Who owns a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System)?

[luvrbus]

There is nation wide freight hauler with a terminal here,1 guy checks all the truck and trailer tire with 1 hand held scanner, before leaving and when they arrive at the terminal. The trucks don't have a monitor inside the cab

[windtrader]

Humm... Not sure if the primary intent of a TPMS is missed. At leat for me the reason to have one is to have real time pressure monitoring and reporting if tire pressure reads out of range. Early warning of a tire going flat or a puncture, anything that might cause tire failure that can damage not only the tire but the well area if it shreds out. Being a lazy man way to check tire pressure before heading out in the morning is a perk. One should still do a walkaround and look at overall tire condition.

[luvrbus]

Humm... Not sure if the primary intent of a TPMS is missed. At leat for me the reason to have one is to have real time pressure monitoring and reporting if tire pressure reads out of range. Early warning of a tire going flat or a puncture, anything that might cause tire failure that can damage not only the tire but the well area if it shreds out. Being a lazy man way to check tire pressure before heading out in the morning is a perk. One should still do a walkaround and look at overall tire condition.

A tire will lose a tread cap and the TPM won't make a beep for miles,old truckers did not drive for a hobby and I never met one that did not know he was having a tire problem on the tractor or trailer while driving.I think a TPMS works better for autos than buses or trucks tires,I don't  have a TPMS on my Harley

[Melbo]

Yep, so did bumper jacks and candles.

I prefer kerosene lamps -- they last longer than candles.

Melbo

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

I have a TPMS system in my Eagle and getting into the cockpit and glancing at the pressure in each of my tires before I begin a trip is reassuring. I like to see them all at relatively the same pressure. It is easier than manually thumping the dual tires.  Also by thumping the tires you only know there is sufficient air in the tires whereas, with a TPMS, you will know within a few lbs. how much air is in each tire and hope that its mate, is running at about the same pressure so you do not put too much load on one tire. That being said, I also do a walk around before each trip.

A TPMS will also show you that as you drive, especially on a hot summer day in the south that your tire pressure will increase substantially as you click away at the miles.  I like to know that the pressure will not exceed the tires' rated capacity.

Also, along the route, if you have a slow leak for whatever reason, a TPMS may tell you there is a problem before you have a chance to thump the tires again or lose a tire, or may possibly tell you that you have a wheel bearing going out, as you may get a high-temperature warning.

Also, one of the primary reasons for my TPMS is to monitor the tires on my Toad.  If one of those tires blew, I may not even realize it until a driver coming up from behind may tell me and by then, it may have already done thousands of dollars of damage.

To me, a TPMS is just like having insurance.

[luvrbus]

People get to comfortable depending on gadgets, I have seen many buses burn from tire fires with a TPMS,and a wheel bearing is gone before a TPMS reads it.I have TPMS but I don't put total faith in the systems even my Bendix Smart Tire system
 

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

People get to comfortable depending on gadgets, I have seen many buses burn from tire fires with a TPMS,and a wheel bearing is gone before a TPMS reads it.I have TPMS but I don't put total faith in the systems even my Bendix Smart Tire system

I agree Cliff, nothing beats walking around a bus/truck before every trip and looking for anything that looks out of place or smells hot.  I do this even during stops at rest areas most of the time. It is much easier and cheaper to catch problems before they become bigger problems. But I also believe everything helps a little.  This is also why I am big on Preventive Maintenance. 

[windtrader]

Clifford,What works for a proessional long haul truck driver is very different an occasional amateur driver of a massive heavy truck nearly 3 times longer and 10 times heavier than what they drive everyday. Years and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of on road driving experience is no match for someone driing one a dozen days a year.

There is no doubt that a professional driver will detect and know the condition, running and not, far better and can rely on experiene rather than gadgets or gauges. But for those on the other spectrum, these things at least partially fill the experience gap.

