Maintaining air pressure in your tires
I've had my RV for less than a year and I'm religious in checking it's tire pressure. I had an inside rear dual that always seemed to loose a little tire pressure, so I checked pressure often. I thoug...
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ScottG wrote:Grit dog wrote:ScottG wrote:
A while back I stumbled upon an article that indicated the schrader valve isn't supposed to be the main device for holding air in a tire, the cap is.
I always buy metal caps with rubber seals just in case the schrader starts leaking.
With all due respect, that article had to have been in the National Enquirer right under the "Les Schwab was abducted by aliens" article!
I didn't catch any respect there but as an engineer type, I keep my mind open to learning new things about absolutely anything and never let preconceived notions keep me from doing so.
Anecdotal. Back in 1978 my buddy's brother allowed us to use his brothers new Corvette for an evening. For some reason long forgotten, we checked the air pressure in the tires. One tire had a slight leak at the schrader valve when I checked it. Being a dumb 17 y/o kid, I just screwed the cap back on and we went on our way.
That tire held air all night and was still up the next day when I dropped by their house.
A metal valve stem with a gasket will hold some pressure. ( I used one on a leaking valve core in a pinch, had to swipe it off a random vehicle in the parking lot. Probably should have left him a dollar, lol but desperate times called for desperate measures...) And even a plastic one will help a little if it's low pressure I imagine, but a valve stem cap is 100% not designed to be the primary or even secondary means of keeping air in a tire.
Think about it. If they were, they would be much more robust and not standard plastic. They are primarily to keep crud out of the valve stem.
