My first week with TST-507 TPMS. Some thoughts...

[Mark N.]

Well, in case you are considering purchasing these, here are my thoughts after a week and 1500 miles worth of pulling with these installed.

First-The accuracy of the system: I have 2 digital pressure gauges. They are a brand and model that Consumer Reports gives high marks to for accuracy, so I am assuming they are accurate. They both read within 1 lb. of each other on any given tire at any pressure.
Compared to the 2 pressure gauges, which agree with each other, the TST-507 monitors are all reading 5 lbs. low. That is a 4.55% error. All 8 of them I own. The manufacturer claims a 0.73% accuracy rate.
No biggie I figure, as all I care about is the alarm when one starts to deflate for whatever reason.

I have no idea whatsoever why these things have an over pressure alarm. If you set a tire pressure to the manufacturers recommendation, then over pressure is an impossibility.

On the topic of the high-pressure alarm, the recommended 15% over isn't enough. On my G-614's running at 110 psi and the air temp. at 55-65 degrees, I was getting alarms. Given the sensors actually report 105 lbs. at a real pressure of 110 lbs, I added 15% to the 105 reported lbs. of pressure. That equaled about 121 lbs. The G-614s were reporting 125-126 lbs. on my trip (sunny 60 ish degrees) Adding the 4.55% error meant that the tires were actually at just under 132 lbs of pressure while rolling. I had to go to like 128 psi for a high-pressure alarm to stop it from alarming.
Again, I can't even figure out why they do a high pressure alarm. I set my tires correctly at a cold pressure, and they are going to get to whatever pressure they do for the temps. I am driving in.

Temperatures come in with about a 4 degree maximum spread when read off of my trailer sitting outside in the dark.

The D.C. plug: The metal part that inserts into the side of the monitor is about twice as long as it should be. Once inserted fully, there is a substantial amount of the metal plug that is still protruding from the side of the monitor housing. This makes it VERY prone to bending. I wish it plugged in flush.

Reception: I have a 2013 Ram 3500 super-cab and a Montana 3400 RL. When mounted on the windshield of the truck with the supplied window mount, the unit would no-way pick up all for signals from the trailer and keep them. Sometimes different tires on the trailer would report, other times, other tires. Never all four at once. No problem getting the 4 truck tires.
I had to move the monitor to the rear window of my truck to get and keep all the trailer tires locked in. Impossible to read back there, but I didn't care. I just need to here an alarm if one starts going flat. Not worth buying the $59 repeater antennae.

I'm glad now I didn't get the flow-through sensors. These remove and reinstall very, very quickly, and they are lighter.

The alarm: Loud. Unmistakably loud. You won't miss it if it sounds.

So, in the end, it works and works well, but It has a learning curve. You need to figure out it's percentage of error in PSI and set your high-pressure alarms accordingly or you will be scared accordingly when the alarm goes off for no reason. And for mine at least it had to go way above the recommended 15% over.

I'm glad I got it. It's good piece of mind, considering the vast majority of blow-outs happen because of underinflation.

UPDATE: I just called TST (Thanks for the tip Bingo!) and talk about great customer service! They are sending me a high-gain antenna to try and fix the connection problem. If that works, great. If not, I'll have to buy the repeater. She indicated about 90+ % of 5th-wheel customers end up with the repeater being necessary.
She is also sending me a spare plug in cord because of the metal probe bending potential. She was aware of the problem. They really need to redesign this to be a flush mount plug.
They are sending me a set of O-rings, also no-charge.

Also, she recommended a full 30% above your tire pressure as the high-pressure alarm limit to avoid unnecessary alarms. At least during the hot weather months.

So, it was a good customer service interaction, and I'll wait for the antenna and see if it fixes the reception problem. If not, the repeater will be ordered and installed.

[bncinwv]

Mark N., when I contacted the manufacturer regarding an issue where reception was a problem, they provided me with an external antenna that mounts to the rear windshield. They provided it at no charge and it definitely helped. I also purchased the booster for the system, but have yet to install it. Might be worth a call. And have them send some extra o-rings while you are at it.
Bingo

[DQDick]

I have a Ram Maxi Cab and use the booster hung in my back window.

