2 days left in our 4 week 6,000 mile ramble, and this morning we wake up to a rear outside tire that looks low. Pressure reads 82lbs - normal, but I cannot get a reading on the inside tire. When I try to add air, it won't go in. Is this a simple fix or do I need to call for roadside assistance? All the other tires give me a reading and accept new air if I add it.
Update: Here's a pic or the valve stem. It does have an extension.
Do you have an extension on it or just the stem?
Using a straight gauge/dual footed gauge and going straight in?
I believe it is an extension. The outside wheel valve faces in and the inside wheel valve faces out. I press straight in to check pressure or add air.
Dan Call me. Rudy Legett. 7 one 3. 8 one 8. 3234
Extensions can give problems so I removed all of them.
Update: Inside tire is flat, lost its bead. Calling around for roadside assistance. Being a Sunday, only 2 out of 8 shops even answered their phones. The ones that did were Love's, who said they don't work on motorhomes, and a local shop who wanted to put a different brand and size tire on. That didn't sound right to me so I said no.
I could go to Love's in my toad and buy a matching tire (Uniroyal LS24 275/80/R22.5), but without having pulled the old one off and looked at it we don't know that we need a new tire.
PRESTO. Until the tire is removed and checked, you have no idea if you need a new tire.
Run flat-- you need a new tire.
Lost its air sitting at the CG-- may, repeat may be repairable. Heck, may be something as simple as leak from the valve stem.
Does it need to be removed and inspected-- ABSOLUTELY!
Most companies with road side assistance for 18 wheelers can handle this-- maybe not on a Sunday. A 22.5 tire on aluminum wheel AIN'T ROCKET SCIENCE.
You could try to run the outer up on a 2x10 .
Remove the extension and valve core .
Air up and blast some air into the inner.
When the tire gets dismounted. Change to long stems that face the correct way . Loose the extensions and inside facing stems .
TST TPMS shout out (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=45104.msg458089#msg458089)
Worth every penny imo and cheaper than a spare or replacement tire
Yup, a requirement on any of my vehicles.
Dan,
After seeing the pic. of your valve stem extension you need to consider getting a set of extension support plugs. They will support the valve stem and help stop it from vibrating which can loosen the nut that holds the stem in place which can cause a leak at the seal.
Mike
If the tire has lost air and run flat even though it's on the back, you need a new tire.
That's why we never turn a wheel without a spare on board. If you have a flat, road service will stick you full price for a tire and 9 out of 10 times, it won't be the same brand/model. When we bought ours 13 years ago, the PO drove it to town to wash it and went off the road and flattened a rear tire. It cost them over $600 to have road service bring a new one out and it didn't match the others brand wise.
Even if you can't change it yourself, road service can do the job quickly.
Buy a quality gauge to check pressure. The aftermarket gauges may have difficulty reading the pressure and as in our case, damage the core. Ours leaked but I had the metal caps with a rubber seal and the core removing tool on the opposite end. When we stopped for the night, I just replaced the core and added a little air. Front tire too.
Tire pressure monitors are mandatory in many countries on new cars.
Pierce
Amazon.com: Alcoa 225393 Valve Stem Stabilizer Extension Kit for 22.5 Wheel... (https://www.amazon.com/Alcoa-225393-Stabilizer-Extension-Center/dp/B0B47M8Q1G/ref=sr_1_10?crid=3SSRTT5WT4VR1&keywords=alcoa+valve+stem&qid=1665977604&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjAyIiwicXNhIjoiMy4wNiIsInFzcCI6IjIuOTkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=Alcoa+%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-10)
https://www.alcoawheels.com/alcoawheels/catalog/pdf/brochures/alcoa-valve-extension-kits-data-and-mounting-instructions.pdf
There could be two different styles being used, difference is hole is either centered or off centered
IMO these should be replace when changing tires with the valve stems. They do get old and wear and the rubber relaxes with age.
Scott
Totally agree.
We don't know if the tire when flat at the CG or while driving. A TPMS would have given that information.
At this point, a total dismount and inspection is needed.
And, if the "good" tire carried all the weight (its mate out of air), it too needs to be replaced.
If there is any doubt, replace it/thm.
