Ok, having a 2004 my van did not come with stock tire pressure monitoring. I have looked around for a while but have never decided to pull the trigger on the various models that I have seen. I finally settled on a unit from Advantage PressurePro
http://www.advantagepressurepro.com/
• the sensors can take 80 PSI tires
• You can get a model that supports pulling a trailer
• Easy setup
• RS232 port, this was a selling point for integration to my carputer
I actually purchased it from
http://www.tirepressuremonitor.com/
I started out with the 10 Wheel Monopole Monitor $200.00 To be honest I should have purchased the 16 wheel model as it supports a trailer outright and is only $205.00
Each sensor is $50.00 dollars, so if $50.00 is worth knowing your spare is up, you can do that.
I also purchased the RS232 cable kit for $15.00, this has a 12 Volt lighter attachment for power and a DB9 connector for computer connection. The other end is a mini USB plug that attaches to the monitor.
The unit came stock with a hardwire power cord , and a 12 Volt lighter attachment. They also sent a free sensor lock kit ($12.00 value). These are just jam nuts to make it “harder” to steal the sensors.
A plus and minus is that the sensors screw on to the dill valve and replace the cap. It makes it easy to install or steal, however you want to look at it. I decided that I would mount the display on my visor, I don’t really need it in view all the time, but this way is easily accessible and provide a good place for the antenna. I was able to snake the power cord through the visor, and then run the power code down to connect in behind the driver’s seat. I also had a RS232 cable there to attach to the computer.
The USB mini connection.
Anyhow, to install takes about 5mins, you plug in power put it in program mode and go put a sensor on one of the tires. Within a minute the air pressure will show up on the display. You set it for the tire location and then move to the next tire. After you’ve completed your tires your done, Oh yeah don’t forget the free jam nuts Of course if you need to adjust your pressure it would be wise to do at the same time .
This unit will start warning you if the air pressure gets below 12.5 percent of set point, and then 25% of set point. High temp display comes on at 100C, the unit displays temps in a 20C range. It also has adjustable high pressure alerts from 10% to 45% above Sensor’s baseline. You are now just a button away from knowing your tire pressure.
As I said I purchased the RS232 cable option, the unit now comes standard with data logging capabilities (almost 60 days worth). For you spreadsheet junkies there is a free program that will dump the data logger into excel. My interest with the computer did not stop there, they also have a protocol to send pressure data live across the RS232 cable. That seemed to fit in perfect with my carputer, so I wrote a plugin program for my carputer front end to display all the tire data.
Ride Runner Pressure Pro Setup Screen
Ride Runner Pressure Pro Monitor Screen
So of course I know only have to look at the screen to get the pressure and temperature data. One of the new screens I added was an offset screen, instead of showing the actual pressure I display the offset to the set point pressure. (It saves you doing the math while driving). And more importantly, and why I like being able to create my own software for the carputer, I also have tire data on the screen with the backup camera. This is probably the screen that the carputer is on most of the time.
Rearview Camera with tire data to the right. The data on the right changes every 10 seconds, display various systems status, such as battery data, temperature, etc. But then this is about the TPMS.
All in all I am happy with the install, I believe if you are looking for a TPMS system, this would work good.It would be very easy to disconnect when you aired down for offroad and no bogus alarms.
-greg