Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

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Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

March 04, 2015, 10:35:59 am

I searched the forum and found many older threads of a variety of topics related to monitors but either not specific to this question or not updated with whatever imprivements may have come along.........what is your most recent experience and thoughts of pros and cons between these two tire pressure monitoring systems?

I check all tires before any driving but feel especially vulnerable to a toad pressure loss while driving as I likely would not know it was happening.

Mike

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #1 – March 04, 2015, 11:19:14 am

Hi Mike,

I used the TST 507 with flow through sensors. They have worked well for me. Batteries need to be replaced every year or so. Pretty easy to set up. You can set high and low limits for pressure and temp if you want them different from defaults. You can calibrate the readings for each sensor too. You can get sensors for your toad as well if you want to.

Mine came with a three year warranty when I bought them (promotional deal) and they gave me the extended antennae and the repeater for free. I was an early customer so I think they were going full bore on help.

I have had a couple sensors go bad and they were replaced within days under warranty. They sent me a complete set battery covers, gaskets and screws because they have an improved design for them. Service has been very prompt.

They don't interface with VMSpc but that is OK. The display it commes with is easy to read once you figure out where to put it. You will look at it a lot at first and then not very often. It is the alerts that you want. Alarms are audible so easy to recognise. Low battery warnings and sensor failure are alerted too.

It is interesting to watch tire pressures and temps as the day and drive progresses. Inside rears will almost always be higher pressure and temps than the outside tires. The sun makes a difference. Tires seem to run pretty close to ambient outside temp. I thought they would run hotter.

TST 507 Flow Thru |

Roger

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #2 – March 04, 2015, 11:39:59 am

Mike: I purchased Pressure Pro from Extreme when I got my first coach in 2008. They programed them for me and marked each tire unit as to where it went on the coach and tow. I moved to the new coach when I purchased it. The units on the coach tires have been on in storage and travel and not removed except to air the tire. I do remove the tow units when not in use to keep from being stolen. As of this date they are still working fine. I did purchase two backup but have not used. DAN

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #3 – March 04, 2015, 12:01:24 pm

Pressure Pro displays psi anytime we press the monitor button. We leave the dash display powered all the time and no longer use a gauge on each tire valve before driving off. Monitor tells all without moving. Pressure Pro wheel sensors have to be traded in about 5-6 years as their battery is not replaceable.

Looks like these three recently popular tire pressure monitors are identical. Their sensor battery is user replaceable, but to make the battery last longer, I think each sensor turns off if tire is not moving for a while. So it may be impossible to check tire pressure before moving without using a conventional tire pressure gauge.
1- TireTracker
2- Tire Minder
3- Tire Tech ON TP7400

I read this about the above three units:
"that the identical unit made in Taiwan is being marketed by three companies in the US and one of them is even claiming it makes it (not true). I think I saw a Tire Minder You Tube where one of their rather poor sounding salesman at a FMCA rally was saying that they did make the unit. The Tire Tech ON TP7400 is another one of the three..."

Both Pressure Pro and the others use the same radio repeater, which is usually needed to consistently receive toad and rear duals.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #4 – March 04, 2015, 06:03:32 pm

Folks, I ran into this....so the full question. And I recall Don Hay had some partial answers....do not use tape, and another, Barry?, used something to fill in the hole in the wheel where the valve stem goes thru from the dual inside tire, center the sender and keep off the wheel. But even my outside tire is a problem, the dang stem heads back into the wheel toward the coach, not street.

I have the Pro but it has not been installed for a couple of years. The end of it was eroding the wheel, I guess rubbed or vibrated. Anyway, seemed not good to have that. But it did work, told me a low pressure one day.

SO, a couple of days ago, a salesman at a dealership had a Tire Minder on his desk, a buyer moving it from old to new coach. The little sender things that go on the tire stem looked quite a bit smaller than the Pro ones. And he/she only used four, figuring that could not be noticed if a major air loss versus a coach where you would sense it right away. Not thinking if that is a good philosophy or not, but at the very least I want to get that Pro back on the toad only OR change out to the Tire Minder IF it would be a better fit on the FT too.

Then yous guys bring up the broader topic, appropriately, of pressurizing the tire without taking the thing off (good!), battery life and so on. IF dear reader you are new to this topic, and not to argue for or against a monitor, I just personally feel that I should a monitor even though I check the pressures before trips and each morning before I hit the road again.

