Tire pressure checking

gnudad2

Don't know if this has been discussed before, but leave it to me to be redundant if it has.   Anyway, as we are preparing for our first outing to escape the snow, I dutifully began checking the tire pressures only to have one valve decide to let more air out than I could put in.  I quickly put the cap back on and ran to an auto parts store and bought a tire valve extraction tool.  A couple of turns with it and all was well.  Something to be aware of, I guess.  The little valve in the stem had worked itself loose is all.  I now have a new tool to take with us.  Only cost $5.00 and saved a lot of potential grief!

ScottG

@gnudad2, I don't think that specific issue has come up, but it's a great point and good advice. Snugging down the valve inside the stem is the first thing I do if a leak of any sort is evident. It doesn't always solve the problem, but it's a good first line of defense!

ATHiker

@gnudad2, the exact same thing happened to me during our first trip in our 400 last week. I was able to stop the air flow by putting the cap back on and monitoring the tire for the last 100 miles home. 

Awca12a

Same thing happened to me on the new 2019 Boondock tires the first time I checked them on the road.  Valve tool worked on one but not another.  So I changed the stems to the high pressure brass and rubber ones like I’ve done on other trailers and don’t expect any further problems. 

TerryV6

ATHiker said:

@gnudad2, the exact same thing happened to me during our first trip in our 400 last week. I was able to stop the air flow by putting the cap back on and monitoring the tire for the last 100 miles home. 

 I've always wondered if a tire monitor thingy would be a good idea....

ScottG

@TerryV6, here ya' go!  ;-)

dsfdogs

@TerryV6 I bought a TireMinder for this year! While my TV tells me if the car tires are low, I worried about the trailer while driving and this puts my mind at ease. I'm going to replace the rubber valve stems w/metal as I have read and confirmed with Discount Tire that's a good idea when using these little screw on caps. I also have a great tire pressure gauge and check the pressure each day before travel and have a Ryobi tire inflator with me.

TerryV6

ScottG said:

@TerryV6, here ya' go!  ;-)

 
Good one @ScottG...  I have one of these in the truck...

TerryV6

dsfdogs said:

@TerryV6 I bought a TireMinder for this year! While my TV tells me if the car tires are low, I worried about the trailer while driving and this puts my mind at ease. I'm going to replace the rubber valve stems w/metal as I have read and confirmed with Discount Tire that's a good idea when using these little screw on caps. I also have a great tire pressure gauge and check the pressure each day before travel and have a Ryobi tire inflator with me.

I'd like to know how you like it....  There is no such thing as being too high tech...

Awca12a

TerryV6

Did they say why you might replace the original valve stems with the metal ones?

dsfdogs

@TerryV6 I believe as the metal stems are sturdier since something is attached. 
@Awca12a do you have a tire monitor on those valve stems?

Awca12a

I found out about these when the valve stems on my other trailer gave way from the centrifugal force of the tire monitors.  Don’t even think of using tire monitors without them.  That said, I got rid of the monitors.  Went back to old school checking manually before each departure. Forces you to notice other issues. 

jkjenn

Awca12a said:

I found out about these when the valve stems on my other trailer gave way from the centrifugal force of the tire monitors.  Don’t even think of using tire monitors without them.  That said, I got rid of the monitors.  Went back to old school checking manually before each departure. Forces you to notice other issues. 

Thanks for saving me a couple hundred bucks!

dsfdogs

@Awca12a are those valve stems better than all metal? I'm old school too, check pressure every day of travel and I'm very aware while driving. I'm a cautious person. But I travel alone and cannot see the passenger side tire in my rearview mirror and TireMinder gives me comfort and more awareness of any troubles.

N7SHG_Ham

I have the TST TPMS, bought from TecnoRV. My truck is old enough no built in monitor. I have the metal stems on my truck and I need to add them to my 400.

