Mishaps and Memories

Truck System Technologies, Inc

Since Dale and I are both professional motorcoach drivers, we are very well aware of the dangers associated with improper inflation and/or the over heating of our tires.  During the course of our tour bus driving careers, we were familiar with several incidents that involved tire fires that likely could have been prevented if the driver had been able to monitor his tire pressure and temperature.  In recent years, our buses were equipped with a system called “Smart Tire”, which monitored both pressure and temperature and sounded an alarm if either went out of a predetermined rang

Although our 2003 Rialta HD is a much smaller rig, we still feel it’s important to keep a close eye on our tire pressures and temperatures.  We’ve all heard stories where a blow out on the freeway has been disastrous or a tire catching fire caused a fully involved vehicle fire that maybe even resulted in serious injury or death.  A tire monitoring system won’t prevent under-inflated or over heated tires, but it can alert you to the situation and give you the opportunity to fix the problem before it develops into something more serious.  Another thing to consider is that if a wheel bearing is going out or a brake is dragging these monitoring systems would report the rise in temperature prior to a catastrophic part failure.

So soon after buying our Rialta, Dale began to wonder if such a system could be applied to our little motorhome.  He did some research on the Internet and was able to locate one that was available from our local Camping World store.  He bought the TM-510RV made by Truck Systems Technologies, Inc. –  www.TSTtruck.com, but there are several other brands available.  Here is another system that is available from Amazon.com PressurePlus 8000 Series 6-Sensor Tire Pressure & Temp. Monitoring System (TPMS)

The TM-510RV was very easy to install.  It came with six sending units that replace the valve stem caps on our tires and a receiving unit that we mounted on the dash.  We wanted to use the the extra two sending units to monitor the pressure in our rear air springs, but there wasn’t en0ugh clearance to put them on.  Maybe on other rigs they would fit fine, but not on our 2003 Rialta.  We used the included 12 volt adapter to plug into an extra 12 volt power port, but it also came with additional wiring to wire it direct to a 12 volt source if preferred.  Also included was an extended range antenna, but we did not find this necessary for the little Rialta.

If you drive any kind of motorhome, we highly encourage you to consider a tire pressure and temperature monitoring system.  It could save your life!  A word of advise:  If you’re going to invest your money in a system, be sure to get one that monitors both pressure and temperature.  There are many that do pressure only, but in our opinion, you should get a unit that does both.  Often you’ll see tire temperature rising before you realize you have low pressure, and if your bearings or brakes are overheating, the temperature monitor will alert you to that as well.

Safe Travels!