Best tire pressure monitor

[66joej]

Bought a used set of TireTraker TPMS about 4 years ago for $50 and they still work great. DW looks at the monitor and is awed by the info relayed. She tells me the tires on the sunny side are about 5 degrees higher than the other side. It is a good tool to have her be aware of the tires. If only she could use the torque wrench!

[GBR]

TST 507 is awesome. Have had it 4 years and only replaced the battery in one unit. Easy to set up and very dependable.

[FlyingAroundRV]

We found that the temperature function of our TPMS was not that useful. When I thought about it, the temperature sensor is in the sensor head whirling around in fresh air, trying to measure the temp inside the tire. I found the accuracy wasn't that good for temps, but I really only rely on it for the pressures.
We stop and stretch our legs every couple of hours and I do a walk around the tires and wheels with a laser infrared thermal gun. I also do a feel check of the tire temps on both the trailer and the truck.

[AbHDToyHauler]

I have the Tireminder but not the phone one. Seems to work well. It gave me a tire leaking warning so I pulled over and sure enough had picked up a nail. Got it repaired without any misshaps so i guess it already paid for itself for me. Occasional alerts when i forgot to turn on booster. Because my 3500 has no built in system I use it daily on my truck . I guess I am pretty satisfied with it.

[MarkEHansen]

The temperature sensor on my EezTire TPMS works very well. You can see the temp increasing as you drive and even see the difference between the sunny side and the shade side.

I think it's possible you could have a tire failure which a good TPMS may not give much warning for, but they would be the exception cases. If you choose to not use a TPMS because you hit one of these exception cases, you're doing yourself a major disservice. I would not want to tow a trailer without a TPMS, but as usual, YMMV.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by LHaven

I put it on against their advice when I first installed the system. Since the tire caps weren't flow-through, it really increased the hassle factor every time I needed to top up. Now I leave it off.

How often do you need to "top off"? Good tires should lose less than 2% per month with many only losing 1%.
Hopefully, you have weighed each tire position and know the minimum inflation needed. Also hopefully you can run that inflation +10% or maybe more before you exceed the tire sidewall pressure.


One advantage of having a TPMS that few mentions is you no longer need to get out a pressure gauge to check pressure every morning.


For the OP's question, I purchased TireTraker with its lifetime warranty. I have also tested a color monitor but the polarization in my sunglasses blocks the polarization in the color monitor making reading the numbers hard.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by LV_Tom

Here's my take on trailer tire pressure systems monitors. I purchased a Tire Minder and used it for three years. I liked the idea of being able to check tire pressure while traveling. I have since stopped using it after two Blowout episodes. Each time I had a highway blowout (Thank You China Bombs) Tire Minder didn't sound an alarm until I was stopped on the side of the road. SO don't buy one under the illusion that it will be a total tire problem solver.

Tire Pressure Monitor Systems can not monitor for Belt separations. I know of no consumer sensor that is capable of detecting a belt separation which is probably what you had.
TPMS can warn of a loss of air that can lead to a sidewall flex failure.
Belt separations can many times be discovered by doing a "Free Spin" inspection annually or every 3 to 5,000 miles.


By not running a TPMS you are giving up a significant portion of your "insurance" due to advance warning. I trust no one told you a TPMS would provide advance warning of belt separations. If they did, shame on them.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by BillMc

Just wondering why you would buy a pressure monitor signal booster when the manufacturer should have provided a unit that was capable of pushing an adequate signal for the price you paid for it.

Not all installations need a booster. Pickups do not all come with factory TPMS. Some want TPMS on their smaller trailer and the distance from trailer tires to monitor doesn't mandate a signal booster. Why force everyone to pay for something they might not need?

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by FlyingAroundRV

We found that the temperature function of our TPMS was not that useful. When I thought about it, the temperature sensor is in the sensor head whirling around in fresh air, trying to measure the temp inside the tire. I found the accuracy wasn't that good for temps, but I really only rely on it for the pressures.
We stop and stretch our legs every couple of hours and I do a walk around the tires and wheels with a laser infrared thermal gun. I also do a feel check of the tire temps on both the trailer and the truck.

I think the majority of the time the temp function is just informational and kind of fun to compare in different circumstances and doesn't usually compare to my readings from the temp gun for the reasons you describe, but -

I've watched 3-4 semis while driving that had trailer tire issues. A couple just kept driving along with their rear trailer tires smoking away, apparently due to dragging brakes, until I flagged them down and made them aware. I watched one with a smoking tire actually burst into flames and saw another on the side of the highway with a grass fire he had started due to the tire on the back catching fire and him pulling over. My own experience was with a pop up which had a bearing seize then literally cut the spindle off the end of the axle - it was smoking it was so hot.

I think in those circumstances, and thinking about it being on a travel trailer with a TPMS, the TPMS would prove invaluable because that wheel, stem and all is going to register much higher temps than the rest and would give you a early warning before something bad happened.....I hope!

[Big1]

I just bought the TST 507 with color monitor it will be in in a few days.

