Ford e450 tire pressure check and fill problems

[ddro]

We just bought our new Itasca Spirit 33 foot long motorhome and I am having one hell of a problem checking and filling the tire pressures. The inner wheels have braided stainless steel extenders I assume that go through a wire connector that mounts on the outer wheel and I have a heck of a problem trying to check and fill them as the valve stem (or extender) is flexible and I have to hold pressure on them to get the gauge and chuck on them. I really have to push the gauge and chuck hard onto the stem to get any reading and to fill. Also the damn outer stems face inward, how the heck are you supposed to get a gauge or chuck on them?
On our first trip I got a screw in the inner tire and a flat. Luckily I noticed the outer tire looked low and after checking found the inner flat. I was able to get about 35 PSI into it and drove a mile down the road and had the flat repaired. (lucky)
When we got home I decided I wanted to check the pressures all around again and the wheel covers make it almost impossible to check when they are installed and I have no idea as how to get a chuck or gauge on the outer tires with the stems facing inward.
Anybody else having trouble or have any ideas?

[Bordercollie]

This is a recurring question with newbie RV buyers or experienced RV'ers who don't want to spend around $200 to have long solid metal valve stems installed on their dual rear wheels and front wheels. Cheap valve extenders that screw onto original rubber valve stems make it possible to check and fill tires more easily but they can unscrew and/or cause the rubber valve stems to vibrate and crack leaking air from the tire and causing the tire to come apart and have it's steel belt slap the******out of holding tanks, wiring and propane lines as well as causing possible loss of control. Spending 60+ thousand collars on a rig and spending another $200 to have Borg or Tire Man solid metal custom formed valve stems that make tire pressure checks easy, makes sense to me. We don't rotate wheels/tires on RV's, we replace tires after sidewalls show deep cracks generally when tires are beyond five years old by date codes imprinted on tires.
The word "extenders" should not be confused with "solid metal custom formed valve stems" when talking to a truck or RV tire salesman.

[Mich_F]

I had those stainless extenders on 2 previous class C' secured to the wheel simulators, without any problems. Those MHs both had simulators that were bolted on, so there was no potential problem of a simulator falling off. My current MH has the hub cap style simulator, which isn't bolted on. I wouldn't even think of securing those extenders to these simulators.

[j-d]

If you start out with METAL valves, and add Extenders that are solidly mounted to take the stresses off, you are usually/probably OK.

Even better if they are "AirLess" extenders. With those, there's no air pressure "living" in them between checking/airing. When you push a gauge/chuck onto an AirLess, you actually push on the end of an internal cable that presses the core in the actual valve down at the wheel.

Most extenders are not AirLess. When you screw it on, it depresses the core at the rim and carries pressure out to its own core. Now you're relying on the tightness at the actual tire valve, plus the condition/integrity of the rest of the extender, finally its own core and cap.

Just don't attach the outer end of the extender(s) to the wheel simulator/hubcap. If that comes off the rim you either keep the cover to beat up the coach, or the extender breaks and lets the air out of the tire.

Yes extenders work. The better ones, well installed, are OK. They're just not the Gold Standard. Those come, at a price, from Borg and Tire-Man

[JRandall]

I also have the braided valve stem extenders...no problem checking the pressure or adding air if needed. Never had any air leakage from any rear tire or extenders working loose in any way. Not sure why others have that problem.

[Oldme]

In 2013 I had a complete rake job doe at a local independent truck center.
I requested that he add valve-stem extenders. He added the steel braided one.

I have had no leakage or other problems with them.
Checking and adjusting pressure is now easy.

[j-d]

What Deb said x99! Borg Valves, Air-Through Caps (come with some kits, available at NAPA on their carousel displays) and air checking becomes:

1. Easy since all I need is ANY Gauge, ANY Air Hose and don't even have to remove the Caps.

2. Fun since those great valves pretty much eliminate air loss.

We have the absurd 10-hole wheels Ford supplied on RV chassis for years (commercial customers like U-Haul wouldn't tolerate them) and Dicor Simulators (innies) that make for really small, sharp, access holes. Borg valves stick right out, right where they should, stay put to check.

I used to rant like Ed did. No more!

[Harvey51]

This is the type of gauge that works best - straight line of force for the inner wheel valve.

