TPMS...valve stem or inside mount?????

Doublegranch

Mountain Region Director-Retired
I have a North Trail and pull it with a 11 Dodge Cummings...I am looking for a tire pressure monitor system....are there any advantages or safety advantages for the valve stem type vs the inside tire mount?
I have read the valve stem type do no read the tire temperatures correctly, any comments.....

Thanks
Garry
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
I have read the valve stem type do no read the tire temperatures correctly, any comments.....

Thanks
Garry
How would anybody really know? I think that is just speculation.
I have the valve stem type. If the RV is static they read what the ambient air temp is. When I travel the temp goes up. The sunny side of the trailer is always warmer than the shady side.
So for me they work just fine.
It's more important to know if there is one tire running hotter than the rest. This could be a warning of a problem.
The actual temp is not important.
JMHO.

Peace
Dave
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
Comments...

I retrofitted Orange Tire Pressure Monitoring System inside mount senders on my 2006 VW Touareg about 3 years ago. I have had no issues with them. They are quite accurate on both interior tire temp and pressure. Can not say on the stem type, have never used them. The Orange TPMS system is quite affordable look on Amazon.com.

My other 5 year old VW has OEM TPMS and my dad's 8 year old Cadillac has TPMS both also have interior sensors and none have had issues. Eventually the batteries wear out after 7-8 years and most interior TPMS units don't have replaceable batteries. Some stem types have batteries that can be replaced.
 

Doublegranch

Mountain Region Director-Retired
I have a North Trail and pull it with a 11 Dodge Cummings...I am looking for a tire pressure monitor system....are there any advantages or safety advantages for the valve stem type vs the inside tire mount?
I have read the valve stem type do no read the tire temperatures correctly, any comments.....

Thanks
Garry

Thanks for your input...I have a call into TST Mfg since they just started making the internal recently....will post what they say...I would think however the inside temp of a tire is important and the valve stem would not be able to
detect that, however inside air means nothing as it would be the rubber of the tire that is important....So much to read about TPMS systems it places a cloud over your judgement...

Thanks again.
Garry
 

evolvingpowercat

Well-known member
I would evaluate based on the receiving unit as well. The Orange receiver has per tire display of pressure and temp, alarm thresholds for low / high pressure, and alarm thresholds for high temperature. Finding a low tire, knowing exactly which one it is, and doing something about it before its too late is the whole point, so the audible alarm is needed as you won't glace at the display very often while driving down the road. I know my OEM VW system on my car does not tell me which one of the tires is low, it just alarms "low tire pressure" which is better than nothing but a pain.
 

Doublegranch

Mountain Region Director-Retired
I would evaluate based on the receiving unit as well. The Orange receiver has per tire display of pressure and temp, alarm thresholds for low / high pressure, and alarm thresholds for high temperature. Finding a low tire, knowing exactly which one it is, and doing something about it before its too late is the whole point, so the audible alarm is needed as you won't glace at the display very often while driving down the road. I know my OEM VW system on my car does not tell me which one of the tires is low, it just alarms "low tire pressure" which is better than nothing but a pain.

Here is what the rep a[h=1]InnotechRV said:[/h]Hi Garry

Thanks for your enquiry.

In my opinion valve stem receivers are better because there is no cost of installation and they are much easier to replace if tires are changed or if anything goes wrong with them. Also when the battery dies the tire has to be removed to replace the battery with an internal sensor.



The temperature of a tire is transmitted through the metal valve stem by induction and is reasonably accurate although the actual temperature level is not as important as the change in temperature which is what causes an alarm if it rises rapidly.

Cheers
Craig

Corrected posting as this email came from the owner of the RV store and not TST.....
 
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wdk450

Well-known member
One bit of warning to the new TPMS user. My system tends to alarm when I am stopped for rest breaks after a few hours of driving, due to the tires cooling and the pressure decreasing - the system interprets this as a slow leak. Driving about 10 minutes resets this alarm.

I like the external sensors, as it is easy to change batteries, and reset the sensor if you think it is not being received by the receiver. Yes, the temperature data can seem erroneous, but I can also emphatically say that the system alarmed when I had an unnoticed tire/wheel drum situation on a freeway in Idaho last summer.
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
Comments...

I retrofitted Orange Tire Pressure Monitoring System inside mount senders on my 2006 VW Touareg about 3 years ago. I have had no issues with them. They are quite accurate on both interior tire temp and pressure. Can not say on the stem type, have never used them. The Orange TPMS system is quite affordable look on Amazon.com.

My other 5 year old VW has OEM TPMS and my dad's 8 year old Cadillac has TPMS both also have interior sensors and none have had issues. Eventually the batteries wear out after 7-8 years and most interior TPMS units don't have replaceable batteries. Some stem types have batteries that can be replaced.

