Tyre safety - advice please
Our new Trigano Mini Freestyle 290 is arriving on Sunday. It does not have a TPMS fitted and we are considering Tyrepal. Our new car has a TPMS and we realise they are now compulsory for cars and we would like to get one for the caravan too. About 10 years ago I had an Eriba Troll and we had Tyron bands fitted and at the time people they seemed popular with caravanners. Looking on the forums this does not seem to be the case anymore, although TPMS now seem popular. Any advice around Tyron Bands/TPMS would be helpful, as well as any feedback from people who have used either, especially Tyrepal, or if there are other brands people recommend. Having had a car tyre blowout once on a dual carriageway, I would like to do what I can to ensure we are as safe as possible when towing.
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When I caravanned I had Tyron Bands fitted. However if I was to caravan again I would invest in a TPMS system as it would give you warning that you had a problem. One of the issues with Tyron is if you have to change a tyre and whether the tyre dealer knows what to do? I had a TyrePal system on my last motorhome and it gives you a constant readout of the pressures and temperatures.
David
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We have Tyron fitted and always will.
We had a puncture to a caravan tyre whilst in Germany one year. Fortunately it manifested itself on site. The ADAC breakdown services were arranged by Red Pennant and the man took the tyre away but with written instructions supplied by Tyron in German ( and other European languages) so that the tyre fitter could conform to the method. Mrs WN took photocopies of all necessary pages for such an eventuality. As it happens the tyre was repaired easily as only a nail puncture.
Whenever I come to have tyres replaced the service dept. of whichever dealer or facility we use never have any problems having the bands fitted.
We'll be replacing our tyres come service time this year.
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Are TPMS reliable. Surely after market products will be no more reliable than manufacturer supplied items. I've had them on previous 2014 Yeti and two false warnings in 5 years. Current Audi A3 has had two false warnings in 3 years. It has never crossed my mind to fit them to a caravan.
A working TPMS is only of value on a slow puncture, which normally is unlikely to result in a major problem. They are of no use in the event of a catastrophic blow out as they give no prior warning. This is when Tyron bands are a benefit.
Tyron bands were once a [fairly] common fitment, but reports of issues after a puncture again made me not contemplate having them fitted.
Colin
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I purchased a TyrePal and used it for my car and Caravan, then this year I changed only to find the car had TPMS fitted as standard. TyrePal were very helpful and guided me in deleting the car tyre monitoring and now my old TyrePal monitors the caravan tyres only. it gives peace of mind generally its the c'van wheels that need to monitor as the driver will feel a change in the car tyre pressures.
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I purchased a TyrePal when we had a car and caravan and used it for monitoring both. The same unit now just monitors the four MH tyres. Personally I find it reassuring that I will get advance warning of a slow deflation, giving time to get to a place of safety. Particularly on these all lanes running motorways.
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"A working TPMS is only of value on a slow puncture, which normally is unlikely to result in a major problem. They are of no use in the event of a catastrophic blow out as they give no prior warning"
Sorry - but I have to disagree with you EM. The fact that both pressure and temperature are constantly displayed for each tyre, allows you to see if something is going wrong before anything catastrophic happens. A tyre running under-inflated will overheat and could blow out - you can see this happening and if drastic, an alarm will sound both for pressure and temperature, if you haven't noticed it.
Some years ago - I had a blow out whilst towing a small boat trailer behind a Disco on the M5. I wasn't aware that the tyre had shredded until an overtaking motorist waved at me frantically as I was happily going on my way at 60 mph! I was totally unaware that there was anything wrong and the results with a larger rig could have been horrendous.
I fitted TPMS to our present van as soon as we got it and wouldn't dream of towing now without it fitted.
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A TPMS is well worth considering. However, it has never been proved that one is any better off with Tyron bands than without them. Not even the manufacturer has provided any such proof. That’s probably why they have gone out of fashion.
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The version of Tyrepal I used had external sensors which screwed onto the tyre valve and held in place with a little grub screw. I just wonder if the transmission of the information might be better with external sensors?
David
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It's swings and roundabouts, netcam. I've had both and I think, on balance, I would go for external ones.
The internal ones have a battery life of 5 years according to Tyrepal, but in practice, I got about 3 and half years out of my first set - but we do/did use the van extensively, all year round. Replacing them means taking the tyres off - so there's an additional expense there on top of the cost of the new sensors (you can't replace the batteries).
