Tire Pressure Monitor

[John P]

Should I install a Tire Pressure Monitoring system? I have a 2018 Intent 30R.

[Winterbagoal]

If you might have a slow leak in one of your tires, they might be useful. Or, if you've rubbed a curb, or other obstruction and broke the bead long enough for a sizable short term pressure drop, they might help. You can check that with a $10 tire pressure gauge, when you stop for fuel, and do a walk around to see if any tire looks suspect.
If a catastrophic failure occurs, hit an obstacle at speed, nail or other puncture type failure, or tread separation/sideall failure, they aren't much use. By the time they warn you of the pressure drop, you're already in panic mode trying to maintain control of the vehicle, and probably really don't have time to check your real time pressure display.

[Goodspike]

Originally Posted by Winterbagoal

If you might have a slow leak in one of your tires, they might be useful. Or, if you've rubbed a curb, or other obstruction and broke the bead long enough for a sizable short term pressure drop, they might help. You can check that with a $10 tire pressure gauge, when you stop for fuel, and do a walk around to see if any tire looks suspect.
If a catastrophic failure occurs, hit an obstacle at speed, nail or other puncture type failure, or tread separation/sideall failure, they aren't much use. By the time they warn you of the pressure drop, you're already in panic mode trying to maintain control of the vehicle, and probably really don't have time to check your real time pressure display.

I would agree they are not much use in a catastrophic failure situation, unless that failure is the result of low pressure (a common cause). Slow leaks are not necessarily all that apparent just from looking, and how many people are going to actually check their tires every time they stop?

In the car/truck situation the TPMS has prevented our ever being stranded or extra damage to the tire by catching the situation early. My truck once even emailed me from my garage to tell me a tire was going low!

[RD Eagle]

I agree with Goodspike that they can be very helpfull. Yes not so much on a blow out but keeping an eye on all the tires and your toad at one location has helped us to avert problems before they happen.

[FishBear]

Of all the people I know and all the vehicles they have owned the probability of a catastrophic "blow out" is small.

The likelihood of a "tire problem" being the result of something stuck in the tread like a piece of metal, screw, nail, etc., is much higher. Do these always cause an air leak? No. However, when they do cause an air leak it can be fast, slow, etc. TPMS can catch this for you. Additionally, if you know you have an air leak and you have something that can inflate these tires, you can limp to the closest tire repair shop.

[Goodspike]

Originally Posted by FishBear

Of all the people I know and all the vehicles they have owned the probability of a catastrophic "blow out" is small. .

One of the people who rented a Cruise America motorhome before me apparently suffered one at the left front tire. Most likely due to CA having piss poor maintenance standards.

[Winterbagoal]

Obviously, all those who added their thoughts after mine, have added TPMS systems, for their own reasons, mostly as a backup to physical inspection, and or checking pressure with a gauge. They do give a sense of peace of mind, it seems? That's primarily what they were designed for, to compensate for folks who can't or won't use a tire gauge, once in a while.

I haven't added TPMS to my vehicles, for the stated reasons, and was relieved when the sales guys told me my cab chassis didn't come with them.

Yes, I do inspect my tires at every fuel stop, for signs of problems. I do a walk around, either while the nozzle is in the tank, or before we pull away from the pumps. Only takes a minute. I can tell if a tire looks soft, by simple visual inspection, or a 15 second check with a gauge if one looks suspect. I keep the gauge handy in the door pocket for this. It's free, after the cost of the tire pressure gauge, and just my personal preference.

My general feeling is that no system of TPMS is foolproof or 100% accurate. There are more than a few internet hits out there about TPMS problems and failures. I had some in an F150, and they were constantly issuing alerts when no problems existed. They were truly a PITA, and not worth the trouble, for me. If I could have had them disabled, I would have. My Jeep has them, but I don't use them.

I also know TPMS can't tell you if your tires are wearing unusually, of if there's any sidewall damage or other signs of tread separation or road hazard intrusion. That all requires a physical inspection.
However, each to his own, and of course, YMMV.

[Wyatt]

I included an image of the the TPMS we purchased amd ARB compressor which is hard mounted to our rig.
I selected this model TPMS because it is not mounted in the Cab, but rather connects to an app on your smart phone.

This is very handy as I can go out and check the pressure with my on-board air compressor from ARB that I installed, and compare the PSI on each tire. You might be surprised to learn that tires actually lose air quite frequently, and since it’s important to have the same pressure on each axle, it gives me a real time gauge as to what’s going on with the tires.

I am in no way saying that this is to be used in lieu of a visual inspection. It is however very handy as I Keep my phone mounted within visual periphery as I’m driving. An alarm will go off the tires are overheated, or there’s a slow leak.

As mentioned above this will do you no good if there’s a catastrophic failure due to a blowout caused by hitting a rut in the road or something to that dire extent, but it will help detect a slow leak that could lead to a blowout

It has an additional sensor that you mount halfway between the front tires and rear tires to send a Bluetooth signal to your phone. I have found it to be extremely accurate within a half a psi compared to my gauge.
Honestly I would not feel comfortable driving without it having seen, before I leave any park, the amount of air I need to equalize the tire pressure in all six tires.

