Customer comments on Competition!

We have been hearing about the Tire Pressure Monitoring System that Camping World is selling. In fact, just yesterday we received this email from a customer about it:

(quote)
"Hi,
Just wanted to let you know something I observed. I was in the line refueling at Flying J in Kingman, AZ on Tuesday when I noticed the rig ahead of us had sensors on their tires. I asked the guy if they were the Pressure Pro system. He said no, that his were from Camping World. I asked him how he liked them. All he said was, "They keep dropping out." He meant that sometimes the sensors on his 5th wheel would register, other times they wouldn't. When he asked CW about it they told him he needed a longer antenna because the distance to the rear wheels on his 32 ft 5th wheel were too far away! Isn't it true that you get what you pay for?

Just thought I'd pass this on for you to tuck away in the back of your mind for possible future use."
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We've seen some discussion about the system on some of the Forums and of course, Camping World has sent us flyer's advertising it. It's called "nVision".
Since we were receiving some questions about the new nVision System, we wanted to know a little more about it so we would know first hand. We decided to get one and try it out. Above is a picture of it.

I was going to install it on our Honda CRV car and see how well it worked. As soon as I received it, I anxiously started reading the instruction manual on how to install it. Hummm, I read and re-read it 2 or 3 times.. WOW, this can't be that tough. I tried to install it,,,,Now WAIT a minute,,,,,,I read the manual again, ONE more time. No luck!!

Disappointed, I went inside and told Ms Pat that I couldn't install it and that it was getting strange readings. She was quite interested and stated "It shouldn't be that difficult, we have installed dozens of PressurePro Systems". So I told her to give it a shot. She read the instruction manual,,,,,,,,,I saw a puzzled look on her face. "Do you have it figured out?" I asked. "I think so", she replied. Then she tried installing it,,,,,,no luck, she was getting all kind of crazy readings, couldn't get it in or out of program mode, etc. Then we both tried,,,,,, No luck!!

To make a long, frustrating story short, we finally called the Company for assistance. One of their troubleshooters started walking us through the programming, telling us stuff to do that wasn't even in the book. However, he was getting all kinds of strange tire pressure readings, etc. I have 35 lbs of air in my CRV tires,,,the nVision would report 35 lbs every once in a while, but then it would jump to 110 lbs, then 85 lbs...... Gee that's strange, he said, is there someone else around you that has a Tire Pressure Monitoring System?,,,,,,,Errr,a,well,,,,,yes there is!! There is a big Volvo Semi Truck that pulls a long 45' Teton 5th wheel that has a PressurePro System on it, sitting right next to us! "Oh well", he said "that's the reason then. "It's picking up those tire pressures." WHAT,,,,That can't be!!!" " Well, yes it can," he stated.

The troubleshooter told us that we would have to go to an area where there wasn't any other Tire Pressure Systems within 70' before we could install this system.....When we mentioned that this was certainly a problem, the programmer agreed and said that he was sorry it was that way. It was also causing them and Camping World considerable problems.

This, along with the Liquid Crystal display that is real hard to read on the nVision Monitor, (it picks up a lot of reflections) and the vertical antenna that lies flat down on the dash in a horizontal position, can cause a lot of problems. Fortunately the PressurePro will not pick up any other Sensors that have been programmed into another system.

Strange as it may seem, the Sensors that go on each tire look exactly like the PressurePro Sensors and transmit on exactly the same frequency. So the Sensors are interchangeable. Also, the antenna from the nVision is exactly the same 3.5" rubber duckie as the PressurePro system.... Very interesting. They certainly copied PressurePro in a lot of ways. But until they get some of the problems worked out and get it easier to program, it won't give us any competition. Presently, it's like our customer says "you get what you pay for"!

Here is the Monitor sitting on the dash of my Honda. You can see the reflections on the screen and this wasn't even in the direct sunlight..

We recently heard from another customer that was ordering a PressurePro system from us. He stated that he had bought an nVision system from Camping World and had tried for hours to install it and couldn't. So he took it back and was ordering from us. In our book, the tried and true PressurePro Tire Pressure Monitoring System is, by far, still way out in the lead.


Meanwhile here at North Ranch the beautiful cactus continue to bloom all over the place. This one is in full bloom in our back yard. Folks are packing up and heading out by the droves, soon we will be the ONLY ones here!

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!!!

Travel Safe!!

Mike

This Blog is published every Sunday and Wednesday.