Depending on age/condition of front tires, assuming they are the same size as the rears, may be a good time to replace both front tires and move both them to the back. That way, new tires on front AND two tires that match on that side in back (IMPORTANT that tires on a side in a dual configuration are the same diameter/height)! THIS IS WHAT I WOULD DO.
Update: Road service arrived just before dark, pulled tire off, didn't find any damage. Remounted it, installed new stem (without extension this time) and we let it sit overnight. Still looked good this morning so we took off and are now back in the road.
PS: We do have Tire Minder TPMS but 2 out of the 6 stopped working on this trip and one of those happened to be on this tire. I moved one of the good ones onto this tire this morning.
Dan, remember to change the tpms transmitter batteries every 9-14 months. Jim.
With the dual balancer between the rears , the visual along with the tps works very well
Air up at one fitting
Well worth the 159$
Dan, curious, do you have the TPMS repeater installed anywhere on the coach ? I had mine set up on a switch in the mid storage compartment. Something shifted while driving and hit my switch turning it off. 2 of my sensors quit reading then. Switched it on and all was fine. Without the repeater, you may be losing the signal.
But, if something goes wrong, you could need two new tires.
Pierce
I believe there is a regulator in the system that prevents both tires going down in a fast leak situation.
The balancer shuts off with one failure. Not sure at what value , I'd have to look . But yeah, keeps both tires the same, easy to visual , easy,t o fill, uses one TPS .
Edit ; I have a 70Psi balancer that shuts off at 55# or so. Tire chart for my tires calls for 74 # . I run at 84 rear and 94 front .
I also has the TPS tell me that I had a stem leaking on the inner wheel .
Update: Drove yesterday on the re-mounted tires. Watched the TPMS all day, no issues, but then after 400 miles the TPMS warning/alert sounded. Tire temp too high - 175 degrees! We immediately got off the road, and I wanted to see if the problem was with the TPMS instead of the tire by switching that TPMS out with another, but I couldn't even get at it as the aluminum wheels were so hot I couldn't touch them. We cooled off for a while then made it into a Walmart parking lot, where I called Dave Ward and ordered two new Michelin Xline Energy tires. Got them installed first thing this morning, on the front of the coach, and we moved the good fronts back to the rear.
Now, question about tire pressure. The placard on the coach, on the wall next to the driver seat, says front tires should be 97 psi and rears 83 at max GAWR. I've been running Uniroyal LS24's with numbers a few pounds below this (as per the Uniroyal charts and my actual weight) for 19,000 miles. The coach last weighed in at front axle 10,840, rear axle 17,020, and would be slightly more with fuller fuel, water, and holding tanks.
What does the group recommend for cold tire pressure, especially since my fronts are now Michelin and the rears still Uniroyal?
Dan,
You need to check to see if you have a brake caliper locked up and not releasing as that is well beyond normal.
Mike
Regarding the hot wheel: my first thought would be that the brake was hanging up on that side.
If it is a tire problem the tire should be hotter than the rim. You didn't mention how hot the tire
was. I go with brake problem too.
How do I do this? I'm now in a campground 400 miles from home.
Also, we drove 75 miles today before stopping at this campground, and didn't acknowledge any symptoms.
If you can't remove and replace the wheels yourself, you need to call in either a mobile mechanic or find a nearby by truck shop. That caliper isn't releasing. You can drive without that brake in battery, but you can't drive a fire. Best case scenario? Drive out the slider pins for the brake pads/caliper, sand them smooth, grease and replace.
So I'm looking around for a mobile mechanic to come and free up the brake caliper, if that's what it is, tomorrow. But I still need advice on tire pressure.
The placard on the coach, on the wall next to the driver seat, says front tires should be 97 psi and rears 83 at max GAWR. I've been running Uniroyal LS24's with numbers a few pounds below this (as per the Uniroyal charts and my actual weight) for 19,000 miles. The coach last weighed in at front axle 10,840, rear axle 17,020, and would be slightly more with fuller fuel, water, and holding tanks.
What does the group recommend for cold tire pressure, especially since my fronts are now Michelin and the rears still Uniroyal?
Sticker sounds close or at you charts pressures .
