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Old 04-07-2015, 01:02 PM   #1
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Axis-Vegas question on oil change and tire pressure monitors

Last time I changed oil, I messed around with the instrument panel to see if there was an oil change monitor reset as mentioned in the Ford manual. No luck.

Also, was wondering if the tires really do have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System on them as mention on pg. 264 in the Ford Manual or is that on some other Ford and it really does not pertain to our unit.
Perhaps someone here has had a tire changed or a dash light and can verify that the tires do indeed have the TPMS.
Thanks

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Old 04-07-2015, 01:17 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by mcr1010 View Post
Last time I changed oil, I messed around with the instrument panel to see if there was an oil change monitor reset as mentioned in the Ford manual. No luck.

Also, was wondering if the tires really do have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System on them as mention on pg. 264 in the Ford Manual or is that on some other Ford and it really does not pertain to our unit.
Perhaps someone here has had a tire changed or a dash light and can verify that the tires do indeed have the TPMS.
Thanks
Since the RV is built on a cutaway Ford chassis and the manual covers more than the cutaway it is unlikely that your unit has the upgraded Ford Message Center which includes oil change and TPMS. The way to determine that is to perform a system check at the message center and watch what displays on the dash area. The system check will tell you if the tire pressure is ok and the oil life if those features are included. If they do not display during the system check then the features are not installed.

As a note, the tire pressure system is not a true TPMS. I have that on all my Ford vehicles and it does not tell you if tires are overheating, you can not set specific pressures to run and it is subject to incorrect readings based on outside temperature. It is good for what it does on a car but I wouldn't trust my life to it on an RV.
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Old 04-07-2015, 01:47 PM   #3
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I agree: it is very unlikely that the E350 stripped chassis used for the Axis/Vegas has either an oil life monitor or a TPMS. Frankly I was astonished to discover it has ABS!

Even the standard TPMS on the cars only notifies you when the tires drop more than 20% of the recommended pressure. For the stripped chassis that would mean the aftermarket up fitter would have to set the recommended pressure. You think Thor would reliably do that?
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Old 04-07-2015, 06:16 PM   #4
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I have installed Tire Minders on 4 wheels. Tho, the coach is in the shop right now for several repairs, including inoperative valve extenders on the inside dual rears. The valve extenders will not allow tire pressure checks or adding air. I also am unable to install TPMS on those tires. Hopefully, the new extenders will fix the problem. This particular issue is common on Vegas and Axis motorhomes, as I have noticed in the forums.
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Old 04-07-2015, 06:31 PM   #5
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That confirms what I thought. I had Tire Minders on my last coach and will get a set for the Vegas also. It is worth the cost to ward off changing a flat on the side of a interstate or other busy highway.
I had to change out my tire extenders on the rear wheels also due to not accepting air.
Thanks for the info.
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Old 04-07-2015, 07:31 PM   #6
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I am just installing a TireMinder A1A for the Axis and my toad.

Thanks for mentioning the TireMinder in a previous post. I had a different brand that needed to be replace and I had not heard of the TireMinder before.

Bruce

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I had Tire Minders on my last coach and will get a set for the Vegas also. It is worth the cost to ward off changing a flat on the side of a interstate or other busy highway.
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Old 04-07-2015, 07:54 PM   #7
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I believe a lot of safety items required on passenger cars, such as TPMS are not required for RVs as they are classified as commercial vehicles.

But I would highly recommend installing an aftermarket TPMS, as one thing they do - other than the obvous - is they alarm when they detect a fast leak. For example, just prior to a catastrophic event.

While you might not get stopped in time if you hear that alarm, a blow-out at 35mph as you are slowing down is got to be a lot better than a blow-out at 60mph.