With the external ones, the batteries are replaceable - I think they're CR1632 and I change mine every year although they probably would last longer. The slight inconvenience is that you have to remove the sensors every time you check your tyre pressures. I tend to cheat a bit and only check the pressures if I'm going on a long high-speed journey. Shorter trips - I rely on what the sensors are telling me and if a tyre is a bit down, I'll adjust it when we get to our destination. Just me being lazy!
In terms of transmission of the signal - I'm working at the extreme end with a van that's 8.1m long and a VW Touareg with the monitor mounted on the windscreen. I have external sensors fitted and although Tyrepal advised that I might need the repeater, in practice, it hasn't been necessary.
The external sensors are more exposed to the elements and I have had to replace the 'O' rings on a couple of mine (after three years) because there were the initial signs of corrosion. I also put some silicone grease inside the dust cap just to make sure any moisture stays out.
Hope this helps you decide.
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Thanks, that us really helpful information. I got the impression the external ones just replace the little screw caps on the wheels, or am I mistaken? If so, is there more work involved in putting them back on than there would be putting the caps on after checking tyre pressures? My partner usually checks tyre pressures in our house and does not like too much faffing!
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The early versions had a little grub screw to prevent them from being easily stolen, which was fiddly. Where as the later ones have a locking nut that is much easier. I suppose you could use them without the locking device, which would make them as quick as an ordinary cap to put on. However, I suppose there is a risk they might vibrate loose and start letting air out of the valve, as they depress the valve when fully tightened in order to get a pressure reading.
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As SteveL says above, the new ones have a locking nut and they provide a stupid angled spanner for undoing them. But it's useless and keeps slipping off so I only do the locking nuts up hand tight. It's not much more involved than taking the valve caps off - but with my tyre pump, I have to remove the nut and rubber cap so it's a little more involved but not much. With a different type of pump / connector, you might not have to.
I just find it much more reassuring to be able to easily change the batteries once a year, knowing that it would then be unlikely to lose a signal due to low battery level when you're actually using it. I buy the batteries in bulk rather than from Tyrepal and they're as cheap as chips (well as cheap as chips used to be!)
And before anyone raises the question - no you don't have to get your wheels re-balanced once having fitted the external sensors - they're so light, it's not necessary.
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I have TPMS on my VW Passat, When I first got it I had false warnings when towing the caravan. When I left home one day I felt the steering pulling to one side, I stopped and found I had a flat tyre, no warning from TPMS On replacing the tyre the tyre fitter told me some systems monitor ABS/Stability system rather than actual tyre pressure.
Taken from VW website
“Tyre Monitoring Indicator
Helps you keep a check on tyre pressure. It works via the ABS wheel-speed sensors. They sense when tyre pressure drops, because the wheel roll is reduced and it turns more quickly at the same car speed. The system checks your tyres constantly, keeping you safer.”
I’d had false warnings from the car system when I first got it. When I increased pressure for towing, after about 40 miles I got a warning and on checking tyre pressures they were OK. After what the tyre fitter told me I realised it was because I didn’t have matching tyres on the rear, and obviously had a different rolling radius which was detected by the ABS. I now use Tyrepal on car and caravan, including spares, saves crawling under caravan or emtying boot to check spares. Surprising how much caravan pressures increase when warm, from 65psi when cold to approx 76psi when warmed up.
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cars have either TPMS which is a direct tyre monitoring system that use pressure, temperature sensors that relay the actual pressure to the inside of the car
OR tyre deflation monitoring systems which is an IN-direct system & use the ABS system to detect a wheel that is going faster that the others and just sends a warning that there is a flat/soft tyre. It's then up to you to find it.
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... After what the tyre fitter told me I realised it was because I didn’t have matching tyres on the rear, and obviously had a different rolling radius which was detected by the ABS.
My Smart, along with many other cars have miss-matched tyres (& wheels) front & back, but they share a common rolling radius/diameter which keeps the ABS happy.
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I am a firm believer in Tyron bands as I have seen so many overturned caravans on my continental journeys where a blow-out has resulted in shedding of the tyre which creates terrible instability, resulting in the caravan overturning.
Small price to pay for additional safety.
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I have used Tyron bands for many years and like insurance you only find out how good it is when you claim.
A few years ago on the M11 in heavy rain travelling out about 50 mph overtaking in Lane 2 I felt a vibration and in the rear view mirror I could see the caravan leaning to the left.
I was able to slow and move and stop on the hard shoulder with no issues, the bands will not prevent a puncture but stop the tyre leaving the rim so that you can maintain control.
The photos show the result of that puncture, I have no experience with the tyre pressure monitoring systems.
I would not hesitate in recommending Tyron bands, they saved me that day.
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