[gurroz]

We installed a TPMS primarily for peace of mind. If we a driving a 200 mile stretch and 80 miles in we start loosing pressure I would like to know. TPMS can also monitor high pressure and tire temperatures. If I am going down a mountain pass and the brakes are hot and heating the tires to a dangerous level I would like to know. It's a few hundred dollars for my peace of mind but more importantly my wife's peace of mind.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by gurroz

We installed a TPMS primarily for peace of mind. If we a driving a 200 mile stretch and 80 miles in we start loosing pressure I would like to know. TPMS can also monitor high pressure and tire temperatures. If I am going down a mountain pass and the brakes are hot and heating the tires to a dangerous level I would like to know. It's a few hundred dollars for my peace of mind but more importantly my wife's peace of mind.

Happy wife, happy life...)

[Podivin]

Originally Posted by John P

Should I install a Tire Pressure Monitoring system? I have a 2018 Intent 30R.

I'll answer your question with questions.
Do have now, or have ever had, a car with the built in tire pressure monitoring system?
If so, has it/did it ever warn you of a tire with low pressure?
If so, did you air up that tire so that it would be at the correct pressure?

If all of the answers above are 'yes', then you've got your answer.

I have one on my RV (and in our cars), I like having it. I don't obsess over tire inflation, but I do like knowing that they are correct - or at least not wildly wrong.

[Goodspike]

Originally Posted by Wyatt

Happy wife, happy life...)

On the wife factor, she gets nervous in cars in general (due to certain events not directly involving her). Having a rear camera running somehow makes her less nervous. So I could see how having some other information would have the same effect. Maybe I'll have to teach my wife about tire pressures so that she can have another thing to make her feel better.

[creativepart]

I think a TPMS is an essential device to have on your RV. Like having a capable power surge protector. It’s something to get right away. It’s pretty surprising that these are not standard equipment on newer RVs.

There are many good brands available. We use an EEZTire TPMS.

[Morich]

We only find out we need safety things AFTER we needed them.
Nobody knows what the inside dual pressure is doing if they are moving for 4-500 miles. And if that inside dual hits a nail and goes flat, it begins to heat up. at some point there will be something bad happen and it will cost you lots to fix it. One thing that happens can be a fire. Another is a tire that comes apart and that carcass can take out most anything in the area, like brake lines or the sidewall of the RV.
Those items cost my brother around a thousand , so I am fine with spending several hundred to save replacing a tire ($150?) brakes lines ($300? ) or the side of the RV (???) and then I also place a high value on NOT getting thrown into the ditch!
I buy car, house, and health insurance and certainly hope not to use them, so why would I not buy a form of insurance for the tires? I can actually look over at the monitor and it tells me it's doing it's job and will squeal at me if I don't look!
As a side issue, it also saves me getting down on hands and knees to test the tire pressure! Isn't that worth a fair amount?

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by John P

Should I install a Tire Pressure Monitoring system? I have a 2018 Intent 30R.

Yes IMO you should run a TPMS just as you run an oil pressure gauge/warning light and a water temp gauge/warning light etc.


I cover TPMS and how I recommedn you program them in my blog.

[jcurtisis]

Originally Posted by John P

Should I install a Tire Pressure Monitoring system? I have a 2018 Intent 30R.

Do you ever tow a car or a car on a dolly? If so, definitely yes.
If not, just consider the cost of the RV VS cost of the ~$400 TPMS. More seniors = more knowledge = early intervention to prevent bigger problem.

PERHAPS the most important reason no one else has touched on so far (that I could see) is MURPHY'S LAW: One of the corollaries is that if you buy sensors to help with safety, then you probably will never need it! Best way to avoid a problem!

[KPaulson]

I installed a TPMS, worked great. However I soon found out the hard way that you must have metal stems on your wheels. I will be changing to metal stems this spring.

[Yonder]

I'm in the 'yes, absolutely ' column when it comes to TPMS. Let me explain my experience. We upgraded from a 2008 Horizon to a 2014 ellipse 42 qd in October. We drove to Boise in our pickup and brought along our Blue Ox to tow it home with. Somewhere between Couer d'Alene and Bonner's Ferry, in the dark, we had a blowout on a front tire of the toad. I couldn't see it in the rear camera and I sure couldn't feel it. The truck weighs less than 5000 pounds. I don't know how far I drove with that aluminum wheel whipping a steel belted tread around but I finally got stopped by a policeman who pointed out the problem. I hadn't really thought about the toad when I opted to leave the TPMS home as I had always thought about it being mostly for the MH though I had sensors on the toad.

Here's the bottom line: the bill for repairs to my truck was over, believe it or not, $11,000! Had I simply brought the monitor with me, it might not have warned me about the blowout until it happened but it would have instantly made me aware that I had a big problem which, at that point might have only been $500 one. Nuff said.

[Goodspike]

Originally Posted by KPaulson

I installed a TPMS, worked great. However I soon found out the hard way that you must have metal stems on your wheels. I will be changing to metal stems this spring.

I'm not certain this is true, but the place I bought my tires told me that the higher pressures required special stems.

[CharlesMoore]

I have a 6 tire MH w tow dolly and Honda civic. I purchased a 10 tire system - 6 for the coach and 2 for dolly pls 2 for car. I find great comfort in the fact that if the dolly or car blows a tire I will get an immediate alarm. In addition, if the inside rear tire blows I will know that right away too. It is also good for notifying you of slower leaks.