TPMS

    Very little chatter about TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) from the search, so wanted to start a good discussion. I realize there is the old tried and true method, examine your wheels on your pre-ride inspection and use your air gauge. My goal is to use some technology to try and prevent wheel/tire damage/loss in case of a leak/puncture happening while out riding.


    An ideal system for me would be programmable enough to set it up for use on a SlingShot / trike, waterproof monitor and sensors, internal sensor option if you don't want to put the caps on the stems and a good monitor/output to show what we need. Sending alerts to my phone is a plus, but I don't want to have to rely on my phone for the system.


    Bellacorp TPMS looks promising, it's mainly geared towards big rigs and rv's, support for 20+ sensors and programmable for however many you need. A bit pricey in my mind for a three wheel setup.


    Fobo Trike is an option, geared towards three wheels, but relies on your smartphone for display. Pricey for what you get. While I'm very much a technophile and love my gadgets and smart phone, if it's in my pocket, or connected to a car play unit and it doesn't get the alert or I don't notice the alert on a tire issue, I'd be very angry to have a tire/wheel ruined because I didn't see/get the alert. Others have noted in other threads, Fobo doesn't have good reviews, mainly because of the phone's app.


    Tireminder A1A is probably the most well known aftermarket TPMS available and is used by a lot of trucking companies, but it's not clear if it would work with just 3 sensors and it's pricey.


    There are a lot of no-name companies selling various setups, most geared towards four wheels, like Deewaz TPMS and I even contacted a couple of these companies, asking for a copy of the manual. Only one responded and it didn't appear you could adapt it for 3 wheels.


    I'm contemplating buying the Bellacorp TPMS to review, but would like some other ideas if anyone has them.


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    A follow up, see post TPMS

    I was never keen on low profile tires because never having them, I thought they would have a tendency to bottom out and ride on the edge of the rim in tight turns.....


    Short story...years ago I had a motorcycle with aluminum wheels.....one night at 2 in the morning I had a flat tire because I had a car key stuck in my rear tire. I wacabout 10 miles from home and pushing it home wasn’t an option. I decided to ride it home knowing I could possibly ruin the tire and rim.


    I was able to drive 35 miles an hour without any problem. It would get wobbly in turns so I had to slow way down. On the straight aways I could not tell it was flat. I drove it to the bike shop the next day and had them repair the flat. To my amazement there was not tire damage, no inner tube damage (except the key hole) and no rim damage. The tire had those side wall rim protectors built in.


    My very first mods consisted of safety item including $1500 worth of lights to make me more visible, the FOBOBIKE monitor system and curb alert to protect as much as possible the SS itself. Looking at low profile tires it’s not real easy to tell if it’s flat.


    First story, I was driving on the turnpike in the passing lane doing 70 in a construction zone. There was a piece of 4x4 right in the track of my rear tire. My move to miss the wood failed by a half inch. It skinned a chunk of sidewall out of the tire and just scraped the edge of the rim.


    Second story, Being 35 miles away from home I kept driving bucause you don’t want to pay a tow truck to get me home. On a toll road you’re going to pay big bucks for that trip. I wanted to at least get off the pike. I immediately turned to my FOBOBIKE app so I could monitor my air pressure in real-time to evaluate my situation and drive accordingly. The FOBO indicated I was not losing air. I drove straight to my tire store to get them to evaluate my damage.


    I have never had an issue with my phone app after Getting it set up. It can tell my in my living room if there is a problem in my driveway. I’m sold on them. They come with metal valvestems. To keep them from snapping off while driving.


    I also run nitrogen in all my vehicles. I can see the FOBO being very valuable when towing trailers to alert you of air pressure loss on the trailer tires. Good safety item.


    As a side note....I always remove my FOBOs if I have to leave my SS anywhere for service.


    Third story, I was driving my pickup truck to the girlfriends house 25 miles away. I just hit the entrance ramp for the turnpike and my TPMS light came on. We were on the phone when it lit.....I told her I was having a tire emergency and to drive to the tire store on her end to see their hours....this was Saturday night around closing time. I wanted to make sure they were open on Sunday so I could leave it in their lot and have it fixed in the AM. I increased my speed so I could once again make it off the pike without needing a tow truck...when I got there Sunday morning the tire was totally flat.


