Sprinter TPMS?

[<<B-Guy>>]

Can anyone enlighten me as to whether or not TPMS comes standard with a recent Sprinter 3500 (duals.)?

The brochure I have from PW indicates that it is not provided - I thought perhaps it was an MB option that PW decided not to buy - seems a bit strange, especially when new models do not come with a spare!

We have a 2019 on order and I do have TPMS equipt I kept when selling out trailer - the sensors are the type that just screw on and have replaceable batteries although I imagine I might have to have the MB valves stems changed if they are rubber (I will have Alcoa wheels, but I think teh inner duals are likely steel wheels.

When I downloaded a recent MB manual though to start becoming failiar, there is a section on TPMS and it does not refer to it as optional. I would have thought it should be standard on most vehicles these days,

As well, when I read the MB manual, comments in the description are such that I think what they may provided is not a true TPMS in that it does not actually measure pressure but rather, using signals from the ABS equipment, detects that one wheel is turning with a smaller effective radius and si it assumes one wheel is going flat. I think that is what some folk call a TPLS (Tire pressure leakage system, sort of a poor man's TPMS!)

I don't really see how that system could work on a vehicle with duals.

Anyway, I a confused and will likely just have to wait to see what we get! I think our chassis will be either a 2107 or 2018.

At least I do have my aftermarket equipment anyway and certainly want some form of monitoring especially with no spare on board!

Any info?

Thanks ........ Brian.

[Phoebe3]

In the US, TPMS is required on vehicles that are UNDER 10,000 lbs GVWR. Our Transit manual provided TPMS information, but there is no TPMS on our van since the GVWR on the 350HD dually is 10,360 lbs. The rest of the Transit family has it standard.

[avanti]

Correct. Sprinter 2500s have (some kind of) TMPS, because they are required to. 3500s have none, because they aren't forced to provide them. This sucks, because such a system is far more important on a dually-equipped vehicle. I wouldn't even consider driving with duallies without a good TPMS.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by avanti

Correct. Sprinter 2500s have (some kind of) TMPS, because they are required to. 3500s have none, because they aren't forced to provide them. This sucks, because such a system is far more important on a dually-equipped vehicle. I wouldn't even consider driving with duallies without a good TPMS.

Thanks guys for the feedback - that clears it up for me though I can't understand why anyone would think that TPMS is less important with a heavier vehicle!

As well, you'd think a company like MB would install TPMS anyway! Seems not!

I certainly agree on the value of a TPMS system and will be installing the one I have that has served me well for years with our trailer.

I will just need to sort out what I have to do to buy and install the best valve stems for the job.

I did ask the dealer if he could have PW fit them when building our van but the response was that they are so busy these days that they don't really get into this sort of modification.

I imagine I can get a tire shop to make the installation easily enough but perhaps I will need to provide the new stems.

Brian.

[BBQ]

.

TPMS is not a luxury.
It is readily available and affordable. And it is a mandatory equipment on most of the light vehicles. How can it be a luxury?

There is a difference between "I don't trust it" and "it is a luxury".

It is ok if you do not trust it and don't want it. I dig that.

[Boxster1971]

The USA DoT has been trying for years to get TPMS requirement applied to all road vehicles. Naturally the trucking lobby is fighting it. But it sure might lessen all the truck tire pieces (gators) you see on all the highways.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

TPMS is not a luxury.
It is readily available and affordable. And it is a mandatory equipment on most of the light vehicles. How can it be a luxury?

There is a difference between "I don't trust it" and "it is a luxury".

It is ok if you do not trust it and don't want it. I dig that.

I certainly feel it is a wise investment. When I used to spend time on the Airstream owners forum there were two camps, those who were for it and those who thought they'd rather send their money on good tires.

I think the answer is to do both.

I was never really concerned about losing control of the trailer if we had a blowout as it had two axles and we towed with a large diesel truck. In fact teh Airstream owners manual even suggested that if you get a flat at an unsafe place you can continue on three wheels at reduced speed until you get to a safer spot.

