tire valve extension adventures
we went to a garage to have the tire pressures check as the MH has not been used in years. the assigned technician was a young kid who clearly was new at this. then we drove 50 miles to the polishi...
Forum Discussion
You have a 30' Sunova, correct?
Which size wheels, 19.5" rims?
And how OLD are the Tires?
I'm amazed the two tires that went flat didn't fly apart or cause blowouts on the inners.
Are your tire valves METAL (you won't see rubber except the edge of a gasket)?
If they're METAL, you can leave the extensions off and trust a TRUCK tire shop to gauge and air up your tires. The best Gauge and Air Chuck for this are "dual foot" where one foot (part that connects to the tire valve) is straight ahead (for Front Tires and Rear Inner Tires) and the other is backward-facing (for Rear Outer Tires). Or, you can install AIRLESS extensions. An Airless Extension has a depressor built into it that pushes the core of the actual tire valve ONLY when you push on the end of the extension with Gauge or Chuck. I think you had air-carrying extensions. With those, if the connection to the tire valve, or the extension itself, develops a leak, the tire goes flat. You could bore a hole in the side of an Airless Extension and there would be no leak till you put a gauge onto it.
Or are the valves RUBBER? You can still take the Tire Shop approach. I DO NOT recommend any form of Extension on Rubber Valves! That's how our Class C was when we got it. Rubber Valves, Flexible Inner and Solid Outer Extensions both air-bearing. I was constantly adding air. By that I mean before every monthly outing. The front had little straight extensions and the rubber valves would leak when I pushed my gauge onto them. Completely Unsatisfactory.
How old are the tires? The last four digits of the DOT Code on one sidewall are the Week and Year they were made. If they were several years old then stood "for years" even without being used, you may not make the 4000 miles without a blowout.
BORG valves are about $120 a set, Tire-Man sets are a little more. The tires have to be partially dismounted to install either. 16" tires suitable for RV are roughly $150-$250 each. For 19.5" tires I can only guess, maybe $100+ more. One blowout can cause more damage to the RV than the cost of a set of tires.
Be careful here...
Which size wheels, 19.5" rims?
And how OLD are the Tires?
I'm amazed the two tires that went flat didn't fly apart or cause blowouts on the inners.
Are your tire valves METAL (you won't see rubber except the edge of a gasket)?
If they're METAL, you can leave the extensions off and trust a TRUCK tire shop to gauge and air up your tires. The best Gauge and Air Chuck for this are "dual foot" where one foot (part that connects to the tire valve) is straight ahead (for Front Tires and Rear Inner Tires) and the other is backward-facing (for Rear Outer Tires). Or, you can install AIRLESS extensions. An Airless Extension has a depressor built into it that pushes the core of the actual tire valve ONLY when you push on the end of the extension with Gauge or Chuck. I think you had air-carrying extensions. With those, if the connection to the tire valve, or the extension itself, develops a leak, the tire goes flat. You could bore a hole in the side of an Airless Extension and there would be no leak till you put a gauge onto it.
Or are the valves RUBBER? You can still take the Tire Shop approach. I DO NOT recommend any form of Extension on Rubber Valves! That's how our Class C was when we got it. Rubber Valves, Flexible Inner and Solid Outer Extensions both air-bearing. I was constantly adding air. By that I mean before every monthly outing. The front had little straight extensions and the rubber valves would leak when I pushed my gauge onto them. Completely Unsatisfactory.
How old are the tires? The last four digits of the DOT Code on one sidewall are the Week and Year they were made. If they were several years old then stood "for years" even without being used, you may not make the 4000 miles without a blowout.
BORG valves are about $120 a set, Tire-Man sets are a little more. The tires have to be partially dismounted to install either. 16" tires suitable for RV are roughly $150-$250 each. For 19.5" tires I can only guess, maybe $100+ more. One blowout can cause more damage to the RV than the cost of a set of tires.
Be careful here...