[SR71 Jet Mech]

I, after going through a thread like this on here awhile ago, purchased the Bellacorp 8 sensor system. Seems to be fairly accurate so far.
However, on the last thread there were a couple posts where the valve stem broke off with the sensor attached and gave no warnings. Can not remember which systems that happened to but it seems most are designed to see slower leaks.
I did replace all the valve stems on TV and fiver with rigid ones to hopefully avoid that issue. Also no need for any “repeater” with the Bellacorp. Display is a little tough to read in bright sunlight and is backlit in low light.
Maybe just a gimmick, and I haven’t (knock on wood) had a failure but, hopefully if I do it will give me some advanced notice.

[jimborokz]

Originally Posted by Northofu1

I just looked up the TCT and it's $510 CAN and the Tire Safe Guard is Currently Unavailable. Amazon.ca
Would be nice for the truck companies to add an expandable TPMS to trucks with Tow Package

My 2017 F350 had the trailer TPMS as part of the trailer backup camera package. They work very well but they don't monitor temp. I will get an alarm if one tire varies by a few lbs and hopefully prevents a blowout. I mainly wanted it so I know if I do have a blowout. I had two on my SOB and didn't know it till some one flagged me as the ride didn't change any. I saw one when I checked the mirror and saw the smoke cloud but couldn't feel a change in the ride. The second blew during the I95/I85 merge in VA between mirror checks.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

How often do you need to "top off"? Good tires should lose less than 2% per month with many only losing 1%.

True, but I'm not a weekend camper, and when a cross-continent trip sends you across a wide range of temperatures and altitudes, you need to renormalize often.

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Hopefully, you have weighed each tire position and know the minimum inflation needed.

Seriously? I don't have the equipment to do that, and I don't know anybody who does. I have a hard enough time finding someplace to get the bare minimum necessary axle weights for my rig. The manufacturer label on the side tells me to fill the tires to 80, and I fill them to 80.

[Mroe67]

Just bought mine for my Montana 3120RL, we’ll see how it does on our next trip

[Mroe67]

So I ended up with the Bellacorp unit, according to the RV manual on my 3120rl i’m Supposed to maintain 50 psi, so what do you set the upper and lower alarms at on the monitoring unit?

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Mroe67

So I ended up with the Bellacorp unit, according to the RV manual on my 3120rl i’m Supposed to maintain 50 psi, so what do you set the upper and lower alarms at on the monitoring unit?

Easy. Simply set your TPMS to apropriate warning levels. HERE is how I set my TPMS.



Am I correct to assume you have LR-C tires on the trailer?
Have you confirmed tire loads with actual truck scale measurement?

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by LHaven

True, but I'm not a weekend camper, and when a cross-continent trip sends you across a wide range of temperatures and altitudes, you need to renormalize often.

Seriously? I don't have the equipment to do that, and I don't know anybody who does. I have a hard enough time finding someplace to get the bare minimum necessary axle weights for my rig. The manufacturer label on the side tells me to fill the tires to 80, and I fill them to 80.

Scale readings:
You only need to get individual tire loads once to learn how much side to side out of balance you have when fully loaded.
Many building supplies companies and Feed & Grain companies have smaller platform scales and are not too busy. Suggest you review THESE posts for additional information.


Once you confirm your unit out of balance you can then get individual axle weights at most Interstate Truck Stops and keep an eye on your total loading.


While i recommend that trailers run the tire sidewall inflation pressure to get the Interply shear lower, you don't need to worry about +/- a few PSI. Just try and be sure you never get below the pressure needed to support your actual weight.
If I were you I would not be concerned about seeing cold inflation +6% and would try and keep low to no lower than -4%
With pressure changing at about 2% per 10F change that should be manageable.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Mroe67

So I ended up with the Bellacorp unit, according to the RV manual on my 3120rl i’m Supposed to maintain 50 psi, so what do you set the upper and lower alarms at on the monitoring unit?

Pay no attention to your RV manual, look on the tire sidewall & inflate to "cold max pressure" shown there. Cold meaning after sitting long enough to cool to ambient temperature & before moving the RV. I'd guess with the RV you listed that max would be either 65 or 80 psi depending on what tires you have, but for sure 50 wouldn't be enough.
With the RV you have I'd guess 50 psi, or more, would be your minimum setting & 15+ psi more than the sidewall max for the high.

[Don N.]

This is the TPMS I purchased a few weeks ago on Amazon as seen on an RV video post by a seasoned traveler:

TPMS Solar Power Universal Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System with 4 External Sensors to Monitor and Display the Pressure and Temperature of 4 Tires in Real-time
by Beipuit

It is solar and USB powered. It has settings for low and high tire pressure, and a factory set value for tire temperature (165 F) Based on Tireman9's post above, I set my low psi alarm setting at 65psi -15% (55 psi) and the high psi alarm setting at 65 psi +25% (81 psi). The only down side of the product is that customer service is only available through Amazon; no direct email or phone number for Beipuit. It is easy to install.

[GHen]

My son and I both use TST 507 with flow through sensors , 30 foot 5r’s, no need for extender, I can check my tire pressures from the kitchen table in the house. Installed short metal valve stems.

We run 80 pounds in trailer tires, set max pressure to 98 and set max temp to 158.

Friends that use the TST 507 say batteries last about 18 months but I guess that depends how much time you do on the road.