Hello, I'm looking for your expert opinions about installing monitors on our wheels to detect tyre pressure changes. There are several brands available and at the $400 mark I don't want to make a mistake. Our van is single axel so a tyre failure is more risky than for dual axels. Your experiences would be much appreciate.

Thanks Dave for your prompt reply. That was the company that looked OK to me too. I emailed yesterday to get a price and he rang within a few hours. Cost including postage and discounts and was $380. 48 hours delivery. Are you happy with the product?

yes great for what I wanted

DAve

I've been towing for over 50 yrs.
Only ever gone by feel and vision through back window.

MOST vans have outer strip panels on ext.
Horizontal seams.
First thing I do with new van. is align myself up with van\car level.

Look at where the nearest seam to,( Normally.)
one of the electric window heating strips in car glass.

If not I apply a strip of tape in alignment to one of the seams
on my rear glass.

As soon as one side of van drops a bit.
If going down slowly.
You'll see. it.

Then you'll feel it with extra sway.
Afrer that it costs,normally. A new tyre.

I always change tyres at 6 yrs. so never get serious wear on them .
Only had one blow in 25 yrs. on Tandem "Simplicity" susp.
Cost instant new tyre.

They a good suspension unit with one bad flaw..
Inflated tyre\wheel. Drives flat rim into ground.
Unless you fit retainer chains in there.or shockers.

For the amount of money we all invest in our vans and tow tugs, it is worthwhile spending a bit more on some insurance. I have only been towing for 45 years, but in that time have had several blowouts on tandem boat trailers. I may not be the best driver, but I could not tell I had a flat until the damage was done. We spend a fair bit of time off road and I feel much safer with my TPMS as a slow leak on corrugations cannot be detected until it is too late.
There are several brands on the market around the $400 mark and all look OK. I had a Tyredog with internal sensors, but this was a pain as whenever tyres were rotated the unit had to be reset. The batteries went flat after 2 years so I have now changed to external sensors and these have not caused any problems so far.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Much appreciated.

I run a TPMS system (external caps) from digoptions. I watch my tyre temperatures against ambient temperature to make sure they are not running too high particularly when on the dirt with reduced type pressures, nothing kills tyre sidewalls faster than incorrect pressures and the temperature is a sure fire way of checking if you have reduced the pressures too much.
The cost is less than a new tyre let alone the inconvenience of changing it and finding a replacement of the the same size and make.
A slow leak is also easy to spot when the pressure change is in the negative, don't know why I still walk around the rig every morning and kick all the tyres when I have a readout to a fraction of a PSI but old habits die hard!

I have the Carchet TPMS system purchased for $103.00 - External cap sensors - 4 tyre monitoring as well as temps.

www.ebay.com.au/itm/TPMS-Car-Tyre-Tire-Pressure-Monitoring-System-LCD-w-4-External-Sensor-BAR-PSI-/231869042899

I have a tandem caravan and the system picked up a slow leak in the LH rear by: Monitor read pressure dropping, temperature rising and audible alarm, I was able to change this tyre before any minor/major problem occurred.

Had it now for 13 months and can't fault it.

Cheers
Vince

I installed a TPMS soon after buying my Big Rig (Chevy Silverado and Forest River van). I have 8 wheels to monitor and the system was always unreliable. Usually at random, one of the van wheels would not display. What was annoying was that this was inconsistent, sometimes all whells would be on the display, then one would drop off, sometimes two wheels.

During our last big trip of 7000km from Vic to Qld and back, a tyre on the van exploded and without warning from the TPMS because it was that wheel that was not displayed.

When I got home I returned the unit to the seller in person and wouldn't you know it, they knew about the problem. The guy handed me a wireless dongle that hangs somewhere near the rear of the truck and gives the necessary communication link between the van wheels and the monitor. I needed to add a cigar lighter fitting for the 12v power in the tub, but was happy to do so.

From van wheels to monitor is about 10m with my rig, so its a fair distance the system has to link across in signal-busy environments such as on the road, but the system is supposed to be OK up to at least 15m and more.

So far, with the new dongle running I haven't had any dropouts. It is certainly something to know about when buying these things.

I am certain that if the TPMS had been working properly at the time, the tyre blowout would not have happened because I would have been alerted to a the pressure/temp raising.

Murbella7 . I have had the same issue with my TPMS , can I ask what make are yours ?