Hey, looking for a bus Christmas gift. What tire pressure monitoring system do you recommend? I looked at some of the tire pressure pros. Not exactly in my field of knowledge, so, I would appreciate some help in choosing the right system. I saw that some of them will pre program them, so that when you get it, you dont have to configure it. Would I need an atenna to make it work, or a relay? I assume then, that you need to give them the amount of pressure that your tires require? How would I know that without letting hubby in on it? ::) Is this doable to do as a surprise? Help!!!!!!!!! Just trying to make it a bus gift thing, and though this would work. Thanks
I have the Pressure Pro. Easy to program-simply inflate you tires to the correct inflation, screw the sensor into the tire stem and follow the directions as to the sequence of buttons to push per position. I have my towed also with the Pressure Pro. With the towed, you should have a booster near the rear since sometimes you loose the cars signal. The only thing I wished it had was the ability to manually check and fill the tire without removing the sensor. Sean has a more sophisticated one that also has a temperature readout-very handy. Good Luck, TomC
Temp. read out would be nice too. Is there a preferred place to buy the system? We tow a trailer with our car on it. Can I just tell them how many tires there are, and they figure out what all I will need? Also, this is going in the new conversion we are doing now, so, what would be the best mounting option for the receiver?
We have the PressurePro and are very happy with it. Since we tow 4 down, we have the sensors on the toad wheels also. When doing a day trip in the toad, we can place the monitor in the toad (it installs on the dash with velcro or the included clips. The sensors replace the valve caps. When towing our golf cart trailer, we transfer the front wheel sensors from our toad to the trailer so we can monito those tire pressures.
The SmartTire system uses sensors that install inside the tire (strapped to the wheel). This system in more theft -proof but requires demounting the tires to install them. This system does give temperature as well as pressure.
We purchased our PressurePro from Jim Shepherd. Jim is a fellow busnut and post on this BB as
RVSafetyMan. Jack
I also bought my Pressure Pro from Jim and have been very happy with it. ;D
Thanks, I will contact Jim.
He has good fire extinguishers too.
Hi Ruthi
There are a ton of different systems on the market. I carry the Pressure Pro which is the old tried and true system. Several of the newer systems have had their ups and down with various issues.
No matter what system you buy, you will never again travel without them. The feeling of being protected is almost beyond description.
I do offer a bit of a discount to bus folks.
Give me a call and we can discuss your options.
BTW, thanks for the nice comments for those that mentioned my name. Sure glad that you did not use some of the adjectives that require the funny symbols :D :D
Jim
three zero three 478 -3501
What type of price range are we looking at for various type of systems?
Thanks
John
Hi John, in years past, the "rule of thumb" was $50 per tire and $190 for the monitor. Most of the premium systems are still in the same range.
The SmartTire system is a bit more costly. They just got purchased by Bendix after about closing their doors.
In recent years, there has been some discounting by companies that have not been in the business and don't have a track record. One was Saf-Tee. They were about $2-300 less expensive for a set. However, they had a bad habit of charging your account and not shipping. They also had a very poor track record on reliability. They have since been purchased by anther company and it sounds like they have gotten their act together. There have been a couple of new companies that have entered the market, but I think they have folded.
I am not bad mouthing the competition, just trying to make sure you do your home work. RVNet has several threads on tire pressure systems.
I like the rather Plane Jane Pressure Pro system, because of the good reputation and the fact that I don't have to deal with much in the way of warranty work. They do their job and do it very well.
Jim
Got it ordered from Jim. What a nice guy to deal with. Thanks Jim, and Merry Christmas!
PS, I will let you know how the surprise goes, lol. Ruthi
Ruthi, They work good but you need to install the set I bought a set from Jim 5 or 6 years and they do me a lot of good still in the box in the bay of the bus LOL
good luck
Wow,lol. I assure you Ken will have his on, prob. before we are ready to get the bus on the road. ;D I know he will be happy to get them, and surprised that I thought of it. ::) Jim is going to ship them to me in a plain box, as to not give it away.