I may take one of the Pro senders somewhere, compare size with a Tire Minder. My tire dealer here is just really no help on getting valve stems to cooperate.

mike

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #5 – March 04, 2015, 07:28:39 pm

Hello Mike,
I have been using the TST 507 with the flow thru sensors for almost 2 years now with no problems. I have compared the TST readings against my tire gauge enough that I trust the TST and rely on it so really only use the gauge when adding air. I have found it to be a reliable and useful tool. Bought my first set of batteries today and will install tomorrow.
Just remembered, I had a tire shop change out some of the valve stems to make adding and checking pressure easier.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #6 – March 04, 2015, 07:45:26 pm

I've had a TireTracker, a HawksHead, another unknown Chinese brand, and now use a Pressure Pro. The TT & HH I could NEVER get to consistently report, sensor drop out, high and low press warning and on the working sensors, you couldn't check pressure till well down the road. Great customer service, but I'd rather have something that works. The Chinese, don't remember which, worked well, it was the first I had and was impressed. Got a smoking deal on the PP and it works. If I hadnt found such a deal on the PP, it was a toss up with the TST. Best thing, in my opinion, is being able to check pressure before rolling.

Edit, my outboard stems also point in....why do they do this on Alcoas that can not be used as inboards?

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #7 – March 04, 2015, 08:06:00 pm

Many have very different luck with the Pressure Pro setup, Me, at first the leaks were on 3 of the 10, the toad no problems, the coach was maddening, tried PP sales & factory, was told I was too stupid to screw the sensor on.
After buying the seal kit & tool later, I was able to get them all working, holding air. Then when had the new Michelins installed all new stems including the inner dual using the 8" version, having the outside stems turned sideways, now everything is easy, simple to remove/install the sensors, no leaks in over a year. Also the inner dual wheel stem uses a rubber bushing as a support/snubber to hold the long stem steady.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #8 – March 04, 2015, 09:33:50 pm

We use anti-seize on valve stem threads to allow sensor to be easily removed in the future.
One of our sensors rubbed the wheel, so we put a short piece of clear hose on the worn sensor. Hose fit tightly on sensor and stopped the rubbing.
If you have Pressure Pro, why not use it?

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #9 – March 04, 2015, 10:16:34 pm

I bought a new Pressure Pro about six months ago. I've been pleased with the system. It measures the towed and coach with no repeaters or external antennas. I unplug it over night to avoid alarms due to falling temperatures. The "set" values I use are higher than pressures required for safe operation. Sometimes we are in unusually cold conditions that cause alarms, even though pressures are sufficient. I get an actual reading form each tire and proceed if pressures are in a safe range. Alarms cease after a few minutes of driving. A "real" low tire pressure will sound an alarm.

When we bought our FT five years ago, came with an old Pressure Pro. I had three flats, two on towed and one on coach, before our first trip. I took the system off and never used it. My understanding is that newer units have better seals. Our experience with the new unit has been good.

I bought a TST 5 1/2 years ago for our SOB coach. I took it off and sold it for almost nothing. Sensors failed to work in cold weather. The weight of the sensors caused old valve stem grommets to leak. Problems may have been mine (newbie user) rather than with TST. Newer units may be better.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #10 – March 05, 2015, 12:16:51 am

I have an older Pressure Pro that I bought used on eBay. The sensors all needed batteries, but the price was cheap enough that I had Pressure Pro replace the sensors, still saving money over an entirely new system.

Before the PP was added, I checked the pressures regularly, and the tiny amounts of air released each time added up to the point where I needed to add air about every month or two. With the PP, I never check the air other than with the PP, and have not needed to add any air in over a year. The new seals must work.

When I had new tires put on, I had the valve stems on the outer rear tires turned outward. Since they did't have new stems, they used the old ones, and I had to add air every three weeks. I took the rig back and had new stems put on, and no leaks.

Sometimes, one of the rear tires isn't heard by the PP receiver (or is off?) while at rest, but always comes back to life as soon as I start to move. I really like using the PP to check pressures each morning.

While at Quartzsite in January, I was rudely awakened each night by the PP sounding an alarm. It always chose one tire to report as low, although all were about the same (slightly low) pressure. I ended up unplugging the receiver until morning, at which time all were fine. It does seem to have a problem with low temperatures while at rest.

I have a friend who bought one of the Chinese systems with flow-through systems, but returned it when he found they were not usable on his toad. It seems the sensors stuck out further than the sidewall, and were in danger of being damaged by curbs.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #11 – March 05, 2015, 10:27:39 am

We've used the Doran 360 since 2006. It's been reliable, service was good when we had to start replacing sensors after about six years. Needed to install a repeater for the toad. We also changed valve stems on outside duals, just used straight shorties.

I hard wired our system to a switched 12v circuit, leave it off except on travel days.

