits the tires unevenly.

On my motorhome and tow jeep I had 10 sensors and same minimal variance. its getting down to splitting hairs on 1 vs 3 psi as sun on one side will raise pressure but fun to have a gadget so precise.

[Desert185]

My TST flow through sensor batts are 1632's.

[bsmith0404]

Maybe i have lucky sensors or the eez tire ones are more accurate? I fill my tires exactly the same on my digi handheld and all 8 match up on the monitor within 1 to 1.5 psi of what I filled to. most are the same or within 1 psi.This is one of the reasons I went through a few digi hand held gauges to find one that was accurate and consistent for airing the tires. I always fill and measure in the early cool morning before any sun hits the tires unevenly.

On my motorhome and tow jeep I had 10 sensors and same minimal variance. its getting down to splitting hairs on 1 vs 3 psi as sun on one side will raise pressure but fun to have a gadget so precise.

The standard industry deviation is why you had to go through several gauges to find one that matches your sensors. According to the TST website, their sensors are accurate plus or minus .73 psi, which means that one sensor could be off as much as 1.5 psi from another. Still nothing to worry about, even with gauge deviation.

The most accurate gauges on the market designed for race applications are around the $100 range and most are only good for 60 psi. If you get a good gauge capable of high PSI readings, they are normally in the $30+ range. Typically they can be calibrated, but again with tolerances of a couple psi. They can be set to pretty much exactly what the master gauge reads....but how accurate is the master gauge?

Nothing wrong with getting a gauge to match the sensors. That will also tell you when your gauge or sensor tolerances have slipped a bit. I'm just pointing out that it's not an exact industry and finding a gauge and sensor combination that matches can be difficult and probably not worth it for most people as long as you're within a couple psi.

My TST flow through sensor batts are 1632's.

Yep, that's what mine have as well, couldn't remember for sure. I made an edit to my last post to reflect that.

[Desert185]

I stopped obsessing over the minor inaccuracies of tire pressure gauges when I realized that those minor variations in pressure had no real bearing on tire longevity. Contact patch and handling performance primarily determined the set air pressure after an initial recommended setting. Once there, I just use the same gauge indicating that resulting pressure.

With trailer tires and TV drive tires at the max sidewall pressure setting (when towing) I have never had a problem caused by the tires being a few PSI off, so I just use a few decent pressure gauges and press on.

[T11ravis]

Here are my results with rubber stems (3 years ago):
http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12449&page=2

[bsmith0404]

Here are my results with rubber stems (3 years ago):
http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12449&page=2

Yep, that's exactly what happened to mine, except on aluminum wheels.

[denverpilot]

Do NOT do external sensors on rubber stems. I won't bother detailing my experience but it's similar to others. Get flow through sensors and good quality stems or don't do it at all.

[bitten]

Using flow thru sensors I have one tire that slow leaks. Have I tightened the sensor Allen screw too much? No leakage before sensor attachment.

[mfifield01]

I was just about to purchase the TST 507 flow-thru, but it mentioned possible issues with trailer tires and sticking out too far. Has anyone had this issue? My trailer has 14" rims.

Attached is picture. I plan to have Discount tire put on metal valve stems first.

[bsmith0404]

I was just about to purchase the TST 507 flow-thru, but it mentioned possible issues with trailer tires and sticking out too far. Has anyone had this issue? My trailer has 14" rims.

Attached is picture. I plan to have Discount tire put on metal valve stems first.

I personally don't see this as being an issue. I just switched from the normal to flow through sensors. Yes they stick out a little further, but that won't have any effect while going down the road. I have slides over each of my tires so I couldn't accidentally hit them while camping. If you are concerned about that, they are easily removed when you stop. Some people recommend that anyway to keep them from disappearing.

[mfifield01]

I personally don't see this as being an issue. I just switched from the normal to flow through sensors. Yes they stick out a little further, but that won't have any effect while going down the road. I have slides over each of my tires so I couldn't accidentally hit them while camping. If you are concerned about that, they are easily removed when you stop. Some people recommend that anyway to keep them from disappearing.
I think curbs are more of a concern.

[bsmith0404]

If the sensors are hitting curbs, I'd be more concerned about tire sidewalls, they don't stick out that far. Standard curb height is 6", most are rolled back making the highest portion further away from the tire/wheel. Trailer tire sidewalls for the most common sizes is around 6". Granted you get some squatting. Additionally, the valve stem is typically on the second rib making it even higher off the road surface and then the sensor sticks up beyond that. I would say the end of the sensor would be somewhere around 8" off the ground at worst. I just don't see it as an issue.

[trucker LOU]

I take my sensors off the truck when going through the car wash. had one damaged .----Lou----

[mfifield01]

If the sensors are hitting curbs, I'd be more concerned about tire sidewalls, they don't stick out that far. Standard curb height is 6", most are rolled back making the highest portion further away from the tire/wheel. Trailer tire sidewalls for the most common sizes is around 6". Granted you get some squatting. Additionally, the valve stem is typically on the second rib making it even higher off the road surface and then the sensor sticks up beyond that. I would say the end of the sensor would be somewhere around 8" off the ground at worst. I just don't see it as an issue.Thanks for info. I ordered the kit today.

[Larry1013]

I am not promoting nor touting the TireMinder System as better than nor worse than TST or others, but if you get an indication of a problem from your system, it has well paid for itself.