My concern is was the damage that a tire flying apart could do to the trailer body - damaging a large riveted panel that runs over half the length of the trailer could result in a $5-10K repair bill.

Having the GPS never stopped me from regular manual checking of pressures and a walk around at very stop we made en route.

But you can pick up at nail at any point in your journey and from what I hear in many instances it is tires running at low pressure and causing excessive heat is often the cause of a subsequent complete failure.

No,It wont catch everything, but why wouldn't you want to do all you reasonably could to make your travels as safe, and trouble free as you can?

I also believe in changing tires in a timely manner ever if they still look good!

Not carrying a spare with our new RV will make me all the more vigilant I expect!

(It gives me something to do if the road is a bit boring too - I would often cycle through the wheels on the monitor just to verify pressures and temps all looked as they should!)

I'm a little disappointed to learn that MB have choses to cheap out on this ( and, being so, that PW didn't take it upon themselves to add a TPMS) but at least I do already have a setup that I will be installing as soon as I can once we get the van!

Brian.

[Belzar]

I too have a 3500 without tpms. There is no factory/dealer option that will integrate with the MB display. I'd be interested in how other people have added tpms and what type of display they've used. I really don't want to clutter up the dash with another display but I'm tired of crawling around in the dirt to get a good reading on those dually stems. I plan to add tpms when current tires need replacing (OEM Conti's have 34K and still plenty of tread.).

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Belzar

I too have a 3500 without tpms. There is no factory/dealer option that will integrate with the MB display. I'd be interested in how other people have added tpms and what type of display they've used. I really don't want to clutter up the dash with another display but I'm tired of crawling around in the dirt to get a good reading on those dually stems. I plan to add tpms when current tires need replacing (OEM Conti's have 34K and still plenty of tread.).

Each aftermarket TMPS will come with its own display. They are fairly small and unobtrusive (although not overly convenient to use). I have a TST-507 and mount its display up near the rear view mirror. Out of the way and easy to read.

[mck150stone]

My 2011 Pleasure Way Plateau did not have TPMS; install a TireMinder (1A1 I think); $450 for display and 6 sensors and a booster; can be operated with up to 22 sensors; display temperature and pressure

Paul

[<<B-Guy>>]

I have a system called "Hawkshead" that I have used for nearly ten years when we had our travel trailer Not sure if it is still available but it worked well for us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McRuyBQof_I

Matter of fact a friend bought the same one for his trailer. When he sold the trailer I bought it from him - and he had 8 sensors with it because he put them on both the trailer and his truck.

I used the second system on a Goldwing Motorcycle for years.

I will be putting this equipt. on our PW Plateau in due course.

The only thing I did find is that the sensor batteries are not that easy to find locally - I think they are 1632, not the more common ones such as 2016 or 2032.

I did find a local battery specialist shop that had them but wanted a ridiculous price for them, something like $8 each for Chinese batteries!!!

I found that for $8 I could buy something like 25 of them from Hong Kong via Ebay with free shipping! That is what I have done for years and the batteries are fine! Unsually they come with "Good until" dates stamped on the cards and those dates are generally good for a couple of years. Even the ones that show no dates seem fine - I check them with a voltmeter prior to use just to be sure!

Brian

[dbupson@cox.net]

TPMS does not come with the 3500 Sprinter. To be honest, I have it on a couple of other vehicles and do not find it really necessary. I check my tires visually every time I use the vehicle and monitor the pressures regularly with a gauge.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by dbupson@cox.net

TPMS does not come with the 3500 Sprinter. To be honest, I have it on a couple of other vehicles and do not find it really necessary. I check my tires visually every time I use the vehicle and monitor the pressures regularly with a gauge.

Agreed not "Necessary", but my thoughts are that anything you can do t reasonable cost and effort to try to avoid a blow out is worth the effort and $$.

