TST doesn't alarm on blowouts

[Golfmedik]

I told you guys I would update you on the TST system not responding to my blowout on the way to the rally, after I talked with TST. During the rally, Mike from TST asked me to meet him outside the lecture areas to discuss the problem, so I did. What he had to say, well, was maddening. TST sensors DO NOT detect what he likes to call "Instantaneous Pressure Loss". Meaning, if you hit something in the road and tear a large hole in the tire, chances are, it will not detect it! Apparently the tire sensor industry likes to advertise their products will detect, "Rapid Pressure Loss", leading the RVers to believe they would detect the sudden blowout which greatly damages our rigs. This is NOT the case. In fact, NO SYSTEM on the market does this!!! Read that again!!!! What the product will do is detect a "Fast leak" their new terminology, which will detect a leak of 2 psi per minute or greater.
The TST system is designed to monitor four parameters, high heat, high pressure, low pressure and fast leak. The cause of most RV tire blowouts is low tire pressure, which when driven on, produces heat, which then raises pressure, which then leads to blowout. This is what the system will detect. This was the case for many years with the larger RVs being placed in E rated tires that couldn't support the weight. These tires would "unzip" which means that the tread would separate from the carcass and leave the "road alligators" everywhere. This was common with the foreign made E rated, 10 ply tires. The newer G, and higher rated tires rarely do this which is the reason they are in such demand nowadays. But these tires will "detonate" with a huge hole at the junction of the sidewall and tread.
I wasn't too happy with the reps answer, so I received a call from the VP of TST after a friend put him in contact with me. He reiterated much of what Mike had said here the rally. We had a long conversation and explained that since this is the case, I feel many RVers are being mislead. Folks, there is not a Big 3 truck on the market that allows you to see the rear tires of your trailer while traveling on the interstate. So, if you are running along and you don't hear the blowout until great damage is done to your RV, or someone tells you to pull over, it can go undiscovered for miles.
I explained that I'd had the system save prior to this blowout, but using the monochrome monitor. One was a failure that's eerily similar to this, and the other was a bolt stuck in the tread. But, he states that in around 1% of all failures, the sudden blowout, it will NOT inform you. The system checks each sensor every 12 seconds and even though it read a pressure and temp when it last checked, it will NOT tell you when it tries to check it again and the temp and pressure isn't there!!! The reason for this is because many systems have a sensor that drops out of coverage while going own the road and if it were to recognize the sensor wasn't there, it would be giving out too many false reports.
This information has been really troubling to not only myself, but others at the rally as well. The industry uses words to make us think it is all encompassing coverage, when in fact, it covers "most" RV flats. If you were to be traveling at night and suddenly ruptured the right side tire of a fifth wheel, as I said before, you could drive on it for miles without knowing it if you didn't hear it. Thus doing great damage to your unit.
I've had TST products on my fifth wheels for 12 years now partly due to the fact they were the absolute first system on the market to give us the tire temperature when scanning. I loved that feature and still do. This has made me very wary of any on the sensor systems. The manufacturers of these types of systems apparently have made their own industry out of the fears of RVers and by playing on words or descriptions. However, I still feel the need for a TPMS. I'm not affiliated with TST or any other system as many have suggested. And yes, I've promoted this system for years after saving me twice, but I believe system manufacturers need to find a way to detect the incidents that you can see and don't hear, as this is most RVers greatest fear.
After talking with the two members of the TST team, and doing a lot of research the last few days, I'm going to stick with the TST system. The reason is that I'm familiar with it and since no other system has an advantage, this one is already in my truck and on my unit.
I've had many people ask for an update, so I had time this morning to put my thoughts in order.

[mhs4771]

I have the TST System and it went off right we heard the BOOM on our two Blow Outs.
While Friends using the Tire Minder totally shreded a tire and there system never went off.

[Bourbon County]

Very detailed and most informative. I really appreciate you taking the time to share the info.

Even though their product doesn't do what most of us perceived it to do, I do respect their honesty and the effort they made to explain to you.

[ChuckS]

Have been using the TST 507 system going on 11 years now. Upgraded last year to the newest color display, repeater ( which I did not have before ) and four new screw on sensors for the RV.