    Needless to say I love TPMS.


    I’m also using the neutrino fuse box to control my heated riding gear from my phone.

    In thinking about this, I literally cannot remember when we have had a flat tire on any of our vehicles, the spare tire in our 19 year old Jetta has never been on the ground............................further contemplation, neither has the spare tire on Justina's pickup? With this in mind, at least for us, having a flat tire is way way down on our priorities of concern..............................


    Bill

    Bigdog, thanks for the info and your experience with the Fobo, I won't immediately write them off as I was going to. More research to be had.


    wjfyfe, see, that's just the thing, on a Sling road trip, we wouldn't have any type of spare, and I have bad luck when it comes to Murphy... if I have a spare with me, I won't need it. Out of my truck and our two cars, plus my motorcycle, I haven't had to use a spare tire or have a tire problem in the last 10+ years. I've had low tires on the cars, pick up a nail and get a slow leak. TPMS will come on and pop some air in the tire. If it repeats a day or two later, we know it's a slow leak and take it into the tire shop.


    WIth the SS and not having a spare, I'm looking for more peace of mind.

    Quote from KayTwo

    I think MACAWS uses a system, and he might know others who do.

    Yes I have used the FOBO - when it worked I loved it but I had 2 issues and have since removed it.


    1- Was a flat front tire, my guess is that I didn't tighten it correctly

    2- My sensors stopped communicating with my Ipod and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. But I attribute that to being technology challenged


    all of that being said I know plenty of people who have the system with no issues.

    I have been looking for internal TPS sensors that will work with my Garmin GPS


    Hope it helps

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    I dont like the idea of the valve stem cap being the sensor seems like this makes it more likely to get leaks between the cap and stem.

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    I have the FOBOBIKE app on my phone and it works great...I also tried to install it on iPad and it will not work....but I think it’s because it won’t work on two devices at the same time...

    Quote from edwardaneal

    I dont like the idea of the valve stem cap being the sensor seems like this makes it more likely to get leaks between the cap and stem.


    I agree, would rather have one internally, even if it means breaking down the tire and having it rebalanced, but only the cheap systems have those and doesn't look like any of them are geared for removing a wheel/sensor from the system.

    Quote from wokka

    I agree, would rather have one internally, even if it means breaking down the tire and having it rebalanced, but only the cheap systems have those and doesn't look like any of them are geared for removing a wheel/sensor from the system.

    Are there any systems like that our there?


    The FOBOs tighten down really well..... haven’t had a problem with leaks because of that..

    You’ll lose more air because of the size of the molecules.....that’s why I use nitrogen in all my vehicles....


    One more thing.....I usually drive with my weather radar open and my FOBOBIKE open...I can switch between them. The FOBOBIKE always shows the tire pressure increasing along with the tire temperature...the longer I ride....you set parameters for low pressure and high pressure and temperature....and get real-time readings and warnings...

    I don't want to have to rely on my smartphone. I'm a geek and love the technical stuff and I have a lot of apps on my phone, and I've used them enough, and worked with them enough, that they aren't 100% reliable and I don't want to have to rely on it.


    The ones I'm eyeing on amazon are https://www.amazon.com/DEEWAZ-…-Universal/dp/B07KPC6NHV/ and https://www.amazon.com/ZEEPIN-…emperature/dp/B079JXMM2P/.


    What bugs me about these is that they seem cheap, I was able to get the manual on one, it was full of spelling and grammatical errors, which means it was written by someone without a firm grasp of the English language. That's fine, but if you are going to market in the US, get someone to spell check it. The reviews are full of people having problems with them, and they really aren't geared towards trikes.

    I've had FOBO on both Victorys and never had a problem. Unless FOBO has changed, the steel valve stems don't come with unit. They sell them separate and not that expensive. DON'T use FOBO without steel valve stems. The sensor unit will make the rubber valve stem break off. Coming back from Sturgis my buddy's rear went flat at 80mph in the middle of nowhere WYO. Two days and $900 because he didn't buy the steel stems for less than $15.


    And the advantage of their valve stems is you don't have to remove the sensor to add air.

