Tire Sentry Pressure Monitoring System

[Casey Balvert]

I just installed the Tire Sentry system in my truck and trailer. Since I have duals on both truck and trailer I was concerned that I could have a tire failure without being able to see that a tire was down. I have 14 tires on the road plus the two spares. I bought the system for 18 wheelers so this setup allows me to monitor the spare tires as well. Two spots on the display are blank.



I chose this system for ease of installation, reported lack of false alarms and ease of battery changes. One other system I looked at required you to replace the sensors at 50 bucks a pop when the batteries ran out. This would have been rather costly. The Tire Sentry system requires two common #357 batteries per sensor for a total cost of around 40 dollars to change batteries in the entire system of 16 sensors. Battery life in the Tire Sentry is 2. 5 to 3 years. Pressure settings are user adjustable. Each system is custom built for your application and tire pressures.



Installation of the display unit was pretty straight foward. I mounted it where the cigar lighter is to the right of the steering wheel. The display unit is a standard 2 inch round guage size and will also fit a standard guage mount if you want an alternative location. An antenna cable runs through the firewall along the frame and terminates in a short integral antenna that extends down just below the frame foward of the rear bumper. No external antenna is required if you don't want to monitor a trailer. The sensors are user adjustable for pressure and screw on in place of the valve caps on each wheel.



So far the system has worked flawlessly. It alerted me to a low spare on the truck by a red flashing LED in on the display. The display has a picture of the truck and trailer with all the tire positions. When a tire drops pressure by a few pounds, the appropriate LED flashes along with a beep to warn you of the problem. It is nice to have the extra piece of mind, especially when towing. I will remove the sensors during winter storage to extend battery life even further.



When I get a chance I will post some pictures of the installation in the Readers Rigs section.



Casey

 

[Radshooter]

Sounds like a pretty easy, clean install. I would be interested in how they perform for an extended time. I thought about getting the kind that monitor temps also, but wasn't crazy about taking 14 tires off the rims to mount the sensor around the rim.

Keep us posted on how you like the setup.



Steve

 

[Casey Balvert]

Sounds like a pretty easy, clean install. I would be interested in how they perform for an extended time. I thought about getting the kind that monitor temps also, but wasn't crazy about taking 14 tires off the rims to mount the sensor around the rim.

Keep us posted on how you like the setup.



Steve

I looked at the one that monitors temperature as well and like you didn't like the idea of remounting all those tires. Since most tire failures result from heat due to low pressure (presuming you have a properly rated tire in the first place) this system will cover close to 99% of the problems. As well, the sensors are a snap to test and the battery replacement every two to three years is very easy and cost less than 40 bucks if you buy the batteries in quantity. In a pinch you can walk into any drug store and find a replacement battery. Will keep everyone posted on my progress but so far so good. Oo.



Casey

 

[klenger]

How much $$

 

[Casey Balvert]

How much $$

About $850 to monitor 16 tires. An eight or ten tire system would be considerably less. I know that sounds like a lot but given the potential damage that a shredding tire can cause and the added piece of mind, I thought it was quite reasonable.



Casey

 

[Ron Bissett]

Sounds like a fine system , hope the kid or who ever steals the valve extenders off my truck don't get on your rig . Lots of luck Ron Bissett in Metro Louisville KY

 

[GerryDrake]

Tire Sentry

Sounds great. Is that price Cdn or US ?... and, is there a website?. . Curious if you found 'the best' place to get 'em.



Did a search and found a similar item or two, but not that particular one. . Thanks. .



Gerry

 

[Casey Balvert]

That price is in US dollars. Fleet Specialties sells them directly to the consumer. Check their website at www.tiresentry.com



Most people will not need sixteen sensors. Pulling a trailer most will need eight, some ten so expect to pay in the area of $500 to $600, but that is only a guess on my part. Email them with your requirements and they are pretty prompt to get back to you.



Casey

 

[GerryDrake]

Sensors

Boy, I don't know why that totally straightforward site didn't come up in my search. I must have been dozing.

Casey...



Thanks for the info. I am curious if you bought the tool for changing the pressure rating. (** A special hand-held tool is available to re-set wheel sensors) I do lower the CTD's tire pressure a bit when not towing.



I guess giving them a call is the obvious answer.



I did find another one that weighs about twice as much (2. 1 oz each) and as I recall, sets itself to the pressure of the tire when you install it. The receiver has an outline of a motorhome and a toad, which would work, but look wrong.



I assume on the dually tires you just got the 3" or whatever length appropriate extenders so you can reach 'em. . or did you take the extenders off, figuring the will be harder to steal, and you don't really have to check air pressure by hand?

 

[Casey Balvert]

The "special tool" is just a small straight screwdriver. Very easy to reset them. Just let them know the maximum pressure that you will run in your tires when you order. I took the extenders off. It does make them harder to steal but then it wouldn't do anyone any good because the sensors are coded to your particular system. This also avoids interference from other systems that might be nearby. Their website shows the different configurations. If you click on products it shows what the display instrument will look like for your configuration. One shows a dually pickup with a two axle trailer. Because my trailer has two axles with duals I bought the 18 wheeler display and that gave me some extra LEDs to monitor the spares.



Once I get some experience with the setup, I am going to do a product review on it for the TDR mag.



Casey