Harvey51 wrote:
When we bought our 4 year old MH, I didn't buy special stems. The used Ford had plastic extenders on the valve stems and I managed quite nicely with pressure gauges like this and a similar inflation head for my compressor.P
The straight on end is necessary for the inner wheel and the backward angle one for the outer s which must have the valve stem long enough to be close to the rim opening. I have had a service station add air twice and they both had the appropriate inflation tool. I rarely use my portable air pump but it is a comfort to have for sure,
I never had trouble that a plastic extender but a metal one I tried failed to close after I checked the pressure at a rest stop. I got the darn thing off quickly enough to limp to a service station.
With the first set of new tires I got Costco to install longer valve stems (rubber) and have never needed extenders since. I also decided to put regular valve caps on to keep things clean, using a short length of plastic tubing with a wood dowel holder to take off and put them back on. It takes about 5 minutes to check all the tire pressures. Would be a little faster if I marked the spot on the rim where the stems are located. The Costco installer thoughtfully installed the wheels so both inner and outer valves are in the same big rim opening.
The gauges shown by Harvey are the type I recommend. It makes checking pressures with standard stems very easy.
For balance purposes, the wheels should have been mounted with the stems 180 degrees apart, directly opposite each other.
I tried the Borg stems on my Sprinter and quickly gave up and had the tire shop break down the wheels and remove them. We reinstalled standard rubber/brass 80 psi truck stems. I had jacked it up and home and pulled the wheels, part of the problem was that I quickly discovered that it was very difficult to install the wheels without damaging the stems, the stems also did not fit properly even though they were supposed to be bent properly and also that the long stem on the inner wheel makes it impossible to interchange it to any other position without breaking it down and swapping the stems, and this requires more seals as you damage the seals getting it apart.
To Borg's credit, they promptly refunded me all of my money and I was happy. Possibly on other vehicles they fit better, but the problem of non-interchangeability of rims with the long stems and the difficulty of mounting wheels on the vehicle without damaging the stems is still present.
I do not run wheel simulators. I removed them as soon as I got the vehicle home when I bought it. I use a slime gauge similar to the one Harvey shows, plus a Milton 12 inch long straight/reverse angle air chuck https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QI1WEA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Plus German made brass Alligator V2B service thru the cap, valve stem caps. Keeps dirt out of the stem, but eliminates the need to remove caps to service or check pressure. https://www.amazon.com/Alligator-V2B-Inflate-Through-Valve/dp/B014VCY3S2/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=...
The Milton chuck has grooves inside the ends to allow it to "lock on" to the thread on a valve stem or the machined locking grooves (which are not threads) on the Alligator caps. This makes the chuck frustrating to use, so I replaced the seal retainer/end nuts on the Milton with smooth, ungrooved ones, https://www.miltonindustries.com/dual-head-chuck-nut.html
Charles
When we bought our 4 year old MH, I didn't buy special stems. The used Ford had plastic extenders on the valve stems and I managed quite nicely with pressure gauges like this and a similar inflation head for my compressor.
P
The straight on end is necessary for the inner wheel and the backward angle one for the outer s which must have the valve stem long enough to be close to the rim opening. I have had a service station add air twice and they both had the appropriate inflation tool. I rarely use my portable air pump but it is a comfort to have for sure,
I never had trouble that a plastic extender but a metal one I tried failed to close after I checked the pressure at a rest stop. I got the darn thing off quickly enough to limp to a service station.
With the first set of new tires I got Costco to install longer valve stems (rubber) and have never needed extenders since. I also decided to put regular valve caps on to keep things clean, using a short length of plastic tubing with a wood dowel holder to take off and put them back on. It takes about 5 minutes to check all the tire pressures. Would be a little faster if I marked the spot on the rim where the stems are located. The Costco installer thoughtfully installed the wheels so both inner and outer valves are in the same big rim opening.
PThe straight on end is necessary for the inner wheel and the backward angle one for the outer s which must have the valve stem long enough to be close to the rim opening. I have had a service station add air twice and they both had the appropriate inflation tool. I rarely use my portable air pump but it is a comfort to have for sure,
I never had trouble that a plastic extender but a metal one I tried failed to close after I checked the pressure at a rest stop. I got the darn thing off quickly enough to limp to a service station.
With the first set of new tires I got Costco to install longer valve stems (rubber) and have never needed extenders since. I also decided to put regular valve caps on to keep things clean, using a short length of plastic tubing with a wood dowel holder to take off and put them back on. It takes about 5 minutes to check all the tire pressures. Would be a little faster if I marked the spot on the rim where the stems are located. The Costco installer thoughtfully installed the wheels so both inner and outer valves are in the same big rim opening.
