TPMS for class 6 and up

[Miami Cossack]

I really want to hear your opinions, so if you drive anything bigger than a pickup truck your thoughts on this matter to me. Over the last decade or more, it seems we are accumulating some property damage, injuries and a death toll from blown tryes. Cars have had TPMS for some time, but medium/heavy trucks won't have them any time soon. At least in the case of a blown steer tyre, knowing that you are rapidly losing air pressure is certainly an attainable technology and could save lives. It may not make sense to try to add it to trailer tyres etc. I get how pre-tripping and maintenance prevents most incidents, but running something over and developing a leak that the driver is unaware of can be deadly if the tyre loses pressure then blows without sufficient warning. The quality of driver is also dropping like a rock and we probably need to give them all the help we can. TPMS would not prevent all, but it would help, I think. At least put them on the steer axles. I suppose DOT would be downing 3 million trucks for TPMS codes/lights though. 

 

Your thoughts, please. 

 

[tjc transport]

i have only had two steer tires blow out and go flat in less than two seconds due to road debris. 

and TPMS would not have helped in either of those situations. 

as far as driving on a tire going flat from a leak, i can feel it. 

but then again, i have been driving for 51 years.  large trucks for 45.

[Miami Cossack]

I guess I'm just surprised they don't put them in the trucks, but for a tyre to actually "blow" (in the front is the one I worry about) There has to be a lot going on, like it going just about completely flat, which you'll feel. By the time it's down to 70 you'll feel it. It would drive you nuts enough to pull over and check it, unless it suddenly went down to 30 Psi and you just rode on it like an idiot until it blew, or you had the belts all separated. 

I suppose there is more to it then just putting the equipment into the truck. Once it was installed, there would be a million trucks coast to coast with faulty sensors and the drivers get used to it and DOT downing them or they ignore that light and run them flat because the light had been on for 9 months. That's how people do it with their cars and some of the drivers I see go down the interstate half in the grass texting in two phones at the same time. They aren't getting any brighter, that's for sure. 

[Mark T]

I just purchased 2 Continental wide base steers (HTC3 ?)   they come with a sensor inside them that they tell me communicates 

with the vehicle (if so equipped)  

[Miami Cossack]

Optional on some KW but rare and I believe I saw an RV with an aftermarket set up some time ago

[Hayseed]

The Mercedes Benz trucks We get here are available with TPMS. (I think Scania are too)

Most Logging Trucks are Fitted with an Aftremarket  Central Tyre Inflation (CTI) system, which incorporated TPMS.

[JoeH]

You're supposed to have 2 hands on the wheel for a reason. Buy good tires for the steer.

Most blowouts give an indication you'll see during a pre-trip. Bubbles on the sidewalk or even the tread (sometimes the tread will be humped up subtly, this will result in the tread coming off sooner or later) you'll see dry rot splits sometimes on the sidewall near the rim, etc.  A thorough tire check will tell you a tire is ready to blow, so when you see abnormalities on a tire just change it.  I've caught half a dozen drive tires on my triaxle the past couple years by spotting the above defects. Much easier for me to take 20 minutes and swap 2 drives when I choose to rather than when a blowout decides to choose. Never had a steer go, and hope I never do.  But that's what the hand brake is for, operate the rear brakes like a parachute to help stay in line until you get it under control.

[Freightrain]

Passenger car TPMS are sketchy at best for reliability.  I hate them, though dont own a vehicle with them.  Just another flashing light in the dash to ignore by most people.  Those people wouldn't check a tire if they noticed it walking up to a car, so what is a light on the dash going to do??  They build new cars for idiots.....but they are making better idiots every day.

[Dirtymilkman]

10 hours ago, JoeH said:

You're supposed to have 2 hands on the wheel for a reason. Buy good tires for the steer.

Most blowouts give an indication you'll see during a pre-trip. Bubbles on the sidewalk or even the tread (sometimes the tread will be humped up subtly, this will result in the tread coming off sooner or later) you'll see dry rot splits sometimes on the sidewall near the rim, etc.  A thorough tire check will tell you a tire is ready to blow, so when you see abnormalities on a tire just change it.  I've caught half a dozen drive tires on my triaxle the past couple years by spotting the above defects. Much easier for me to take 20 minutes and swap 2 drives when I choose to rather than when a blowout decides to choose. Never had a steer go, and hope I never do.  But that's what the hand brake is for, operate the rear brakes like a parachute to help stay in line until you get it under control.

Can't disagree more with you. I've had 2 blowouts on steer axles. 425's each time. First time was a set of Michelin's that had 1200 miles on them. Going 65mph, the passenger side steer instantly exploded. No humps, bumps, rot or cuts. Never touch the brakes, keep the truck in your lane till it slows. Second time was a set of Kumhos that had 120,000 miles on them. They were wearing perfectly flat and smooth. They didn't hop or bounce and had no visual defects. The tire decided to just blow. No pretrip can stop that from happening. 

[Hayseed]

10 hours ago, Freightrain said:

Passenger car TPMS are sketchy at best for reliability.  I hate them, though dont own a vehicle with them.  Just another flashing light in the dash to ignore by most people.  Those people wouldn't check a tire if they noticed it walking up to a car, so what is a light on the dash going to do??  They build new cars for idiots.....but they are making better idiots every day.

Both My Ute (pickup) & My Wife's car have TPMS. & like you, I was very sceptical of newfangled Gadgetery. But I have to admit They've picked up slow leaks in Tyres on more than one occasion.