There is more educational material available now on RV tire care and maintenance than ever before. We are instructed to check and inflate our tires to the correct pressure for the load, not to overload the RV, to inspect our tires for signs of damage and/or excessive wear and to replace tires that show any evidence of damage and at regular intervals.
This is all great advice that should be adhered to, but it is impossible to know what kind of damage may have already occurred to the inside of a tire, and you have no way of knowing when the tire might fail. Another consideration is what might be happening to the tires on your tow or towed vehicle as you travel around the country. Several years ago I had a tire blowout on our towed vehicle and barely noticed it until the entire inner fender was destroyed before I could safely pull over and stop.
This brings me to the topic of today’s article, a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS). For many years I traveled in RVs without a TPMS. Looking back now I honestly can’t tell you why I didn’t get and use a TPMS sooner. During the time I didn’t use a TPMS I had one rear tire blowout and was fortunate to be traveling at a lower speed when it happened. Even at a lower speed it caused some damage to our motorhome. It wasn’t until we were planning a long RV trip that I decided it was time to look into a TPMS.
I would like to give you my top 7 reasons for using a TPMS on your RV and tow or towed vehicle tires:
1)Most Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems I researched were easy to install and easy to use.
2)It’s a quick and easy way to check the tire pressure in every tire before traveling each day. The TPMS I use is accurate to within 2.7%. That’s as accurate as many tire gauges.
3)You can monitor both the RV and the towed vehicle tires as you travel. That’s what I call piece of mind!
4)A TPMS has an alarm/warning system to notify you of a potential problem. Knowing when there is a potential problem with a tire can limit damage to the RV and quite possibly save lives.
5)My TPMS monitors tires for a loss in air pressure and for possible overheating too.
6)A TPMS can be cost effective. The cost of a decent TPMS can be equivalent to the price of a new motorhome tire, not to mention the damage a blowout can cause to the RV and/or the towed vehicle.
7)I don’t think I was ever as relaxed traveling in the RV as I am now with the TPMS onboard. Driving is much more enjoyable when you know what the tire pressure is at any given time, and the fact that you will be warned if a problem with the tires exists.
As I researched the topic I discovered many reputable companies offering a TPMS that will work on larger motorhome tires. Based on my particular needs and on what I wanted in a TPMS I decided on the Tire Minder, Model TMG 400C by Minder Research
Happy RV Learning,
Mark Polk
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