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EMD360's avatar
EMD360
Explorer
Feb 14, 2022

Tire Valve Disconnect Flat

First night out on the road about as far south in Colorado we could get when we pulled into our campsite with a flat outer drivers side duallie! First I tried to reinflate it thinking I didn’t get a TPMS warning. But it would not inflate so I called Good Sam Roadside. I’ve had this insurance since 2009 and used it just once before. When they separated the tire coverage I added it. So the claim rep was very well spoken and had a little humor which I appreciate. I got a call back from a dispatcher almost immediately. Their job is to contact a local vendor and locate the replacement tire. We obviously ran it flat. About a half hour later they called back saying a tech was on the way. Would arrive in about an hour. It was getting dark and the temperature was dropping. The man who showed up a little more than an hour later was very nice. He had to use hand tools to remove the tire and it was about 20° and dark so he worked with his truck headlights and phone flashlight. I sat in the warm cab and checked on him as he worked. The valve had come loose from a good tire. I just had the RV in the shop in January and got a bill of health for the tires but I’ve read that an extender can get caught and pull off the valve. First time for everything right?
So my Good Sam coverage really came in handy last night. I could have called around and tried to get someone out after dark on a 20° night or I could have Good Sam do it for me. I prefer the latter. And the TPMS? I forgot to turn it on in the hubbub of leaving home. Quite an oversight. On the other hand I’m glad we got to a campsite. Better than waiting on the highway for help. But what if I had known earlier? May not have destroyed the tire.
  • Grit dog wrote:
    Must be some killer tires you got on that rig, to not notice you were running with a flat!


    When we had our blow out (outer dual), I only knew because of the noise. The Class C handled just fine and I easily got over to the shoulder.

    -Michael
  • Grit dog wrote:
    Must be some killer tires you got on that rig, to not notice you were running with a flat!

    I wasn’t driving but we really didn’t feel it. Not a blowout just loss of air. On a Dually I guess the other tire just takes over.
  • Just replaced all the tires with Michelin Aegilis Cross Climate load range E. Here in CO we take the RV out in the snow and I seem to be sticking with Michelin tires. I have seen folks happy with others but I run heavy and wanted the reinforced sidewalls. I also had another flat with a braided valve extension but got it to the tire shop. We used the braided extensions for a decade on our 22e but all the problems others have mentioned happened on our new 2018 25b. So bought the accu-pressure (Borg) metal stems and had them installed. Also have the Tire Minder i10 system. The former cheap system I had lost 2 valve sensors (one was crushed with the destroyed extension) and no way to replace them. I like the idea of the flow through sensors. Should be easy to fill the tires now.
  • Must be some killer tires you got on that rig, to not notice you were running with a flat!