I have read many times that one of the greatest cause of blow outs - other that rotted tires - is running under-inflated.

I think that no matter how many times you manually check tire pressures, you could pick up a nail or screw any time en route.

If the tire is gradually losing air as you drive, then a TPMS will warn you.

In addition to using a TPMS, I do a walk around of the RV each and every time we stop, looking everything I can think of, including tires. With radials though, you cannot really tell visually it a tire is losing air - unless really low.

As well, I think it wise to adhere to tire replacement every 6 yrs or so even if not warranted by wear.

One thing I have not done - and really should is to check individual wheel loads. Not surprisingly, overloading is reported another signficant cause of blow outs.

Maybe I am overly cautious - if so it is perhaps because we towed a fairly new Airstream trailer for the last ten years - now sold.

It was not that I was fearful of losing control as we had a very substantial tow vehicle on premium hitch bit there horror stories on the Airstream of blowouts causing $5-$10k trailer damage by flailing rubber ripping up the side panels.

The other thing I did - as many other owners did - was to switch to larger heavier rated wheels and tires and also switch from "ST" trailer tires that as a group don't have a very good reputation, to Michelin "LT" Light truck tires.

Never did have any issues!

Brian.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by dbupson@cox.net

TPMS does not come with the 3500 Sprinter. To be honest, I have it on a couple of other vehicles and do not find it really necessary. I check my tires visually every time I use the vehicle and monitor the pressures regularly with a gauge.

I disagree. As I have said before, I consider TPMS to be a convenience on vehicles with single rear wheels but an absolute necessity on duallies. This has nothing to do with anything that you can check at each stop--no matter how conscientious you are. It is because in the event of a rear tire failure, it is very easy to remain unaware of the failure until the tire, and quite possibly its mate, are ruined. This can obviously happen due to a cause that is undetectable during stops. Also, the temperature monitor can sometimes serve to predict an impending failure (although admittedly this is less common).

You should think of a TPMS as a "catastrophic failure warning". The convenience of easily reading your tire pressures is just a bonus.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Resurrecting this thread i started some time back about tire pressure monitoring on a Sprinter.

We just got our 2019 Plateau FL last week, and now I want to go ahead and install the sensors that I already own (used to use them on our travel trailer.)

I have the Alcoa aluminum wheels on the van (I think the rear inner dual wheels are steel and need to verify that.)

The front aluminum wheels are fine for installation of the screw on sensors as they are already fitted with metal valve stems rather than rubber.

The rear dual wheels present some problems however!

The aluminum outer duals have metal stems, but they face inward and so I cannot install the sensors with this configuration.

The inner duals have some sort of rubber extension stems and so they are not suitable for TPMS sensors.

I have found a kit that offers four replacement metal stems - two reverse curved stems to fix the problem with the outer wheels, and two long all metal stems for the inner duals to replace the rubber extensions.

Looks to be just what I need, so I plan to order the kit and hopefully have a local tire shop install them for me.

Before I order the valve stems, I wonder if anyone else has used them and can advise if there are any issues, or if any different stems are better to use.

Any comments much appreciated!

The stems I found on Amazon are identified as DL1SPAL and I will try to add a link below,

Thanks ......... Brian

https://www.amazon.com/DL1SPAL-Duall...70_&dpSrc=srch

[Knit]

I have the Alcoa aluminum wheels with the steel inside wheels on my Roadtrek. I was never able to find an inner valve kit that had the rubber insert that fit the wheels like the one you reference. I tried 3 or 4. My tpms is the type on the inside of the rim though. My nationally know tire dealer was not able to identify a solution. Roadtrek had no suggestions. The Alcoa distributor was no help.