This pass summer, after traveling 6,000 miles from Alabama to Washington state and on way back in the middle of Kansas on I-70, I got a beep that one of the trailer tires had a sudden lost of pressure. I pulled over on side of interstate and found one of the metal valve stem had a nut that had loosened. Fortunately it had only lost approx 15 psi of the 65 psi in the tire. I was able to tighten the nut on the exterior and proceed cautiously to the next exit. At the next exit I was able to fire up the generator in the bed of the truck and pump up the small (3gallon tank) air compressor I carry in the trailer. I pumped the tire up and proceeded on my way to Alabama with no additional problems.

I now firmly believe in a TPMS system even if add-on. I have the TireMinder system with 12 sensor. There are 7 sensors on my dually truck and 5 sensor on the 5th wheel trailer.

Do I need a sensor on the spare tires? Maybe not, but with sensors, I know at a glance if the spares are properly inflated or not and that is peace of mind should I have a tire problem on the road.

[Barbell]

On our first trip with the TST 507 system. I set pressure in the fiver tires at 110 psi in the cool morning before moving the rig. While heading North that morning, the right side tires were showing 120-125 psi while the left side was showing about 5-10 psi less. Obviously, the sun shining on the right side made the difference. I don't get concerned unless the pressure is going down while temp is going up. The factory system on the TV is not as accurate as the TST.

[mfifield01]

I used mine over the weekend. Works well. I ended up getting new steel stems and the tires balanced before putting them on. That ended up being more than I expected, but I understand that the tires aren't balanced from factory.

[TSTGUY]

Congratulations on saving your rig and keeping everyone safe.

We are glad that our system did its job! It has done so for millions of tire issues that occur every year.

If you ever need any help with your system, do not hesitate to call on us. That is what we are here for.

[mfifield01]

I just back from a long trip. Everything with TST worked great except for one incident. I was driving along along the rode and noticed one sensor went blank on the screen. I pulled over and checked pressure manually. Everything was fine. So I turned the monitor off and back on. Then both on the left side of the trailer were not working. I was 30 miles from the park in Marathon, so I just drove on. After getting the trailer to the site, I noticed that they came back on. No problems the next 400 miles.

[ChuckS]

I just back from a long trip. Everything with TST worked great except for one incident. I was driving along along the rode and noticed one sensor went blank on the screen. I pulled over and checked pressure manually. Everything was fine. So I turned the monitor off and back on. Then both on the left side of the trailer were not working. I was 30 miles from the park in Marathon, so I just drove on. After getting the trailer to the site, I noticed that they came back on. No problems the next 400 miles.



I've also been using the TST507 system for three years now.

Every once in a while I'll drop a sensor. If I shut off unit and wait a few and then turn back on usually the sensor comes back up.

Replaced batteries to see if that made any difference but still drop a sensor occasionally. Always the same one


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[Larry1013]

Dropping of the sensors sometimes has to do with the distance between the sensors and the receiver in the truck along with where you have the receiver located. If TST makes a repeater, I would suggest getting one and mounting on the front of your trailer to help boost the signal.

The fact that the TireMinder comes with a repeater gives me peace of mind that I will receive the signals from the tire sensors. If for some reason I drop a sensor, 95% of the time, it usually turns out the battery in the sensor is weak or dead. I replace the battery and problem is solved.

TireMinder has a free battery program which is nice when you 14 sensors. & on truck, 5 on trailer and two spare sensors. I can get the batteries with new o-rings replaced for a minor postage charge each year.

[T11ravis]

I've also been using the TST507 system for three years now.

Every once in a while I'll drop a sensor. If I shut off unit and wait a few and then turn back on usually the sensor comes back up.

Replaced batteries to see if that made any difference but still drop a sensor occasionally. Always the same one


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TST does make a repeater and it's worth it.
I went 2 yrs. without and had the same type of issue as you. Got the repeater last year and now have no more problems.

[busterbrown]

TST does make a repeater and it's worth it.
I went 2 yrs. without and had the same type of issue as you. Got the repeater last year and now have no more problems.

I own the EEZTire product from EEZ RV and it works great. It occasionally looses signal to my rear port side trailer wheel. Come this spring, I'll probably end up buying the repeater. Signal interruptions are common over 40 feet from what I'm reading. Just have to find a good place to hard wire it inside the trailer.

[Larry1013]

I mounted my repeater next to the battery vent on the front of the trailer. I was able to run the wires through the battery vent to the batteries without the need to drill holes nor splice the wire.

You can see it on the lower right side next to the vent.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_214981_0_b52a5e8f723411294f6aa51929bf2733.jpg (http://s564.photobucket.com/user/larry1013/media/S5001124.jpg.html)

[LarrySharon]

I just got my EEZTire Tire Pressure Monitor. Spent several days in studying the various monitoring systems, tough decision for every system there was both positive and negative comments. So I decided on this one. Have not installed them yet but feel very comforted in knowing that I will be safe while traveling down the road.

[busterbrown]

I just got my EEZTire Tire Pressure Monitor. Spent several days in studying the various monitoring systems, tough decision for every system there was both positive and negative comments. So I decided on this one. Have not installed them yet but feel very comforted in knowing that I will be safe while traveling down the road.

My EEZTire kit worked well on it's maiden voyage from Michigan to Orlando, Fl. It's nice to look up and see real time temps and pressures of the trailer tires. You may need the repeater if you occasionally loose signals.