Tire pressure monitors... which one to choose and why?

[062720]

I am looking at two TPMS units to buy the best possible on on the markest today. The 2 I'm looking at are:

1. http://www.tsttruck.com/Product_List.html
2. http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...re-monitor.htm

My concern is ease of setup.

A. I read that some of these units require that you inflate your tires to the recommended inflation pressures and only then install and set up the sensors. Is this true with these two units? Or will installing the sensors at any pressure be read accuratly?

B. Lastly, since the TM has only one axle (2 tires) and my TV has 4 tires, will the display show 4 tire icons for the TV and 2 tire icons for the TM?

I'd love to get answers for these questions to both units and any other good, bad, ugly about the units befor I buy. any and all reccomendations and/or info is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Lesherp]

I have had the TST pressure monitor for about a year and it has worked flawlessly for me.

I am not sure what your question is concerning inflation, but in order to add or deflate air from the tire you need to remove the units. I only have the units on my TM but the display shows an 18 wheeler tires. If I remember right when you set it up you program each unit on the tires to the tire on the display that you want to indicate the pressure and temperature for that tire. The unit when operating cycles through each tire you have programed and gives you the readings for about 10 seconds before moving to the next tire.

There are a number of treads that deal with this topic if you have not already done a search.

[MudDog]

I also have the TST system and have been very happy with it.

The original model did not have user replaceable batteries on the sensors. A couple of years later they had a sale on the new model with user replaceable batteries so I upgraded. I've been using the TST system for 3+ years and have been very happy with it. Accuracy has been very good and it brings some peace of mind as I can glance at the display at any time and know pressure and temp.

The TST system should read whatever pressure is in the tire on install, but you have to remove the sensor to add air...so it will save you time to check the pressure and add air if needed before putting the sensors on.

With either system, you should have metal valve stems installed.

I would also recommend getting an extra sensor so you can monitor the spare tire and know it is at the proper pressure without having to crawl under the TM to check. TST only sold the sensors in 2 packs when I bought mine, but another forum member and I split a two pack so we could both monitor our spares. I'm sure you could find someone on the board to split a set with you.

As Roger indicated, the TST supports big rigs, and there are icons for truck and trailer, so you can configure whichever tires you want (TM & TV or just TM) and it will display and cycle thru, visually showing each tire in the proper location.


--jim

[062720]

Originally Posted by MudDog

With either system, you should have metal valve stems installed.

--jim

Ouch! this is a killer if this is mandatory? is installing metal stems a requirement or just a suggestion?

if its required than I probably won't but any system I just don't have the extra $100-$150 to get metal stems put on all 7 tires. That would break the bank.

would putting the sensors on the existing rubber tire stems cause any harm to either the TPMS or the tire itself? does anyone use these sensors right on thier tire stem without any issue for any length of time?

[Barb&Tim]

TST covers that toward the bottom of the page -- here:

http://www.tsttruck.com/FAQs.html

They are not that clear on the "why" part but my guess is, because of the centrifugal force and the added weight on the stems it may cause premature failure of the rubber stems.

Tim

[062720]

Originally Posted by Barb&Tim

TST covers that toward the bottom of the page -- here:

http://www.tsttruck.com/FAQs.html

They are not that clear on the "why" part but my guess is, because of the centrifugal force and the added weight on the stems it may cause premature failure of the rubber stems.

Tim

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. This probably scraps the idea of getting one of these.

They say:
"If you do need metal valve stems, they are not expensive; a recent customer had 6 valve stems replaced on a 30’ gooseneck racing trailer for $36. They are available and can be quickly installed by any tire dealer."

yeah the stems themselves cost about $6 - 9 but when you figure in another $15- $20 per tire to have them installed you are talking about $203 additional. couple that with a 7 sensor system that costs $459 totals $662. who are they kidding (not expensive???) Too bad I almost bit the bullet on this.

[Barb&Tim]

Or will installing the sensors at any pressure be read accuratly?

Yes

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Just so you get some idea I attached a pic of the screen on my TST 510 system. it is set up for 4 TV tires +spare and TMtires +spare. The alarms for each axle are set independent of each other.

I assume the 507 is similar and i'm sure one of the 507 users will confirm one way or the other.

Tim

[Lesherp]

I was curious what the 510 was and just went to their site. At the time I got mine the 507 was a deal. The displays are similar but the 507 has no spare tire option ( it would be easy to uses one of the unused tires to monitor a spare though). It looks like the 510 is more for RV's and the 507 for truckers. You can get the 510 with just 2 sensors if that is all you want or to try it out. You can always add sensors.

[062720]

@Tim awsome of you to include a pic... thats exactly what I was looking for. I wondering since its an 18 wheel system do the other tire icons display on the screen when no sensor is attached. I see now from your pic.

I want a pair that mount inside the tire and display on the existing dashboard. I can display all four truck tires. Just how hard would it have been for GM to allow displaying 2 or 4 more tires and then selling the sensors for trailers?