[Glenn the fifth]

I have my receiver on the left side closest to the door without the booster antenna. I have never had a receiving problem with this truck or my last truck. I wonder if maybe some trucks have additional "interference" inside the cab that might effect reception. My truck is 22 feet long and the trailer is right at 40 feet long. Over the 3 or 4 years I have had a TST system I have lost reception (momentary) maybe once or twice. It seems like once it "locks on" it stays locked on. -Glenn

[DonandBonnie]

We just upgraded to the 507 after having a couple of premature battery failures on the 510. TST gave us a great deal on the upgrade. On three occasions in three years the system has paid for itself in detecting tire problems before they became catastrophes. Two were pressure issues and one with an unusually high internal temperature. The problem is that the flow thru caps are too long to fit on our Ford aluminum rims. We have angled valve stems on order (not valve stem extensions) to correct. In spite of the inconvenience and cost of making the valve stem change, the peace of mind that we get from the TST is worth the price.

[Mark N.]

quote:Originally posted by DonandBonnie

We just upgraded to the 507 after having a couple of premature battery failures on the 510. TST gave us a great deal on the upgrade. On three occasions in three years the system has paid for itself in detecting tire problems before they became catastrophes. Two were pressure issues and one with an unusually high internal temperature. The problem is that the flow thru caps are too long to fit on our Ford aluminum rims. We have angled valve stems on order (not valve stem extensions) to correct. In spite of the inconvenience and cost of making the valve stem change, the peace of mind that we get from the TST is worth the price.

What was the cause of the high temp.? I sorta figure the only common reason for high temps. are a low pressure situation. Other less common causes might perhaps be a bad wheel bearing getting really hot?

[DonandBonnie]

Mark, we can't give a specific reason for the high temperature. Somewhere there was a discussion that when the internal temperature of one tire varies significantly from all of the rest, a failure is pending. We can only guess that perhaps some internal issues with the cord was causing the temperature rise. The tires were Ford factory originals with almost 65,000 miles on them, well past the time that they were suppose to last but still with usable tread. Internal temperature on the left front jumped between 10 and 15 degrees higher than the others. Rather than take any chances we replaced all of the original tires. That same discussion said that the internal temperature per se is meaningless. Big variations between tires are the warning signs to watch for.

[richfaa]

Thanks for the info. We have the Pressure Pro system on both the 06 3400 and now the 13 3402. Never had a problem in picking up the signals. We were considering replacement with the TST but will nor reconsider.

[rames14]

We did not have a problem with signal on our Silverado, but do with our Ram. TST provided the repeater at no charge.

[kingdaddy]

Just ordered the TST 8 sensor non flow through kit from Great RV Products. I'm going to contact TST and see if they will provide the repeater at no charge like they did for Ron!
Sounds like the signal reception problem may be more common in the Ram trucks for some reason?
Just finished reading through the owners manual PDF from the website...they really need to consider getting a different translator! Some of the information was a bit confusing, some of the statements were pretty funny!
Still wondering why the OP had such inaccurate readings though?

[kingdaddy]

Update on the TST 507s...installed them on my truck today in preparation for going for the trailer this Friday-Saturday. Supposed to be 105 degrees so I will be glad to have these to watch the tires on the trip home!
After some head scratching and re-reading the directions, I finally got them working OK. Checking with my analog tire pressure gauge they seem to be pretty accurate...
Have to say I'm not crazy about the big black knobs hanging off my valve stems though! But worth it for the peace of mind, especially on the trailer tires.

[rames14]

Mike, with that peace of mind, maybe you'll join us at Grand Lake for the RMRR. I think the flow thru sensors are a little smaller than my original TST. But they are longer.

[kingdaddy]

Well, we are looking forward to our first trip in the "new" Monty. Where is Grand Lake and what is RMRR?
Sorry to veer off topic a bit...