    Mike

    this prompted me to do some more research, https://www.tirerack.com/acces…essure+Monitoring+Systems is a 4 wheel system, but while reading through the manual, it says if a wheel is offline, it will show ERR, but not give an audible alert.


    This was in Dill's FAQ about spare tires. Only thing is, it's not a cheap system. I'll keep it in the back pocket and keep searching.

    Quote from mikeboztx

    I've had FOBO on both Victorys and never had a problem. Unless FOBO has changed, the steel valve stems don't come with unit. They sell them separate and not that expensive. DON'T use FOBO without steel valve stems. The sensor unit will make the rubber valve stem break off. Coming back from Sturgis my buddy's rear went flat at 80mph in the middle of nowhere WYO. Two days and $900 because he didn't buy the steel stems for less than $15.


    And the advantage of their valve stems is you don't have to remove the sensor to add air.

    Mike

    My FOBOBIKE from slingmods came with the metal stems....I did order another set of stems because I have 2 sets of wheels. They are very short so the transmitter units clear the brake caliper....something to keep in mine with any system...we don’t have much clearance between the stem and the caliper....


    You have the tee stems.....


    As far as not wanting to use the smart phone ....I can check my tires from living room......it’s the future not the past...in the words of my computer guru......things are only going to go forward not backwards.....I have to admit I was a smart phone hold out...I just wanted a phone.....since I switched to my smart phone I’m never going back...


    When riding I can now control my heated riding gear, instantly check weather Radar, pull up maps and check my tire pressure all on my phone. I’ve used the camera many times. I’m not a big app guy....too worried about them stealing my info and using it without permission. Plus the battery drain issue....


    I attach my phone to the dash before I even get in....I consider it an important part of the machine now. I won’t ride without it or my thigh holster...

    Thanks and don't get me wrong, I'm very much a geek and my smartphone is on me constantly, I've been using one since the original iPhone came out, blackberries before that.


    I work in IT and use apps constantly, and that's why I don't want to have to rely on something critical. I miss notifications all the time (I have a lot of them, even after customizing), and I'm putting an Apple carplay unit into the slingshot like I have my other vehicles. That way I use the smart phone for waze and have it displayed on the screen.


    Fobo won't display on the car play, and if it sends me an alert about a tire, I may not see/hear it while riding.


    Also, I've seen a growing trend of apps going into zombie mode if you don't open them every few days and it just will not notify you until after you open it. This is what I'm afraid of, that the app doesn't notify me, or I don't notice it, and I ruin a wheel and/or tire.


    This is not just my phone, and it may be just the apple ecosystem of it saving battery/resources. It's happened across my last 2 or 3 iphones and I've even recently reset and rebuilt the phone (no restore).


    This is why I'd prefer something I can mount into the SS dash and as a bonus, it would communicate with my iphone (if I got all of my wishlist items).


    Fobo has this on Fobo Tire Plus (for heavy duty trucks) https://my-fobo.com/Product/FOBOPLUS I've contacted them asking if they will adapt this in-car unit to work with the trike kit.


    Only other wishlist item I wish Fobo would offer is internal sensors as an option.

    I the interest of full disclosure ... i just accessed my FOBO app and this is a screen shot of what i found...

    Look at the date displayed...


    It could be in the zombie mode you are talking about. I cant get it to update the info and touching and holding the squares won’t do what its supposed to do.


    Me Being an IT idiot .... how do you get it out of zombie mode. I haven't accessed the app since that date. I also had my location turned off for the FOBO app.


    Thinking about this... i dont know if maybe our recent cold snap had killed the transmitter batteries. I had to jump 2 of my vehicles yesterday.

    Kill the app, on the iPhone, double click to see all of the apps running and swipe up on the Fobo app. Then re-open.


    Also, check the Bluetooth settings, see if clicking on the Fobo one to connect it


    Not sure on an Android


    Thanks for makin my point on the app :)


    I’m hoping it works out, and as a last resort, contact Fobo

    I think i did it as you suggested and nothing happened. That said riding season is still months away. And i have to change the rear wheel before i ride again.


    That said im not going outside to set up the transmitters again until its warmer. Its not a big deal and I've had to do it several times. i probably have to clear the transmitters in the app and reinstall them.