Hoerschel wrote:
The importance of a TPMS: tire pressure monitoring system. I recently bought a used 30' Class C with 111k miles on the clock from Cruise America. Prior to sale I had performed the perfunctory safety checks, especially on the tires, ensuring they were within 3-5 years from manufacturing date, had good tread, no sidewall cracks and were aired-up appropriately. However, the coach lacked a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS)--and I thought NOTHING of it. "No big deal," I told myself. I'll religiously check the pressure prior to every trip and that's good enough. That is, until the fateful day recently when I discovered, while parked at a rest stop, that my outer right rear dually looked mighty low. It was a Sunday and I was in Penrose, CO. Fortunately, I found the owner of a tire shop working on his day off and he kindly agreed to put some air in my tire. "Whoa," he said. "Your outer tire is low because it's bearing all the weight that should be shared with the inner dually. And THAT tire is flatter than a pancake. Unrepairable."
Whaaa...? Folks, only minutes earlier, I had driven down a treacherous mountain road out of Westcliffe, CO. One with lots of curves, aggressive drivers and a need for reasonable speed. How and where that tire failed I have no idea. And my ignorance of the situation needlessly imperiled me and everyone else on the road. One failed tire could easily have led to two, loss of control and--well, your imagination of a disaster is as good as mine. As I listened to the tire man I began to shudder with the thought of the catastrophe I had miraculously been spared. And how a TPMS is no longer a luxury in my mind. It is an absolute necessity. I'm no longer an indolent wise guy. I got a clue. And I hope you all do, too.
I used to live in Colorado and I know the roads you were driving on. They require all of your attention no matter what type of vehicle you're driving.
I just made a post about checking the tire's tightness of the valve core into the valve stem in the general class C section. Perhaps your flat was caused because your valve core was loose and allowed the air to leak? (I thought I was making my post in this section). My tires hold air much better now since I did this simple little bit of maintenance.