Still using two of the original cap sensors on my truck rear drive tires and they work perfect with the new display and new sensors on the other tires

I ran a test this morning to simulate a blowout .. by unscrewing a cap sensor to simulate a rapid loss of air. Of course I can’t actually do a full blowout test and I hope to never have one .. have never had a tire blowout in over 45 years of RVing.

Anyways . My crude test tells me the TST507 system will in fact find a blowout ( rapid loss of air ) quicker then I suspected it would ..

** NOTE . I have no idea what the factory installed OEM TST sensors would report ( the ones that are mounted internally inside the wheel )

Sharing with you folks for a gee whiz info … video of my test from my YouTube channel

https://youtu.be/6yrI2iyEQfk?si=EUyDYjUrOVhDMfkc

[Daryles]

Thanks for the follow-up.
We have the EEZeeTire system. Last year in Nova Scotia Canada we had a blowout (Sailun tires) caused by road debris, we were in a construction zone. Not only did we hear and feel the explosion, the

EEZeeTire monitor went off instantly.

We had some wheel well damage. There is only darco between the wheel well and the aluminum frame above. After I repaired the damage I covered the top of the wheel well with aluminum flashing. I'm planning on replacing that with thicker aluminum sheet metal to prevent any future damage in the event of another blowout. We replaced all the tires after the blowout. They were coming up on 5 years old.

[twindman]

I had 2 blowouts this summer due to 6+ year old tires (thought they were newer). The TST went off within 5 seconds on one and I think the same on the other. The 2nd one,I knew immediately what happened when I heard the tire blow. I can see if they only sense it every 12 seconds it could take that long for the TST to go off

[rames14]

I think some are misunderstanding what Monty is saying. His tire blew, TPMS never went off. His tire is sitting in his truck with a hole in it and the sensor is still showing full temp and pressure. It is a concern. It depends if your tire deflates during that 12 second update.

[Golfmedik]

I've had this system notify me before when I had a blowout that had no previous warning. When this one did not I inquired why. No tire system on the market will alert you if a large hole is blown out of a large hole is cut into the tire and all pressure is released immediately. This is the 1% of all tire failures. The sensors "sleep" until the monitor pings it for a report. If all pressure is released in between the pings, the sensor should show no pressure or temp in that slot, however will only blink the position it's trying to check. After talking with the factory rep, engineers and VP, this is how the system would operate in this situation. If, the air is released during the period in between pings and can compare two pressures and one meets the 2psi/minute guide, it will alarm.

[Foldbak]

Correct me if I'm wrong but other then a tire rupture caused by an object in motion, doesn't the tire temp rise prior to blowing? Meaning if the tire is failing shouldn't you be notified by temp? My GMC will show the tire pressures and temp in green orange and red on the dash. If the temp or pressure is over or under spec the display will auto switch to the TPMS display.


I haven't experienced it yet and hope I don't

[scottz]

Originally Posted by Golfmedik

But, he states that in around 1% of all failures, the sudden blowout, it will NOT inform you. The system checks each sensor every 12 seconds and even though it read a pressure and temp when it last checked, it will NOT tell you when it tries to check it again and the temp and pressure isn't there!!!

Probably my fault, but this is not making sense to me. If I remove one of my sensors, the system alarms almost immediately and reads zero psi; it does not take 12 seconds.

Originally Posted by ChuckS

I ran a test this morning to simulate a blowout .. by unscrewing a cap sensor to simulate a rapid loss of air. Of course I can’t actually do a full blowout test and I hope to never have one .. have never had a tire blowout in over 45 years of RVing.

Anyways . My crude test tells me the TST507 system will in fact find a blowout ( rapid loss of air ) quicker then I suspected it would.

Originally Posted by Golfmedik

No tire system on the market will alert you if a large hole is blown out of a large hole is cut into the tire and all pressure is released immediately. This is the 1% of all tire failures. The sensors "sleep" until the monitor pings it for a report. If all pressure is released in between the pings, the sensor should show no pressure or temp in that slot, however will only blink the position it's trying to check. After talking with the factory rep, engineers and VP, this is how the system would operate in this situation. If, the air is released during the period in between pings and can compare two pressures and one meets the 2psi/minute guide, it will alarm.

Perhaps we cannot remove a sensor fast enough to simulate a "sudden blowout"; maybe we are simulating a "fast leak".

