TPMS Leaks

[jlazar]

I am considering buying a TPMS.  While in a couple of repair shops recently for maintenance, I asked the shop supervisors what they thought of TPMS systems.  I figured both would give them high marks and then offer to sell me one.  In both cases, they felt they caused more problems than they were worth due primarily to leaks.  For those of you with a TPMS, have you experience problems with leaking or are you aware of a particular TPMS brand with this problem.  Are flow through sensors more susceptible to leaks than the regular sensors?  The brands I am considering are TST or Pressure Pro.

 

[Ned]

We've had a Pressure Pro system for 8 years and the only leaking problems were due to improper seating of a seal and one valve stem that leaked when the Shrader valve was opened by the sensor (not a Pressure Pro problem).  The benefits of a TPMS far outweigh any potential minor problems you may have, and none are unsolvable.  The customer support from Pressure Pro is among the best.

 

[ArdraF]

they felt they caused more problems than they were worth due primarily to leaks.

I'm guessing these people are not RVers.  If you ever have a toad's tire fail you'll understand why tire monitors are important.  There are two scenarios.  One is a tire loses pressure and the heat from driving eventually causes a fire.  If the fire is from a toad's tire, it can engulf the car and then move forward to the RV itself.  I know of at least one case (please don't ask me to document it because I don't recall where I saw it) where the toad and the motorhome were both burned to the ground and both were total losses.  The second scenario is where a motorhome tire loses pressure and starts to shred.  When it starts throwing pieces it can do extensive undercarriage damage.  Think about all the "stuff" that's on the lower part of a RV, such as tanks, and you begin to understand the damage that can be done.

This is one case in which you should be listening to other RVers instead of people who don't totally grasp the issue because they're not RVers.  We have Pressure Pro.  Two years ago we were in Tennessee when the PP started the audible alarm.  It took approximately one-half mile to slow down and find a wide place to pull off.  In that half mile the toad's tire was totally flat.  We found a large piece of wire had penetrated it, probably in the previous few miles of construction.  We were really glad the PP worked!  And we shudder to think what might have happened if we did not have a tire pressure monitoring system.

ArdraF

 

[lavarock1210]

Have had my pressure Pro for 5 years.  Once had a leak but the Pressure Pro let me know about the leak before it was a problem.  Also have had many valve stems leak in the last 40 years.  But I did not know until the tire had gone flat or was destroyed due to low pressure.

 

[NY_Dutch]

I run a 10 sensor TST 510 system, and the only leaks I've had in four years were caused by a nail and screw, not the sensors. The sensors sure did let me know about the leaks though, thankfully!

 

[Rich D.]

When purchasing new tires this year, I added internal sensors that strap to the rim before the tires are mounted. Nothing to get in the way, steal or leak. While I always took care to check my tires, the TPMS is in my opinion, a worthwhile investment. The dash monitor I have is wired in but can be unplugged and carried around the coach to use as an instant read gauge while adding air to a tire if needed.  I havent added the toad sensors yet because the factory tire monitor assures me they are properly inflated when I hook up the toad and a loss of air/blowout, etc. is visible in the rear monitor while towing. Screw on sensors can be mixed with the 8 built in sensors if I want to add them later.  "Tire Safeguard"  is the brand I choose but I am sure that there are others that are just as good.

 

[Ned]

a loss of air/blowout, etc. is visible in the rear monitor while towing.

Don't count on that.  Many of us have had towed tire failures (before TPMS) and never saw it until another driver flagged us down.

 

[Y-Guy]

I have an older TST system that now resides in it's box in my garage.  I've had two of the pucks leak, they were exchanged, by the company without question. I've had three issues with the valve extensions needed for the pucks on the dually tires.

Due to the leaks I often had to remove the puck, which was ok but eventually I had given up on the extenders which made taking the pukcs off a real challenge.  Finally, I gave up and had new valves put in and I've been leak free since. I bought a good truckers gauge and I just check every morning. 

If I were to do it again the only way I'd go was using the internal sensor type.

 

[donn]

My local tire dealer does a rebuild on every one when he installs new tires.  In most cases it may be a just in case situation.  But if auto manufacturers are suggesting it, it makes me wonder?  IMHO this is just another government mandated gimmick.  Heck for the first hundred years of the auto we never had this stuff, now it is mandatory for our safety?  NOT!  It is mandatory because we are becoming too lazy to do our own maintenance or I section s before driving off.

 

[billwild]

I have the TST monitor system, and the only problem I had was caused by me. I overtightened the sensor onto the valve stem and ruined the small rubber ring on the sensor. I replaced that and all is well again.