Awca12a

@dsfdogs Nothing wrong with having them and piece of mind is a great thing.  Not suggesting others don’t do it only that after having them, plus the truck tire monitors, I realized that I still checked pressure manually because I didn’t trust the electronics nor my attentiveness to them.  I ended up ignoring the alerts because tire pressure varies as the day and the road warms and cools.  True you set pressure parameters but they became so wide that I saw no point.  So for safety, that leaves catastrophic failure while in motion which you will notice right away by the odd pulling sensation and a sensor won’t tell you in time to really do anything about.  I drink water, have to go every couple of hours causing me to take a walk around the rig and eyeball everything.  Yet I have and fly a drone so go figure.  

Happy to sell someone the TST set I have here very fairly if they are so inclined.  

N7SHG_Ham

@Awca12a well I can think of one instance on my truck recently where the TST would of saved a tire. Gravel road and I got out to open a gate and rear tire was destroyed from being flat and I felt nothing, slow speeds and had gone a few miles after leaving pavement. I was shocked I felt or heard nothing.

I belive the TST not only alerts to pressure drop but if a rapid drop it has an algorithm to alert for that too. I am looking for the piece of mind on the 400, especially towing after dark where you might not notice a low or flat tire. Complete tire failures are largely correlated to low pressure and/or high temperatures. A single tire coming apart can do more damage to the trailer than the cost of the TST. I have had a tire failure on a small utility trailer in the dark, no damage to trailer, but I had no clue behind a Suburban.

I have friends in the trucking business that use the TST and report it has saved a tire before, so I think it is worth it. So far the TST and my very accurate digital tire guage are showing within 1-2 PSI. I always pre-trip, post-trip and every couple hours while on the road and put eyeballs on the tires and equipment. I more than once been able to see a developing tire issue, both times on a rear inside tire sidewall starting to split. My latest tool to help in inspections is an infrared non contact thermometer, pretty cool for checking tires/hubs and on TV transmission and rear axle temperature.

Awca12a

@N7SHG_Ham   All good points and I don't disagree at all.   TST is a good tool to have for the forest service roads and perhaps I need to rethink my approach with this trailer.  My other doesn't do forest roads at all, this one is designed for it.

The thermometer should be in everyone's toolbox because you just can't tell the temperature differences by back of hand or even visually.

dsfdogs

The TireMinder also gives temperature.

N7SHG_Ham

@dsfdogs as does the TST with user settable high temperature alert point. The temperature reported seems to vary from tire to tire, depends on if in the sun. Etc. But if it goes way high it could indicate an issue.

TerryV6

"valve stems on my other trailer gave way from the centrifugal force of the tire monitors."

Oh dear...  I didn't know this...  It seemed like such a simple addon..  Nothing is ever simple right?  Like Jenn, I think I might save and buy something else.  Maybe NASA is selling some of their old command module equipment.  I can check on the outside skin temp on the camper and what is the current velocity of my re-entry into the campsite.

Awca12a

@TerryV6
Let me share a story with you that will reaffirm your belief in nuCAMP.  Here I am with my very first trailer having decided to get a last-years model Airstream on 12/31 and be the beneficiary of triple witching hour pricing.   The dealer was an outstanding sort having refused to sell me the trailer I came in for after explaining that it would have been a terrible fit but this style, which was half the price, is what I didn't know I needed.  He was right.

So being the avid forum reader and aspriing boy scout, I had already tried to change a tire in preparation for a summer journey just to make sure we had the correct tools and know how.  This is when we discover that Airstream wheels have pretty looking lug nuts that aren't what they seem.  In order to save $22.95, they used absurdly cheap steel lugnuts and then capped them with thin aluminum caps making it appear to be an aluminum locknut but in fact was something that couldn't fit or be operated in a jack wrench without deforming or refusing to fit.   Off to the forums to discover the fix is a $22.95 set of solid metal chrome lugnuts and that I needed a deep high torque socket with extension so I could hammer the socket onto each cheap lugnut with a 5# hammer to get enough bite to remove the lug nuts.  An hour or so later, all the lugnuts are replaced and more than half would have been impossible to remove on the road.

