TPMS-maker Schrader is taking the long road to Las Vegas to promote its EZ-Sensor product line to tire dealers, distributors and consumers.
Schrader embarked on what will be a 6,400-mile journey around and across the country, leaving Detroit on Oct. 18 and reaching the Global Tire Expo/SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center by Nov. 2.
The “EZ Road to SEMA” Cross-Country Tour made a scheduled stop at Tire Review’s offices in Akron, Ohio, its first day on the journey. Carl Wacker, vice president of sales and marketing, and Tony Davenport, business development manager, are driving a custom-liveried, EZ-Sensor-fitted Toyota Prius on the Tour.
The Tour will promote the EZ-Sensor fully programmable TPMS sensor and reprogramming tool, which was co-developed by Schrader and Bartec.
With nearly 90% market coverage with a single TPMS sensor, Wacker said, EZ-Sensor will “vastly simplify the TPMS service and replacement processes, and eliminate the need for tire dealers to inventory dozens or more sensor SKUs. 
Wacker said the single EZ-Sensor TPMS sensor covers more than 145 OE SKUs on the replacement market side. One sensor can be programmed to work on a 2008 Honda Civic or a 2009 Chevy Impala, he said.
The Prius is covered with Schrader, TPMS and EZ-Sensor graphics, and carries special gear to help Davenport and Wacker demonstrate how the EZ-Sensor system works. It will be driven to tire dealer stores and tire tool distributor locations to give one-on-one presentations, and along the way the Prius will stop to give TPMS presentations to consumers.
“We really want to help drivers understand what TPMS is, what the odd-looking glowing dashboard light means, so they can take better care of their tires,” Wacker said. “With this we can demonstrate how TPMS helps maintain proper inflation pressure, and how that can save them fuel money.”
AT the end of the cross-country trek, the Prius will be the centerpiece for Schrader’s GTE/SEMA booth – 42203 in the South Hall.