Dan,
Agree with Mike, your tire pressure on the plaque should be a good range, at least to get home and then look for a comprehensive chart.
This Link may help with the Slide Pins:
Brake Slide Pin Maintenance (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=44277.msg448007#msg448007)
Scott's Link has some good diagrams showing the pins and related parts. Hope this helps.
Following up on the "brake issue", when was the last time the brakes were serviced(calipers removed, slides checked and lubed, lubed calipers with proper high temp grease and properly purge excess grease)?
If well overheated, likely the brake rotor is damaged and "lazy pad" damaged as well.
Brakes have not been serviced since I bought the coach, 2 years and 19,000 miles ago, and I do not have records to suggest when it may have been prior to that. Is it overdue? Sure sounds like it from what I'm reading.
Regarding my immediate problem, we have driven the coach 75 miles since discovering the overheat issue and subsequent replacement of the tires on that wheel. We did not experience or acknowledge any issues during this drive, and the tires/wheels were not hot when we shut down at the campground. Also, the tire shop that installed the tires yesterday did not mention to me anything about a locked caliper. Should they have noticed this when they pulled both wheels off? Or would the parking brake have been on and the wheel wouldn't spin anyway?
Today is day 31 of our trip and we'd really like to make it home - 400 miles. Is there a way for me to know if the caliper is still locked without lifting the wheel off the ground? Would it be safe to continue driving if we stopped every 75 miles and checked things out?
While a caliper could "lock up", it is much more likely that the "lazy side" just failed to retract properly and this may not occur each time the brakes are applied.
And, yes, if you don't know when the brakes were last serviced, it is absolutely time to do so.
Dan,
To get home you can raise coach and block.
Find a high school football player, road mechanic, or DIY.
You can cage brake can on this side.
Get pry bar and #4 hammer.
With these tools you can pry the caliper and should be able to get the caliper to loosen with an attitude adjustment with the hammer.
Personally I would completely unhook the linkage after you get the caliper loose then drive 3 legged (brakes on 3 wheels) home. Look farther down the road and drive slower.
After home you need to service all 4 corners where you have time and tools.
Mike
What ever you do follow Pam & Mikes advice to cage the can.
Belt and suspenders, disconnect the linkage.
Then: Maybe,
Get tire guy to remove the wheels and bash the caliper loose.
Definitely. You'll have increased stopping distance but that's under your control.
Who ever you get to perform a brake job on your coach, make absolutey sure they install "Helper Springs" on each slide pin, PERIOD. The job is not finished until the helper springs are installed on every slide pin.
Update: Made the decision to leave the campground and attempt the drive home, since we couldn't find a mobile mechanic and we hadn't experienced any apparent issues with the brake caliper hanging up the previous day. We stopped at 30 mile intervals for the first 150 miles, getting out to check the wheel temps by hand each time. We ultimately made it to Paul Yasbeck's shop in Leesburg FL where we left the coach and finished the drive home in the toad. Paul will do a complete brake job, and lots of other things that were on our list.
Please come back and tell us what Paul finds when he services the rear brakes. Always nice to hear the final outcome of these stories.
Congratulations! Now buy yourself a set of Carhart work clothes, possibly a jump suit and have Mr. Yasbeck teach you how to cage a can, preferably until you can do it with your eyes closed. Keep the clothes and the wrench together.
Art
FWIW. I think everyone has "that friend" the one who skids by on luck, and never found a corner he couldn't shorten. Ned is one of those guys. The pertinent story is The Imperial. One of the big ones. On the drive home, with friends for moral support, the left rear brake was not releasing. "I" would choose to not use the brakes unless absolutely necessary and then only lightly. Not Ned. He's one of those guys who hopes the brake will "loosen up with use" and to this end he chose to keep "testing" the brakes on the ride back. One of the passengers was wondering if they'd make it home. Well Ned and his passengers eventually made it home, the burnt out hulk did not.
FWIW II I grew up reading racing stories, and today I find the pre-war races at Goodwood more exciting than the modern parades. One of the better stories involved entitled Englishmen, a high speed train and a Bentley.
B Special Blue Train (http://www.vintageracinggreen.com/racing_green/b-special-blue-train)