 

[Just Lou]

My local tire dealer does a rebuild on every one when he installs new tires.  In most cases it may be a just in case situation.  But if auto manufacturers are suggesting it, it makes me wonder?  IMHO this is just another government mandated gimmick.  Heck for the first hundred years of the auto we never had this stuff, now it is mandatory for our safety?  NOT!  It is mandatory because we are becoming too lazy to do our own maintenance or I section s before driving off.

Nothing mandatory about retrofitting your motorhome and toad with a TPMS.  Just good common sense.

 

[Tom]

Many of us have had towed tire failures (before TPMS) and never saw it until another driver flagged us down.

Adding to Ned's comment, here's my story of towing a toad with an unnoticed flat.

 

[odie1234]

I have had Pressure Pro installed on motorhome tires and towd tires since May, 2007. I never remove them except to add air, even though I should in the winter when we are not traveling. The TPMS has never leaked and, in fact, air pressure seems to hold extremely well.

 

[ArdraF]

a loss of air/blowout, etc. is visible in the rear monitor while towing

That's a fallacy.  We definitely could not tell we had a flat by looking at the rear monitor.  As soon as I heard the audible alarm I looked in the rear monitor and saw nothing.  And it was totally flat by the time we could pull over.  I'm not sure you could even see if a fire started with a tire unless there was a lot of smoke and maybe even flames, neither of which I ever want to experience.

As to maintenance, Jerry checks our tires all the time, first before starting in the morning and at least once during the day and sometimes more.  So that's not an issue, but road debris certainly is a problem that happens suddenly and without warning.  I was driving when we got that chunk of wire in the tire and I never saw anything on the roadbed.  It just leapt up from nowhere and embedded itself in the tire.

ArdraF

 

[pojo]

I have an inexpensive (in comparison) Tire Minder TPMS from CW. I monitor 6 tires on MH, 2 on tow dolly, 2 on toad. The duals have flexible SS hose extentions. The 22.5's on the MH cost over $600 apeice. I won't go anywhere without my TPMS. I have never had a leak on the sensors. I had 3 sensors go into alarm while crossing the Divide @ Butte Mont. last summer. Hot and dry at the bottom, cold and raining at the top, both temp and pressure went into alarms. If one does experience a slow leak from any tire, especially an inside dual, albeit from a TPMS sensor, flexible hose extensions, or even a valve core or plastic cap, the TPMS will surely let you now.

 

[John From Detroit]

I had one where I'm 100% sure it leaked, I kept putting air in the tire, finally removed teh sensor and put a regular steel cap on and Well, I still add air, Only where it was leakign down like 40 PSI over 2 weeks, it's now 5 PSI over several months and that is likely due to changes in weather rather than leaking.  (It was hotter out when I last aired them up back in September).

I had one I hope is leaking,  That tire needed more than 5 PSI when I aired it up earlier this week.  Will check next week, if it's down again, it gets a trip to tire man.

Again TMPS is removed.

 

[NY_Dutch]

I can't say with any certainty that it prevents sensor leaks on my coach or toad, but I use a drop of Loctite Blue removable thread locker on the valve stem threads when I install the sensors. This year I'm going to use their new #249 blue thread locker tape instead. It's supposed to work the same as the blue liquid, but be less messy to apply.

 

[Jeff]

The only leaks I have had in six years of using sensors were the valve extensions for the rear inner duals and it usually happened after having new tires installed. Once I got those resolved the sensors worked as advertised and saved a lot of forgetting to check the tires daily as well as the protection they offer on the highway.

Like others here the only real alarm was a nail in a toad tire that could have led to real damage or loss instead of adding a can of temporary tire sealer to get us to our destination.

 

[JerArdra]

Sometimes the outside temperature makes it appear that you have a leak.  For example, we just took a car trip to Reno and our Pressure Pro tire sensors were still installed on the car.

The last time I "topped off" the car's tires I probably filled them to 32lbs.  In Reno it was probably 30+ degrees colder than it was in Las Vegas when I last filled them.  Needless to say, over two or three days the Acura MDX "factory installed" TPMS  indicated that the tire pressure was low in 3 out of the 4 tires.  The tires looked okay and the Pressure was 28 lbs.  I added air up to 30 lbs and all was okay for the rest of the trip.

BTW, my first thought was that the Pressure Pros were leaking but that was NOT the case because it's now 10 days later and there is still no indication that the tires are low.

Case in point, tire pressure goes down in cold weather.

JerryF

 

[bobguigley]

Pressure Pro is what we use on our coach, and yes we've had leaks.  I recommend installing several days before you hit the road to verify that there are no leaks.

Also, you should be aware that while the sensors are installed the sensors are transmitting thus consuming the batteries.  I always remove the sensors when we are not traveling.

For our dual rear wheels, we use "crossfire" that connects the two tires together and equalizes their pressures and also visually shows generally what the pressure is.