Ruthi,
Be sure to follow the instructions for the initial installation. There is a specific sequence to install them. We have had ours about 5-6 years now and would not be without them. Jack
Ruthi, your absolutely right about jim, he is a great person, many don't know but when libby came out of the horsepistal last january and needed an oxygen concentrator and we couldn't afford one thru the hospital, sonny gray sent her one and jim shepard picked up the shipping cost, without that she would have had an even greater struggle to survive, I'm eternally grateful for all everyone has done to help her and thats why I've gone back to my old system of charging a cup of coffee or two for piling sawdust, this applies only to busnuts, I'll still accept donations from time to time but it is exactly that, just a donation, no bill will be written or sent for labor. When libby is strong enough to travel we're going to run and hide again lol. I don't want to hijack the thread just offer a thought about jim, he's a great guy.
Ruthi, I just could not send a plain brown package :). I sent it in one of Pat's Stampin' Up! boxes. That way hubby will think you have taken up a new hobby ;D
Jack should tell the whole story. When he was installing his units, I was re-installing a couple of my units on my toad. When I put a sensor on the toad (a Jeep with big tires and low pressure) I got a reading over 100 PSI!!!!
We quickly figured out that you can only do one vehicle at time ;D ;D ;D
Cody, I was posting at the same time you were. Thanks for the kind words!
Jim
A couple of week-ends ago on a charter with the hockey team's bus, I lost a tag axle tire. It evidently went flat without me noticing, and came off the rim in one piece. Good thing it did not fly apart, because it would've done damage. Anyway, if the bus had a tire monitoring system, I could've known it was flat and stopped before it came off. I am lucky it did not take out the air bag.
JC
I absolutely agree with the need and merit of a system like this, I've had the dubious pleasure of rebuilding a couple of coaches over the years that were the victum of tires coming apart, it's amazing how much damage can happen when a road gator breaks loose and makes several turns thru and into your fender well and in some cases into the living compartment of the bus. All the damage could have been prevented by a monitoring system for the tire pressure, the damage to the bus while extensive is minor compared to what can happen in a traffic situation or in bad weather especially if you suddenly find yourself on the rim of a steering tire, when I can I'll certainly be adding one.
First people with a bus that we met when we started fulltiming had a Toyota 4x4 that blew a front tire and did $6000 worth of damage to the truck. Got me started thinking about monitoring systems for our bus and toad. One less thing to worry about while going down the road. ;D
When I looked at the cost of the system, I compared it to the cost of a blowout. Not just the tire, but all the collateral damage. We blew a rear driver's side drive axle tire years ago on our 4106. tire cost about 250, but the new radiator and fan blade that were destroyed by the tire cost about 900. When we blew a tag on our MC-8, it took out the muffler and exhaust pipe. When Nick lost a front tire on his Jeep, it took out a front fender and fender well. In all these cases, the collateral damage exceeded the cost of the PressurePro system.
Although the Pressure is not a guarantee you will not have a blowout, most blowouts are caused by under-inflation, and the PressurePro will prevent driving with under inflated tires
Ruthi,
I have one of Jim's fire extinguishers. Read up on those and you will have at least one, also.
Good luck with the tire monitors.
John
I have 4 different sized extinguishers from Jim in the bus, plus i have about 6 of the paint can type that i carry in my cars. :)
We also carry one of Jims 2.5 gallon extinghisers plus another 2.5 gallon that is part of the Fire Suppression System he sells. The Fire suppression system works automatically, controlled by the Fire detection Monitoring system, or can be activated manually.
Anyone that wants to see the systems (PressurePro, Fire Detection, Fire Suppression) please look me up at Bussin' 10 in Arcadia, FL in a couple weeks. Jack
Would love to see it, but, we wont make the rally. Weve got to keep working on the Dina. Hope everyone has a good time, and cant wait to see all the pictures.
Add me to a list of PressurePro enthusiasts. I probably posted the story of how we blew a tire on our Jeep last year, and the PressurePro alerted us, keeping us from ruining our other front tire and the Jeep itself. It would have been called "Shreddy the tire" or something.
Anyway, we feel it paid for itself that one time, just as the Brake Buddy likely saved our bacon when we lost the toad in Tampa a couple of years back, in our "Keystone Kops" issue of our adventures on the road. ::)
And BK wonders why he's had a hard time lately. . .well, it's those pesky Gremlins that abandoned us for "greener pastures", ;D. Christy Hicks
Quote from: Christyhicks link
And BK wonders why he's had a hard time lately. . .well, it's those pesky Gremlins that abandoned us for "greener pastures", ;D. Christy Hicks
Ah, thanks Christy. I knew there was a reason for the season! I just had no idea you were behind it! ;D
;D BK ;D