Tire pressure monitoring

[Goldking]

Hello all,
Has anyone ever installed a tire pressure monitoring system on their machine? Biggest tire problem I have is you don't know tire is low and sometimes tire is flat before it's damaged. I have two 8x8 Argo's, would like to monitor all 8 tires but at minimum the four corner tires. Systems I see on line screw onto tire stem. Some say waterproof but I don't know about being submerged or how they'd hold up during winter operations etc.
Thanks for any thoughts.
Bert
Fairbanks, AK

[philipatmaxfour]

I have had similar thoughts but i have not seen a monitoring system made for low pressure tires.

[North Country Tough]

Hmmmm very interesting idea and would be hugely handy when running tracks in the winter if you happen upon a system that works I would be more than interested,great idea Iam going to spend some time looking for a possible answer thanks for the thought.NCT

[wedge]

The only problem other than the Low tire pressure is that most TPM's have a big unit on the inside and I would think the tire rolling in might hit it or break it off ?

[Goldking]

Thanks to all that replied. I'm looking at at set up on-line that screws onto valve stems and the display plugs into a 12v port. One or two of them state they'll read 0 to 75 or 100 PSI. Others say 20 or so and higher. I doubt they'll hold up on an Argo because of enviroment but for 75 bucks it'd be worth a try. I'll let ya know in a few weeks how it works.

[Coast2Coast]

I would be quite surprised if those systems worked accurately at such low pressures. I use a drag racing gauge that only goes up to about 15psi max and it's nice and accurate. My regular digital car tire gauges don't register any pressure at all at the 5PSI or less that I run. I would think that they'd hold up in most situations because of how deep inside the rim the valve stem sits on argo rims, whether they were mounted inside the wheel or outside. I hope they do work and would sure be interested to know.

[Hillclimber]

I worked in a tire shop for over 5 years. Factory style tpms mount on backside of stem(inside rim). Some use aluminum valve stems with nut others use a tiny torque screw and rubber stems with brass stem extending into rim. Ford did use band style for a while, basically same sensor but in the drop center of the rim with basically a large hose clamp.
This would be your best bet, use some internal sensor and mount inside rim using a few stainless clamps linked together.

Biggest issue is will it be accurate at 2-5 psi.

Factory Automotive units are set to detect +/- 5% from factory value, usually about 30psi cars and 35psi light truck (1500s)

[Goldking]

Again, thanks to all who responded. I purchased on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) tire pressure monitor system, for 70 bucks I figured I take a chance. It was the only one that stated it would read from 0-3.5 BAR (51 PSI) If it wouldn't work on my 99 Conquest I figured I could install it on an auto.
(Side note: I did install it on my 2001 Chevy 2500 HD and all readings pegged at 51 PSI because I run 55 in front and 65 in rear tires. I possess a very accurate pressure gauge and I dropped one tire to 47 PSI and the monitor displayed 47 for that tire so it appears to be accurate.)
So here's the report so far:
Currently I'm running Argo 18 inch plastic tracks on Argo Carlisle 22x10x8 tires so I'm running 5, 7,7 & 6 PSI respectively (adjusted for Fairbanks, AK winter outside temp's). The sensors are screwed onto the corner tires (this kit doesn't have 8 sensors as it's designed for an auto with 4 tires!) The display will read plus or minus 1 PSI from the set value so I'm OK with that because what I'm really after is knowing if one of the corner tires, especially either front one, are going flat before they're damaged from becoming flat. (I haven't experienced tire damage from any of the center tires if they've gone flat).
The sensors appear to be pretty well sealed but it will be about 5 months from now before I can put them to a water test. Plan is to take three off, go submerge the remaining one is some nice swamp and see if it lives! If it does I'll put on the other three, if not I've only lost one (replacements are available).
The display is easy enough to program (just got to think of your favorite old Chinese movie when reading directions!). You can make it read in BAR or PSI, C* or F*, set High & Low pressure limits, set high temp limit etc. However it's low pressure limit is around 15 PSI and since we run pressure in single digits the display will constantly flash and beep at you. You can defeat the beep by pushing a button but it will continue to flash. Again I don't care about that, I just want to know the tires going down before it gets ruined from running flat.
In addition to reading pressures it displays temperature of each tire. Don't know how accurate that is, I don't care about that feature too much. Reason I question temp is because sensor's screwed onto valve stem so any "internal" temp reading would be from air right at end of valve stem etc.
Bottom line: it works for my intended reasons, I'd recommend it.

[tbone9]

Thanks for the update. This is a great idea I look forward to more updates as time goes on. This is better than the kick test or having to check air all the time. It's no fun running a track off.

[philipatmaxfour]

tire pressure monitoring

Goldking, Thanks for the report. look forward to another report in the summer. I wonder if you will end up with a steel valve stem guard like on a tractor?

[Goldking]

Summer's here now, end of July. Tire valve sensor hold up through water, bog or mud!
Still read as accurate as I mentioned earlier.
Goldking