There are many TPMS brands on the market, so which one you choose is probably going to be as much due to aesthetics as functionality.
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Old 04-07-2015, 08:00 PM   #8
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It looks like the TireMinder, TireTracker and TireTech are similar under a different name. At least that is what shows up on the web. Could be some small differences. I had good results on the unit installed on my last coach. I did have a false alarm a couple of times when passing by something that pulsed a radio frequency.
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Old 04-07-2015, 08:07 PM   #9
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I bought a TPMS system by EEZTire. One reason is you can monitor tires on both the coach and toad. And you can disconnect the toad (or trailer) from the TPMS system if you are not taking it along so it doesn't alarm on missing sensors.

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Old 04-07-2015, 10:04 PM   #10
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...TireMinder, TireTracker and TireTech are similar under a different name.....
You too can go onto Alibaba.com, purchase Chinese made TPMS units in bulk, and start your one TPMS company!

The "solar powered" units are interestingly different for the U.S.A. market.

But you will need to come up with a new catchy name.
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Old 04-07-2015, 10:08 PM   #11
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The feature that sold me on the TireMinder is that you can choose to drop either the toad or the RV.

Bruce

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...you can disconnect the toad (or trailer) from the TPMS system if you are not taking it along so it doesn't alarm on
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Old 04-08-2015, 03:26 PM   #12
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Here's the TireMinder installed.



I mounted the signal booster on the rear window and hard wired it one of the under cabinet lights.

Bruce
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Old 04-21-2015, 02:05 AM   #13
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not so happy Vegas owner

Our Vegas has been at the dealer for warranty work for almost a month, now. They fixed a few things that have been a problem since new, now we are waiting for tire valve extenders for the dual, rears. A common issue with Vegas/Axis. Apparently Thor doesn't know what parts to send to Camping World. Tho, the service writer can walk 10 feet from his desk to the aisle where they sell 10 different kinds of brass valve extenders. Evidently, Camping World St. Augustine, doesn't give a damn if a customer is inconvenienced any more than Thor does. They could easily repair this and send us on our way. But, That's OK. So what if our Vegas has been in the shop for about one week for every month we have owned it. The last straw was my wife getting trapped in the bathroom when the latch broke. I had to rip open the door to extricate her. Had to stop on I-4 in Orlando to get her out. But, that's OK, too. Better to get locked in than locked out. Oh, Thor, would you like me to send back to you the extra 20 feet of wire your top-notch assembly line guys stuffed under the kitchen drawer? It goes nicely with the piles of sawdust and woodchips that were under there, too. I discovered all the unsecured, extra wiring when repairing the drawer slides that detached from the cabinet frame and allowed both drawers to fall out onto the floor. I guess those drawer slides needed more than one half-inch screw. The finger-tight water connections that leaked all over the sawdust under the bed at the water tank is good fire prevention when the loose wires under there get worn through and start a fire. That's thinking ahead, Thor. Are you listening, Thor? Are you listening? Thats the sound of your market share dropping. Do you hear it? As you may surmise, we are underwhelmed with Thor quality control. You people should be ashamed. To sell motorhomes to people with such glaring deficiencies is so despicable. There is NO way our coach was QC'd before it left the factory. The things that were so poorly put together, would be noticed by a blind man. What a shame. Such an interesting motorhome design, so horribly executed. We were so much looking forward to fun travels with a very cool-looking, comfortable coach. What we got instead, was aggravation, cancelled vacations because component of breakdowns, and reluctance to travel any distance, just waiting for the next thing to implode. The wife is so disappointed, she will not travel any distance in it. The only reliable part is the ever-faithful E-350 chassis and the bullet-proof V-10. That is the only thing Thor did right was choosing the Ford. What we have gone through is unforgivable. We have received no apologies from Thor for the Hell we have gone through with this fun RV. But, That's OK, Thor geniuses. Keep on buying up as many RV companies as you can. Concentrate on getting bigger and bigger. But don't bother running the companies you already own with consumer satisfaction in mind. As the word gets out, your customer base will dwindle, and you will need to start selling all the RV companies you recently bought. In the meantime, I will continue to correct all the screw-ups you people perpetrated on my Vegas, to make it as dependable as I can. That is, if I can convince my wife to travel in it again. Thor, You should be ashamed.
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