RE: [A/S] Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems/Cost

["Perry Joe Scudder" <perryjoe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Jim,
I have a SmarTTire System on the 6 wheels of my 34' Limited. I had them
placed on the trailer in 2001 by my local Good Year dealer. He was not a
dealer for SmarTTire, but I gave him the information (phone number) and
he called them up and got setup to be a dealer in about 2 minutes over
the phone. I got my system installed for $130, and sense I was
purchasing new tires I did not get charged for the instillation. The
instillation is as simple as putting the hose clamp that holds the
transducer and its' counter weight around the wheel and tightening it
up. There is no electrical work or wires to run. The units are self
contained, and the readout is mounted in the tow vehicle and plugs into
the lighter socket. There is some programming to be done by someone, but
it is simple if you just follow the directions. The installer must mark
the wheels with an id number for the transducers, there are stickers in
the kit for this purpose, so you know which wheel is in which position
on the read out in the tow vehicle. I used a metal marker tool I
purchased from Sears years ago that has a little vibrating tip to mark
my rims in case the little sticker fell off.
The system has worked very well for me. It will force you to keep the
tire pressure correct, or the flashing lights and buzzer will drive you
to drink. The system will often produce false alarms in the first 2 or 3
miles on a cold morning. The warning locks on the low tires or indexes
through if there is more than one alarm. It tells you what the actual
pressure is so you can see if you have a very low tire or one that has
cooled to produce a pressure a couple of pounds below the set point. The
alarms will go away when the tires worm up if they are just a couple of
pounds low. You can program the system to alarm at a larger gap from the
set point if you wish. I have the warning light set to go off on mine at
5 PSI below the desired pressure of 65 PSI, and the buzzer alarm goes
off at 10 PSI below the set point. The cold tires only set off the
warning light.
I ran a large spike through the side wall on my left front tire on a
trip to a local rally last year. The alarm went off just after I pulled
out on the highway after having lunch and picking up the spike in the
parking area of the country dinner next to an old closed tire changing
area. I was able to monitor the pressure dropping to 30 PSI then stopped
at a quick stop and got directions to a tire store and put 65 PSI back
in the tire. I made it 8 miles to the tire store with 25 PSI in the
tire, and no tire disintegration or trailer damage. They work!!!!
I also got a quote of $130 plus $10 per tire for instillation from Sears
in Jacksonville, NC, at the time I was getting my system installed. I
live in Wilmington, NC, 50 Miles from Jacksonville, therefore, the
reason for going to my local Good Year dealer and getting the job done. 

Joe Scudder
WBCCI 8624