We recently bought a used Fleetwood Storm. The rear inner wheels have the braided valve stem extensions and the outer tires the valve stem faces inwards and I am unable to get a tire gauge on it, not even the push/pull type gauge.My question is, today we bought 135* solid valve stem extenions for the outer tires, (our valve stems are steel) when I started to screw these extensions on to the current stem, air started coming out... no instructions on how to install, I thought it looked pretty straight forward, but apparently not. Can anyone tell me how these are installed or what I am doing wrong?

I have same setup on mine - braided extensions on inners, solid 135 deg. extensions on outers. I could not get to the valve stem on the outers any other way (no matter what type of gauge I used).I put the 135 deg. extensions on the outers myself. Yes, a little air leaks out when you first put them on, but it should stop when you get them on good and tight. I don't recall more than just a little air leaking out when first installing those. If they're leaking no matter how tight you get them, something is definitely wrong.You're probably going to get lots of posts here telling you that the braided extensions on the inners are a bad idea, and will leak. I've watched ours very closely, and after a year of ownership, have not experience ANY leakage from them at all. I am still leary of them, and will probably one day replace them with solid extensions of some kind. But, reality is that they have worked great so far for us.

Ok. I did not put them all the way on, once I heard air coming out I thought I had done something wrong so will give it another try tomorrow I guess. I have read a lot of the posts about the braided extensions...will keep a close eye on those and may eventually go another route. A lot to learn on these motor homes coming from a 19 ft. TTThank you for responding.

The extentions are not reliable, they will leak sooner or later you can be sure of that. You need a 90 Degree truck tire gauge & throw all the extentions away.

I meant to also say, one of the best investmeents you can make is a good tire monitoring system. If you blow a tire the damage it does to your motor home is alot more expensive than you'll pay for the montoring system.

jtovosr wrote:The extensions are not reliable, they will leak sooner or later you can be sure of that. You need a 90 Degree truck tire gauge & throw all the extensions away...I tried every truck tire gauge I could find. RV dealer tried 'bout every one he had on the shelf, too. NONE would allow you to get to the valve on the outer dual on mine. ...Not to mention that even if I could get a gauge to reach it, NOTHING would allow me to attach an air hose to it (outer dual) for when it needs a shot of air. The ONLY option for the outers that allowed me to attach a gauge as well as an air chuck was a solid, 135 deg. extension. Sooo, thats what I use for them.Solid, short extensions like that are not the problem. When installed correctly, they will not leak. The braided extensions are the ones that some folks have leaking problems with (although just as many folks like me have had no trouble with them). Eventually I will probably replace the braided ones on the inners with a solid extension of some kind, quite possibly Dually valves. However, as long as the braided ones show no sign of wear or leaking....I'll stick with what I have. :)Will

Valve stem question | Good Sam Community

willald
Explorer II
Mar 05, 2013
Hudsoner wrote:
I have the same problems with my rear tires and are contemplating to install the Cross Fire system (http://tinyurl.com/c2fe5k3).

Has anybody any experience with it and can report on it?

I've looked at those. I like the concept, but I'd be concerned that they'd throw the wheel out of balance and cause some vibration. Seems like it'd be pretty tough to balance the outer wheel/tire that has those things mounted on it. Especially, if they are not mounted directly in the center.

Also don't like the fact that in a way, you're kind of making two tires back into one when you add those things. I know the crossfire is not supposed to allow it to happen, but I have read where in some circumstances, if one tire loses a lot of air suddenly (like in a blowout), the crossfire will allow air to cross over, causing the other tire to go flat as well. Pretty much eliminates one of the big advantages of having duals, if a blowout with one can take the other one with it.

Still a cool idea, though.
workhardplayha1
Explorer
Mar 05, 2013
I have removed the wheel covers which makes it easier to check/fill tires.
Hudsoner
Explorer
Mar 05, 2013
willald wrote:

Also don't like the fact that in a way, you're kind of making two tires back into one when you add those things. I know the crossfire is not supposed to allow it to happen, but I have read where in some circumstances, if one tire loses a lot of air suddenly (like in a blowout), the crossfire will allow air to cross over, causing the other tire to go flat as well. Pretty much eliminates one of the big advantages of having duals, if a blowout with one can take the other one with it.

Still a cool idea, though.

Would that situation show up if one would have a pressure monitor attached to the crossfire? If yes, would it show up fast enough that one could react in time?
willald
Explorer II
Mar 06, 2013
Hudsoner wrote:
willald wrote:

Also don't like the fact that in a way, you're kind of making two tires back into one when you add those things. I know the crossfire is not supposed to allow it to happen, but I have read where in some circumstances, if one tire loses a lot of air suddenly (like in a blowout), the crossfire will allow air to cross over, causing the other tire to go flat as well. Pretty much eliminates one of the big advantages of having duals, if a blowout with one can take the other one with it.

Still a cool idea, though.

Would that situation show up if one would have a pressure monitor attached to the crossfire? If yes, would it show up fast enough that one could react in time?

Having a tire pressure monitor attached would not prevent that situation from happening, no. You'd still be basically making the two tires into one as far as air pressure goes, in a way.

As to whether or not the monitor would give you warning of such in time to react: Maybe, maybe not. Guess would depend on how quickly one of the tires loses its air.

Will
homedad
Explorer
Mar 06, 2013
I had the extensions on my rear duals. I found that if they've been on a long time the valve that the extension is pushing gets stuck open. You need to bite the bullet and let the air flow and deal with the stuck valve. I found that it's fine with the extensions on but if it's flowing just re-seating the valve with a pressure gauge or pointy object re-seats the valve. Then refill the tires. The cheap solution I found was the 135deg stem extension on the outers and just using the braided extension as a temporary extension for checking and filling the inners. You'll need a flashlight to find the valve and need to leave the cap off. I had too much anxiety putting the braided lines on permanently.
xctraveler
Explorer
Mar 08, 2013
homedad wrote:
I had the extensions on my rear duals. I found that if they've been on a long time the valve that the extension is pushing gets stuck open. You need to bite the bullet and let the air flow and deal with the stuck valve. I found that it's fine with the extensions on but if it's flowing just re-seating the valve with a pressure gauge or pointy object re-seats the valve. Then refill the tires. The cheap solution I found was the 135deg stem extension on the outers and just using the braided extension as a temporary extension for checking and filling the inners. You'll need a flashlight to find the valve and need to leave the cap off. I had too much anxiety putting the braided lines on permanently.

Leaving the cap off is not recommended. Modern caps provide a seal and a backup in case of valve failure. They also prevent the possibility of dirt getting into the valve stem and causing a leak.
Freelander11
Explorer
Feb 23, 2014
I had tires replaced yesterday due to the Michelin recall. Asked them to put the braided tire value extensions on the inside rear wheels. I think I have a problem. There was a u clamp attached to the braided extension, but they did not attach it to my wheel simulators. The clamp is pretty heavy and I'm concerned going down the highway that it will constantly be swinging around. I removed the U clamp since it wasn't attached so now the extension is hanging freely. Aren't they supposed to be attached to simulator somehow or is it OK to have them moving freely?
Sully2
Explorer
Feb 23, 2014
jtovosr wrote:
The extentions are not reliable, they will leak sooner or later you can be sure of that. You need a 90 Degree truck tire gauge & throw all the extentions away.

Not reliable?? Ive run them on 3 different coaches from 1993 till present day.....never had any sort of problem with the hoses.

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