The digital one cost $3 at a bargain store and outlasted the mechanical one, which suddenly got a leak and read way too low at age 7 years. Buy a good quality gauge and compare with a top quality one at a tire shop every chance you get.

I needed valve extenders on the outer wheels because the valve stems were too short. When the tires were replaced at Costco, I asked for long stems. They gave me medium long ones and new plastic extenders that worked very well last year. I recently found they didn't allow air tight connection with my gauge any more, due to some wear on the rubber where the gauge presses. I took one off and discovered the stems alone were long enough, so no more extenders for me. Standard valve caps, easy to take off and put on the impossible to reach inner wheel valve with a 4 inch piece of plastic tubing just the right size, held with wood dowel. See BruceMc's link to photos in his post above. I would love to have his screw on extender for airing up but haven't found one yet. I just use a chuck similar in shape to the ends on the gauges.

Of course I got rid of the wheel covers long ago. They may look good for a while but they get in the way of testing and airing up.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

My hubby Ed is normally a calm, easy-going guy. Checking the tire pressure turned him into a raving, crazed man.... LOL!
I ordered the solid metal (brass?) valve stems from Borg - which made checking SOOOOO much easier because they are rigid. They also don't leak air, so you're less likely to need to add air in the first place. Yes, you will have to have a tire place install the solid stems.

Then Ed realized that having stainless wheel LINERS ("innies") as opposed to our wheel covers ("Outies") would make a big difference, too. With both additions, checking the air is a 2-minute job; and adding air only needed to be done about once a year, in our case.

[mgirardo]

Our motorhome came with the same braided extensions. On occasion the curb side inner extension will come just loose enough that it is not possible to add air or check pressure.

I remove the wheel cover, remove the extension and blow air through it to make sure there is no obstruction. Then I put the extension on again and make sure it is on tight. In the 6 years we've owned the motorhome, this has only happened twice, so not too big a deal.

When we purchase new tires next year, we will have Tire Man valve stems installed at the same time. Since the extensions aren't a major hassle, I didn't think it was worth the money to install on the current set of tires.

-Michael

[tatest]

The problems are inherent to all dually wheel installations.

The pros use dually chucks and gauges, with appropriate valve stems. They don't usually have the option of speciality stems or extensions to make the job easier, all wheels have to be interchangeable. Wheel covers or "simulators" just make the problem more difficult. Edges of the openings are almost razor sharp, ouch!\ After the first few months pulling off covers to check pressure, I pulled them off permanently and put them in storage.

There are a variety of custom solutions, extensions and custom-built long stems. Anything much longer than a 1-3 inch stem needs support, usually included in the package. But for a RV, with tires rotting faster than you wear them out, no interchangeability needed, it is an easy way out, and you can still use the wheel covers.

[BruceMc]

I haven't installed the extended stems; I do just fine without them.
Here's my setup to check/adjust pressures:



Here's my Pressure Check Process photos.

[j-d]

IF you don't have the Ford Wheels with "Ten Two-Inch Hand Holes" which only an infant can get a hand through, then "truck" air gauge and inflator chuck will work. That's an OK compromise to custom stems like Tire-Man or Borg Dually Valve.

It's OK IF:

1. Rubber valve stems get replaced with METAL. Just be sure they're long enough (2" is enough) for the Gauge/Chuck to sit squarely without interference from the Rim.
2. You realize you must use TRUCK gauge and inflator.

I wanted to:

1. Get away from dealing with the 10 round 2" hand holes. The stainless simulators make them even smaller.

2. Be able to use ANY Gauge, ANY Air Chuck

3. Repeat, once again, the Borg Dually Valves are every bit the equal of Tire-Man.

Get what you can, Where/When you can. Tire-Man kits used to have more parts in them. I think they were all six-wheel kits for awhile. Borg was rear only. Then both started offering more choices within the range of kits for a given vehicle. For me, Borg was available and turned out to be much less expensive than Tire-Man. But understand this, unless you figure out a way to do a self-install (or hold off on new valves till new tire time), the Labor will cost nearly the price of the valve kits.

And Still Worth the Money and Time.

[bobsinn]

I love my Tire Man valve stems. Can check all 6 tires in less than 5 Min.

[Hickey]

I pulled all of my extenders and wheel covers off and chucked them. Useless******that causes more problems than they are worth.