[Tedsoldbus]

It is nice for those of us not on the road much. I drive to Blue Ridge Ga once month to keep the bus happy and remember how it works, but that is an hour round trip. But then I go to Nappanee Indiana or Orlando and drive 8 hours per day. When I flew I could feel if something changed this the aircraft, but I flew every day. I will probably never drive the bus enough to sense the inside rear tire going slowly flat.
Just saying what has been said a different way I guess but for $1oo dollars, why not have another chance of other than Kaboombing flop flop flop. State trooper telling you to get it off his highway...

[dj]

I would rather check mine myself ....when I bought my prevost it had a TPM system on it...well i didnt let me know I had an inside tire gettin low,,,,blow out major carninge   I pulled the entire system Ill don the manual gage and tire thumper thank you.....drove truck for 22 years and never had a problem

[windtrader]

Totally agree with Ted and RJ. I'm in Ted's camp. Don't have the expertise or time to just know what feels and sounds right. I do rely on the numbers it displays and it makes that part of the pre-trip checklist way faster. One glance, tires checked! I still do take a walkaround looking for stuff I'll run over or other stuff falling off and scan if there is a huge nail sticking out. LOL!

[lostagain]

Been driving buses and trucks my whole life. Tires don't go flat on a bus or truck if you keep good quality tires. Or at least not very often at all. I've driven brand new Prevosts where the TPMS gives false alarms all the time, to a point where you don't trust it anymore. I like the pressure gauge and hammer the best. And at every stop, I walk around and feel the tires and hubs for heat with my hand. Only takes a minute. People get hung up on gadgets nowadays too much...

[windtrader]

It's been stated before many gadgets are there to fill the experience hole that non-professional heavy vehicle drivers have vs the professional driver who just has that 6th sense and intuition developed over many years and miles on the tarmac on what feels and sounds right or not.

I could go around banging tires with a hammer. So what? I don't have a clue what I'm listening for and what sounds good or not. TPMS are not 100% but better than nothing while in the seat going down the road. It has rarely given false or lacking information

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

It's been stated before many gadgets are there to fill the experience hole that non-professional heavy vehicle drivers have vs the professional driver who just has that 6th sense and intuition developed over many years and miles on the tarmac on what feels and sounds right or not.

I could go around banging tires with a hammer. So what? I don't have a clue what I'm listening for and what sounds good or not. TPMS are not 100% but better than nothing while in the seat going down the road. It has rarely given false or lacking information

I feel the same way.  I used to walk around with a baseball bat banging on my rear duals and used to drive an 18-wheeler, but it is nice to be able to start up the bus at 3:00 in the morning and do a quick walkaround, and glance at the TPMS display to get a quick glance at the Tire Pressure in all bus and toad tires.  In my case, I would be able to thump a tire and tell if it was completely out of air, but if it was down 10-20#, I would never be able to tell.

I am more concerned about my Toad tires, as I cannot see them in my rear mirrors or in my rearview camera.  If those blow out, it may be miles before I discover it as the mass of the Toad is so much less than the bus, and by then, the damage could be severe and repairs could be expensive.

If the bus, or any tire, develops a slow leak when traveling, or a bearing starts drying out for some reason and starts heating up, it is nice to know that my TPMS will probably alert me before there is a serious problem.  With a 56-year-old bus, anything can go wrong.

Just last week I saw a truck in the ditch.  I should have stopped to take a pix.  But he had a tire blowout and ran off the road and smashed the hell out of the front right side of his tractor.  A TPMS may not have prevented that, but if it does anything to help, I think the investment is worth it, as I value my life and my bus.

To me, it is another confidence builder that my vehicle is ready to travel on the road safely.

[luvrbus]

Most newer trucks have a TPMS Gary since 2000,LOL a TPMs cannot read fast enough when a Michlin decides to blow a side wall mine didn't 120 psi to 0 in a 1l2 of a second  or how long it takes to say Oh S***