I ultimately installed a valve extension that has worked for about two years now without problems. They are a light weight abs like material. https://www.finditparts.com/products..._source=orders

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by Knit

I have the Alcoa aluminum wheels with the steel inside wheels on my Roadtrek. I was never able to find an inner valve kit that had the rubber insert that fit the wheels like the one you reference. I tried 3 or 4. My tpms is the type on the inside of the rim though. My nationally know tire dealer was not able to identify a solution. Roadtrek had no suggestions. The Alcoa distributor was no help.

I ultimately installed a valve extension that has worked for about two years now without problems. They are a light weight abs like material. https://www.finditparts.com/products..._source=orders

Thanks Knit !

I would really like to get away entirely from any form of flexible or rubber extension on the inner wheel (I have looked yesterday under our PW and confirmed that the inner wheel is steel - and it has not only a very flexible extension, but also the actual short stem is the rubber style, so this is not good for use with the screw on TPMS sensors.)

The ones I have found look to be just the right thing for my application. Since they cost $120 plus installation costs, I was posting this info mainly to see if anyone had used these with screw on sensors and if all was ok.

If I don't get any other comments in a day or so I will go ahead and order them. I went to my local tire shop the other day and they will install them for me if I get them.

Maybe I will ask the same question on the PW Owners Face book page just before I put in an order.

Thanks again for your response - I'm sure the extensions you have would be fine with internal TPMS sensors, but perhaps not with the screw on ones I have, especially since the actual stem on the inner steel wheel is rubber also.

Cheers .................. Brian.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

Resurrecting this thread i started some time back about tire pressure monitoring on a Sprinter.

We just got our 2019 Plateau FL last week, and now I want to go ahead and install the sensors that I already own (used to use them on our travel trailer.)

I have the Alcoa aluminum wheels on the van (I think the rear inner dual wheels are steel and need to verify that.)

The front aluminum wheels are fine for installation of the screw on sensors as they are already fitted with metal valve stems rather than rubber.

The rear dual wheels present some problems however!

The aluminum outer duals have metal stems, but they face inward and so I cannot install the sensors with this configuration.

The inner duals have some sort of rubber extension stems and so they are not suitable for TPMS sensors.

I have found a kit that offers four replacement metal stems - two reverse curved stems to fix the problem with the outer wheels, and two long all metal stems for the inner duals to replace the rubber extensions.

Looks to be just what I need, so I plan to order the kit and hopefully have a local tire shop install them for me.

Before I order the valve stems, I wonder if anyone else has used them and can advise if there are any issues, or if any different stems are better to use.

Any comments much appreciated!

The stems I found on Amazon are identified as DL1SPAL and I will try to add a link below,

Thanks ......... Brian

https://www.amazon.com/DL1SPAL-Duall...70_&dpSrc=srch

BRIAN - that is the same dually valve kit I installed on my Alcoa wheels with screw-on TPMS. Works great - no issues after four years of use.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

BRIAN - that is the same dually valve kit I installed on my Alcoa wheels with screw-on TPMS. Works great - no issues after four years of use.

Hi Boxster1971 !

Great, many thanks for your feedback. Everything sounded as though it was right from the description of the Borg kit, but I just wanted to see if anyone had actual experience with it!

I'll be ordering them!

Thanks again, Brian.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

BRIAN - that is the same dually valve kit I installed on my Alcoa wheels with screw-on TPMS. Works great - no issues after four years of use.

I now have the metal stem kit and waiting to get them installed at our local tire shop.

The tire shop is telling me I don't need the large rubber stabilisers that go in the outer wheel hand hole, But Borg say it is important to use them and I think I would trust their advice, especially as I will be adding screw on TPMS sensors adding to the weight of the stem.

I suspect the runner stabilisers might a chore to install and wonder if anyone has had them installed and if so, any problems with the installation.

Did you have the wheels rebalanced after installation?

I used to have "Centramatic" automatic wheel balancers on our travel trailer and contemplated putting them on the Sprinter but the company syas they do not have them for the Sprinters - apparently a clearance issue with brake components.

Brian