Saved Once Again

So my TST system starts beeping. A quick check and one trailer tire is at 98 psi. Ok, change the tire. Turns out that I had a little something in the tire.
This is the third time that I have averted disaster. Had I not used a TPMS I would most certainly have had a blowout along with the customary damage.
The tire was determined to be marginal as the full time tire. It is now the spare.
If you don't use a TPMS you are running on borrowed time. IMO.
Attached is a pic of the little something that punctured my tire.

Peace
Dave

Bummer Dave, I bet it was a job getting the rig jacked up !! If you need a tire let me know I have 3 extra spares

Nice save Dave and thanks for posting. We've only had a small rv until now and that's the first time I've seen one of those systems. Looks like a great investment, even for the smaller campers.

Dave, can that system be set for different pressures (tow vehicle/trailer)? If a wheel bearing was starting to fail, would the tire heat up enough to show on the monitor?

Hey Dave
Another save glad you r ok and the rig didnt get damaged.Looks like a bolt or something nasty
Nice to be safe on the road knowing you can monitor pending disasters.
Bill

Our's saved us also on the way back to the rain from the sun. 3 hours from home and it started screaming at us. Inside rear dual on her side was going down, only a mile from a rest stop so made it to there and fixed the problem in a safe place. Third time in 5 years it's let us know.

Yes the TPMS can be set for different pressures. No it will not sense a bad wheel bearing since that won't affect the tire pressure. Two things you can do to reduce your chances of having bearing problems. If possible perform your own wheel bearing service. Then you know it's done correctly. I've posted the procedures here on the forums. If you can't do it yourself then finding a good service facility is your next choice. I would insist that they use synthetic bearing lube also. Use a remote sensing temperature gauge and check your tire and hub temperatures when your are traveling. That will give you a heads up if something is beginning to fail.
TeJay

I purchased the TST 507 system about a month ago and used it the first time last week on our trip to Lake Seminole and Cedar Key, Fl.

I set the pressures as instructed by TST, 10% below & 15% above set tire pressures. My tires are E rated at 80 psi. So if my math's correct, that's 72 psi as low alarm and 92 psi as high alarm. I left the temp at the default setting.

I've never monitored my tires before, and I was suprised how much the pressures increased while driving. It wasn't long till I got a high alarm siginal on one of the tires. I'm thinking about raising the high pressure from 92 psi to 105 psi as the high alarm. Its the sudden drop of pressure I'm worried about.

I'm curious at what ya'll set your pressures at. Is the 10% and 15% settings suggested by TST a safety setting for them!!!!!

Archie
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Archie,
When we had our BC with LR E tires, I would regularly see 96 psi with the Michelins on the Pressure Pro. That would be 20% above setting.

CliffP said:

Dave, can that system be set for different pressures (tow vehicle/trailer)? If a wheel bearing was starting to fail, would the tire heat up enough to show on the monitor?

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Yes Cliff you can set it up any way you want.
I dont know how much the temp would go up having a bad bearing. It is normal to see the temps go up just driving, especially on o hot day. And more so on the sunny side of the trailer.
I pay more attention to the pressure which will increase with heat. 10 -15 psi increase is normal.
On the way down to Texas I had to stop a couple of time to let air out of the tires because of the warmer temps.

Peace
Dave

archbarb said:

I'm curious at what ya'll set your pressures at. Is the 10% and 15% settings suggested by TST a safety setting for them!!!!!

Click to expand...

TST's number is a starting point to guide you with.

Different types of tires, wheels, the speed you drive, th eload on the tires - your mileage may vary.

We have Goodyear G114's. These tires can be set at a pressure you decide relative to the load. They can be run anywhere between 95-135 PSI (cold).
I usually run 115. Setting the high alarm at 15% over, 132 PSI doesn't work for me. On a hot day, highway speeds I have seen pressure increases to over 140 PSi. Highest I recall seeing is 144.

You just have to figure out what is "normal" for your rig.

Long before we had TPMS the tires pressure would increase as the temperatures increased. We didn't realize it and were never told to adjust for it. The manufacturers knew it and set the cold pressure for a happy medium. If you are staying in the mountains and the temps are cool adjust as necessary. You leave and head for the valley adjust the next morning when the ambient temperature is warmer. As porthole said, monitor the pressures and adjust so the high buzzer warning isn't going off all the time. Remember we and the TPMS are really looking for is a sudden decrease in pressure.
TeJay

The first time I used my TST system, I had set the high pressure limits at 15% over the 110 psi (127 psi). Found out quickly that wasn't high enough for the heavy side in the sun. Now I have it set at 130 psi and no false alarms.

I thought the consensus was to inflate the tires to the max. cold pressure and leave it alone. Not letting air out or putting it in as the ambient temperatures rise and fall.

JohnDar said:

I thought the consensus was to inflate the tires to the max. cold pressure and leave it alone. Not letting air out or putting it in as the ambient temperatures rise and fall.

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John, your right. But some times you just have to make adjustments.
In my case when I left home it was 6* and my tires were inflated based on that.
When I got down to Louisiana the temp was 75*. I had no choice but to adjust based on the warmer temps down south.

Peace
Dave

Lets put it another way. Always check and adjust after your tires have had 12 plus hours to cool down and adjust to the ambient temperatures. As cookie said, if your tires were adjusted at 10 degrees and you travel to 75 degree weather then adjust the next morning after the tires have cooled down.

JohnDar, As far as always setting the pressure to the max well that's not always true. The pressure stamped on the tires sidewall is the maximum pressure for that load range. If the tire is designed to carry 2000 lbs max then the pressure should be at the max. If you only carry 1500 lbs on that tire then you have to set the pressure lower. If the max pressure is say 100 lbs and you are carrying only 70% of the max weight then your ride will be much harsher and is might cause the center of the tire to put more pressure on the road and increase wear in the center. Usually the manufacturer will advise you on that pressure. Or you can t However most trailers are probably carrying their maximum weight because that's what we do. That's why it's advisable and safer to get your TT weighed on each tire so. know exactly what each tire is expected to carry. I try to carry as much pressure as I can to reduce road and tire rolling resistance to improve fuel mileage.
TeJay