[Mikendebbie]

We need a volunteer to go blow a tire up and get some real life data.
You could take an old tire on wheel - it would not have to be new - set it up with a sensor - and shoot it with a rifle at a safe distance. Just the sort of thing I would have volunteered for when I was 17.

Seems like TST would have a video like this somewhere.

[StageCoachDriver]

I notice my TST is a few seconds behind real world activity. Example, inflating a tire, it takes a few seconds to register the increase in pressure. Probably 5-10 second delay. I have flow thru sensors.

[Dreamersandtravelers]

We had bearings & brakes replaced. A week later, traveling from Oregon coast in mid-Nov across frozen Laramie WY the lug nuts sheared off and our wheel disappeared. We stopped to call a nearby campground when we found we'd lost a wheel & sensor! NO ALARM! We had no idea when it left, snow covered roads didn't let this FL man drive more than 30-45 mph. If we hadn't stopped in Laramie who knows how far we would have attempted to go trying to out run the incoming storm.

We have parked our rig, turned on our TPMS, waited for all the values to populate. Then drove 30 miles away before the FIRST alarm activated. Gradually, all wheels began displaying a blank psi value.

Try this with your system! See how long it takes to show a problem. Losing a wheel seems like the system should warn something SOONER!

So in our opinion, these systems are really ineffective. Or to put it bluntly, useless.

[Zinnman]

I personally believe the TST system does everything I need it to do. It monitors my tires by informing me of the current temperature and pressure of each tire. As to telling me I have had a blowout the moment it happens, well I have already figured that out myself being the MAIN monitor of the rig.

I don’t know of anyway, other than a God enhanced vision of a future disaster that one could know. But, there is a high probability that if my TST monitor shows pressure decreasing I can strive to avoid an issue.

[Mikendebbie]

Originally Posted by Zinnman

I personally believe the TST system does everything I need it to do. It monitors my tires by informing me of the current temperature and pressure of each tire. As to telling me I have had a blowout the moment it happens, well I have already figured that out myself being the MAIN monitor of the rig.

I don’t know of anyway, other than a God enhanced vision of a future disaster that one could know. But, there is a high probability that if my TST monitor shows pressure decreasing I can strive to avoid an issue.

I agree!
I'll bet you with the right amount of money one could have a system that does everything on an instantaneous basis + stream movies in the truck and bluetooth siriusXM Willies Roadhouse to the truck cab. The technology is out there - but what would you have to pay for all of that? I suppose if there was a market - someone would pay for it. I am happy with my TST system for now.

[mhs4771]

My TST has warned me twice of a tire loseing air, once on the Truck and once on the RV. That's what it designed to do.

[CarWin]

Originally Posted by Foldbak

My GMC will show the tire pressures and temp in green orange and red on the dash. If the temp or pressure is over or under spec the display will auto switch to the TPMS display.


I haven't experienced it yet and hope I don't

This is how our 2022 factory trailer TPMS system is supposed to work in our GMC. We haven't experienced a blowout yet either, and hope to avoid doing so too.

[Lee-CI]

A year or so ago, we too lost a wheel due to sheared lug studs. Ours departed the rig while traveling 55 to 60 mph. Temp and pressure readings remained unchanged since the prior reading since there was no sensor to read from. HOWEVER we did get a single chirp warning that something untoward had happened. We were scratching our heads trying to make sense of what had transpired when another pickup came flying up behind us traveling triple digits and braked hard beside us to flag us down. He had been following us and had stopped to retrieve the errant tire / wheel.

So yes - this is another example of the unexpected with our TPMS which happens to also be a TST. Speaking with a TST engineer after the fact, he deduced that when a sensor departs a trailer in motion, the software is written to display the last known values. With that said, from a technological standpoint I'm at a loss as to why a sensor would not indicate zero psi shortly after a catastrophic blowout UNLESS the sensor was also damaged. If that indeed happened, the sensor could not have provided updated data.,

[Foldbak]

FYI a good reason to inspect your wheels and re-torque. Big-O and an air impact....

The wheel studs shearing off normally is caused by over tightening the lugs or your wheels have elongated holes which allow the wheel to have excess movement while traveling.

[Daryles]

For ours (EEZeeTire) when we loose a sensor, the screen for that tire is blank and the monitor churps until you acknowledge it (push a button).
DW handles that while I'm busy adjusting the mirrors to check the tires.
We may need to add an extender for ours.