I did look up this system on Amazon.com and unless I read the specs wrong it is limited to 76 PSI so it wouldn't work for me as my E-rated tires are 80 psi. I think on the Edge mine were only 50 psi. Here is the excerpt I read.

Operating frequency - 433.92 MHz
Pressure monitoring range - 0~76 psi Pressure reading accuracy - ± 1 psi at normal pressure range
 

Doublegranch

Mountain Region Director-Retired
UPDATE: Okay after speaking with numerous company reps and RV stores, I have ordered the TST system directly from TST....working with Mike Benson and Abby was a pure delight....Mike was very knowledgeable and friendly...
I ordered the system about noon time today and it is being shipped via UPS today...They matched the sales price of a another distributor for their product and free shipping....Super service...
The system I ordered was the 507 with the valve stem caps....the 6 sensors and monitor was $299....I am happy and can't wait to install them on the North Trail...also can use them on my horse trailer, trash trailer etc....very
versatile...I will let you know how they work...taking my first trip of the year to the NM Rally in April.
Thanks everyone for your input.
Garry
 

wingfoot

Well-known member
Garry, good choice. The people at TST are great...very customer friendly. I too have the 507 system and love it. As an example of their great service, I lost one of my sensor wrenches...Called them to buy one...They told me "no problem". "We'll send you one NO CHARGE and also we'll send you some extra "O" rings".
Now that's superb costumer service...
 

Doublegranch

Mountain Region Director-Retired
Hi Garry,

Are these the same as the "flowthru sensors"? I assume they still need to be installed on steel/brass valve stems (ie not recommeded for rubber valve stems)?

You will like the TST system.

Brian

Brian: No these are not the flow thru.....these are the 507 caps...you have to remove them to put air in the tires.....I went with them as the flow thru requires metal valve stems...
I can't use metal stems on my 2011 Dodge as the internal sensors on the Dodge are built into the rubber valve stems....when not using these on the camper, I will put them on my Dodge
since they register the temp per tire and the Dodge just gives you an idiot light if you have a problem...since I don't pull the camper all time, these will also be used on numerous other trailers as
well...Just got an email that they were picked up by UPS, so they are on my way....
Thanks
Garry
 

brianharrison

Well-known member
Hi Garry, thanks for the clarification.

The FAQs on the TST web page (LINK here to TST FAQs) recommend metal valve stems about 1/2 way down the web page. Maybe you have confirmation from TST the 507's are OK for rubber stems and they need to update their web information.

I know the 507 sensors are 13 grams, half of the sensors I have with the 510 system (23 grams) but you may want to consider installing the sensors on metal stems.

Brian
 

Doublegranch

Mountain Region Director-Retired
Hi Garry, thanks for the clarification.

The FAQs on the TST web page (LINK here to TST FAQs) recommend metal valve stems about 1/2 way down the web page. Maybe you have confirmation from TST the 507's are OK for rubber stems and they need to update their web information.

I know the 507 sensors are 13 grams, half of the sensors I have with the 510 system (23 grams) but you may want to consider installing the sensors on metal stems.

Brian

Brian:
I did ask the question due to my Dodge having internal OEM sensors with rubber stems....Can't change the rubber out out per Dodge....TST recommended the 507 cap as rubber stems are okay and they are lighter in weight than the Flow Thru....but he did say the Flow Thru did require the metal stems....I will put metal on my North Trail however...I am in the middle of dealing with warranty issues...my tires are worn out after 4,000 miles...A major inside wear....just finished taking a bunch of axle measurements for Lippert as the axles are bowed and the springs are flat....so now waiting for what Heartland is going to do, possibly axles, springs and tires....so when they change out the tires, I will add the metal valves.....Hope they get it all done before the NM Rally as I am signed up and paid my deposit...
Stay in touch.
Garry
 

wdk450

Well-known member
BTW on this subject, I found the lithium coin-cell batteries for the sensors in WalMart at the Jewelry (watch battery) section at a reasonable price.
 

Gary521

Well-known member
As wdk450 stated a while ago with his TPMS, my tpms used to give off a false alam after sitting for a few minutes after a stop. However, after I changed my tires to LT from the ST it does not do this anymore. I think there is a message here.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Our OEM wheels from Tredit came with a rubber valve stem covered with a metal sleeve, so they looked metal at a glance. We used the 507 successfully on these wheels, but did notice a little mark being created on the wheel as the sensor was flexing the valve stem slightly and rubbing the wheel. We then decided it was smarter to switch to all metal valve stems.

Note, the spare tire had a rubber valve stem. When we had to run the spare on the ground, we put the TST on this tire, thinking it was smart to have the TST to warn us... Unfortunately, the first day we drove with it, about 2.5 hours into the trip, it flexed the stem enough to cause a leak, and thus an alarm!! We had to have the stem replaced. We have since replaced it with a metal stem, as well.




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