So there we are heading off on our 12,000 mile summer adventure fully loaded leaving at 4am and all of the sudden the dealer installed TST detector alarm goes off telling me we have low tire pressure.  Pulling off the road in the dark somewhere in NJ, I first discover that the valve seat is leaking and I didn't think ahead enough to have a valve stem tool.  Fortunately we are near a Pilot and with stem tool in hand, I tighten and think we are good to go.  Already knew we needed to carry a portable air compressor which clearly saved our bacon so after topping off, headed back out.

No more than 5-hours into our journey we are on the side of the road multiple times topping off this tire until finally finding a tire shop open early on a weekend.   This is where we learned about the high pressure brass/rubber valve stems and we were back on the road.   Enough miles of that little pressure monitor and centrifugal force, the stem leaks either slowly or just fails.   They quickly gave us a new valve and we went another 7,000 miles before we had to solve the problem of the awful 1-yr old Marathon tires Airstream sourced somewhere in a 50% off rack.  

Point of all this.
I'm convinced that if the CEO and head of manufacturing of each trailer manufacturer commiteed themselves to using their products, the majority of our problems wouldn't exist.   nuCAMP and Airstream sell plenty of trailers with the cheap valves and eventually, the owner has to deal with them.    At least with nuCAMP the lug nuts were removable, the tires serviceable and we have the holy grail of Alde.

TerryV6

To be honest, I know very little about valve stems.  Since I only have two, would it be costly to have someone put in a better type?  I had done some price checking and saw a lot of price variance for different models, from $45 to over $200.  I have to say that since retirement, I've been kept busy learning tons of stuff about batteries, cables, loads, towing capacity, propane tanks, gray/black tanks, leveling, winterizing, bearings...  Let me see, I know there is a lot more...  
For expenditures, buying the camper was only the beginning...  
And, of course, it is nice when someone says, - this is the battery you need, etc..

In regard to the tire monitor, it sounded like a good idea.  I watched videos and it was an easy install.  But, I have always watched my tire pressures manually, both car and trailer.  I was on the road north to Green Bay once and someone ahead was pulling a flat trailer with a big load.  As I watched, his left tire started smoking and then blew out...  For me, that was a quick lane change...

Awca12a

I dismounted removed the wheels from the TT myself and brought them to my local mechanic. He does all my other work so to install the valve stems which cost $4/each cost me $20.  Cheap insurance and I got to confirm that I have the tools and procedures in place should I have to change a tire on the road.

This is for a pack of 50 but it gives you an idea of how cheap they are.
https://www.amazon.com/TR-600-Pressure-Wheel-Valve-TR600HP/dp/B00L3SYPOK

ScottG

@Awca12a, just curious, if you went so far as to dismount your own tires, why didn't you just put the new valve stems in yourself?

N7SHG_Ham

@ScottG you need to dismount the tire from the rim to change the valve stem, easier to have someone with a tire machine do that.

dsfdogs

@Awca12a I have read that steel or nickel plated valve stems are best to use with a TPMS. Do you know why the brass/rubber stems you've used are better?
Discount Tire quoted about $4 each for me too. 

Awca12a

Short answer is you don’t want to mix dissimilar metals such as brass TPMS sensors with steel or aluminum stems or vise versa.  I started USING brass for this reason as my sensors had brass connectors and I guess have just continued using them.  Moreover, I live near saltwater and the aluminum stems don’t fare well. 

jkjenn

This is a really helpful discussion. I had a bad valve stem that I was dealing with between the Grand Canyon and Zion. Fortunately, I was able to get a Good Sam guy out to remove the tire and put the spare on in 105 degree heat. The local auto garage in town repaired it for $20. I had not heard anyone else mention valve stem issues, so I thought it was just me and that it was a fluke.

ScottG

N7SHG_Ham said:

@ScottG you need to dismount the tire from the rim to change the valve stem, easier to have someone with a tire machine do that.

Got it. When you said you had "dismounted" the tire I thought you meant you had removed it from the rim. I've done this several times and involves a lot of tense grunting peppered with frequent expletives. However, once the tire is off the rim swapping out the valve stem is easy-peezy. Hence my confusion.