System paid for itself twice, first when an inside dual caught a piece of metal in the sidewall, second when a tire blew on the toad.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #12 – March 05, 2015, 11:31:45 am

You got that right.

best, paul

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #13 – March 05, 2015, 12:14:00 pm

I guess you should, if you're off your butt anyway, roll the coach so you can check them 360°, incl the inboard dual ?

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #14 – March 06, 2015, 01:06:58 am

Pressure Pro sensors get the set point psi when the sensors are screwed on. After a sensor is removed for about 25 seconds, its set point is reset.
If a night is cold and tire pressure drops too much we get an alarm and I unplug monitor at that time. Then the next morning while tires are still cold, we remove each sensor, place them on ground next to tire and when I get back around to starting tire, we screw sensor back on which establishes a new lower set point. No more low pressure alarms. Keeping system powered up is a good way to know if a tire is going flat, and we get an immediate alarm if someone removes a sensor.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #15 – March 06, 2015, 02:07:33 pm

This is a great thread, very informative, and for me very timely.

Thanks!

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #16 – March 06, 2015, 09:29:49 pm

Mike,

You asked about Tire Minder. I have that system and hate it! The sensors are junk. I have had 7 sensor failures in 5 months that I have had it. The company is responsive when I call, replacing sensors free of charge. But because of the aggravation of dealing with failing sensors all of the time, I intend to ask for my money back. I probably will replace with the TST507 system as I like to flow-through sensors with replaceable batteries.

Good luck & safe travels.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #17 – March 06, 2015, 09:43:12 pm

Did not say what we had for a system, we have the Tire Traker system

Roland

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #18 – March 06, 2015, 11:07:09 pm

In addition to Pressure Pro, we have Tattle-Trail a wireless accelerometer that notifies us in the motorhome if our toad is starting to vibrate or move abnormally. A thrown toad tire tread that doesn't leak air (so TPMS does not alarm) will probably be caught. A broken hitch, a bubble in a tire, suspension problem. When we are parked, even with jeep parked 500 feet away, Tattle-Trail can notify us in the motorhome if someone is tinkering with the Jeep. Probably valuable for vehicles parked outside a motel room or motorcycles parked by themselves.
Wireless Trailer Towing Monitoring System to Monitor Travel Trailer Better...

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #19 – March 06, 2015, 11:13:46 pm

Oh Royce, so glad to have that specific info on brand.
Think need look at Tire Traker that Roland referenced.

Maybe too i should try to get Herman Power to work on the valve stem positions so the sensor can fit without rubbing the wheel, and ask if they can change the outer dual stem to not face backwards. Maybe though a reason it does, something about safer that position?

Oops...now Barry posts about yet another safey idea. Hmmm.

You know, i kinda like the camera watching the toad, but it would also be neat if it could look back down the road, let me see what is behind us. Still, i know someone that lost one tow arm to the toad, felt somrhing wrong so being able to see it is probably best.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #20 – March 30, 2015, 02:11:11 pm

My pressure Pro wheel sensors are about two years old, and have been 100% reliable and leak free until a wheel ago. After having my service tech air up the tires, one developed a slow leak. The seal looks mangled. So I called Pressure Pro today and ordered a set of new seals. They may or may not be a newer style than the old ones.

In chatting with the nice lady, I found out a few things.

Her spin is that the Chinese copied an older design of theirs, one with less reliable and less frequent reporting, and in fleet mode....which means no reporting until you hit 30mph. This helps them get a year per battery change. PP went with more expensive batteries to last 5 or 6 years inspite of being always on and reporting every six seconds.

I really like being to check my tire pressures before moving.

Although PP does monitor temperature, it only sends an alarm above 190 degrees. The Chinese tell you the actual temperature and alarm above 200.

PP is releasing a new $200 receiver with all the bells and whistles, completely up to date. It even warns you of differing pressures on the same axle.

Later this summer, they will have an entirely new system with smaller sensors and a no-display receiver that looks like a usb auto plug. It communicates via Bluetooth with an app on your phone or tablet.

She also mentioned a possible trade-in incentive for RVers.

Re: Pressure Pro or Tire Minder?

Reply #21 – March 30, 2015, 05:55:32 pm

We have been happy with Pressure Pro since we purchased them about 8 years ago. We recently installed their new two-piece inserts, with one piece an O-ring, and they came with an insertion tool. We leave our monitor on 24/7 and get alarms if we have a slow leak, even while sitting. We check pressures several times a week and before we take off, we always know the psi of each tire.
Nice to know they are innovating with new devices on the horizon.

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