Valve Extenders And Rotating Tires

[OFDPOS]

Going to get new tires put on next week and right now there is nothing but the rubber valve stems on all 6 rims.
Was looking on line and have been reading reviews etc on the Valve Extenders from plain rubber ones to Stainless Steel Braided ones to the Solid Valve stems like these
http://yourtireshopsupply.com/product/3449/dl1sstc-chrome-dually-valve-dl1sstc

So if you get the solid ones , just how does a Tire Rotation come into play ? Break tire down remove solid valve stems to other rims ? Switch tires on rims ?

Have heard more negative on the rubber/braided extenders that just screw onto the steel valve stems ones verses the solid ones ?

[OFDPOS]

turbojimmy wrote:

OFDPOS wrote:
He goes into telling us how the tire shops hate the bolt on wheel covers because they are such a pain and how the pop on ones are so much better and easier. That the ones that complain about them are the ones that don't know how to put them on.. Huh Yeah whatever meanwhile there's a guy in one of the bays pounding on you guessed it a wheel cover , so I came back with "like that guy"

Mine are bolt-ons. I never considered the pop-on type. They were easy to install. I don't know why a tire shop would have a problem with them. If you're taking a tire off, you take the lug nuts off, and off comes the wheel cover.

I know my thoughts too , he acted like it was some big deal !!
Maybe some are ? These seem simple enough ,,,, unscrew two retaining screws, set center cap aside , loosen/remove the 2-4 lug nuts that hold the wheel cover on set aside , remove remaining 4-6 lug nuts and remove wheel ??

Ok look at it from a tech view, he has to look at the wheel and figure out what is holding the wheel cover on since he has been trying to pry the wheel cover off with a long screw driver or tire iron and it ain't budging just bending !!
Yeah so I guess they would hate the bolt on wheel covers. 😉

As for the pop on ones , we have all seen them on vehicles going down the road ! NOT centered and and they look egg shaped .
Have no idea if that would cause any imbalance ? But some of those wheel covers add up to lbs NOT oz's and spinning at what RPM ? would think might cause some kind of vibration ??

[chinrv]

How are the new ( or old) tires balanced when the dually or tireman solid long valves are installed? Do they put in the long valves and then put the wheel on their spin balancing machine? Do they even do a tire balance?

[turbojimmy]

OFDPOS wrote:
He goes into telling us how the tire shops hate the bolt on wheel covers because they are such a pain and how the pop on ones are so much better and easier. That the ones that complain about them are the ones that don't know how to put them on.. Huh Yeah whatever meanwhile there's a guy in one of the bays pounding on you guessed it a wheel cover , so I came back with "like that guy"

Mine are bolt-ons. I never considered the pop-on type. They were easy to install. I don't know why a tire shop would have a problem with them. If you're taking a tire off, you take the lug nuts off, and off comes the wheel cover.

[OFDPOS]

Thanks for the info on which ones you got.
I stopped in at a tire shop here, Name Brand here on the west Coast. (we'll leave the name out ) and he had both good ideas and well bad.
They work on alot of big MH's and Trucks as well.
First the good, he said to get the wheel covers I want , then get the valve stems I need to work with what I got. Made since, so I ordered up the wheel covers and they will be here Friday so over the weekend I'll see how they fit and get a better idea of which ones I need. He thought I could get away with just standard steel valve stems and put on metal straight airless type valve extenders 2-3 inch for the inside dually and nothing for the outside tire other than just the standard steel valve stem .
We were all out by the MH talking and laughing and he was full of info.
He goes into telling us how the tire shops hate the bolt on wheel covers because they are such a pain and how the pop on ones are so much better and easier. That the ones that complain about them are the ones that don't know how to put them on.. Huh Yeah whatever meanwhile there's a guy in one of the bays pounding on you guessed it a wheel cover , so I came back with "like that guy"
Now the bad;
He noticed that one rear tire was weather cracked pretty good and through me a price on a new one without me asking. I told him I had called them last week and got a quote on a new set of tires and that America's Tire blew them out of the water.
He turned red , said have a nice day and did a 180 and walked away.

It kinda made me mad but then again it was kinda funny too. My future SIL was with me and looked at me and said WTF ?? lol
I was there to buy valve stems if they had them, so it wasn't like I was just trying to get free info/advise..

So thanks for the input , I most likely will order up the same set-up you have unless of coarse the wheel covers I can get has a straight shot at the valve stems ?

[IAMICHABOD]

OFDPOS wrote:

Thanks for the info, by chance do you recall which valve stems did you get ?
Straight out for inside dualies ? how about the outside dualy and then the fronts ? are your fronts the same as the outer rears ?

The set I got for my RV was the #1-6 FCD

They look like this

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tireman+valve+stem+extenders&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=72C7985E...

The 2 long ones are for the inside tire and the curved ones are for the outside tire and the short ones are for the front tires. They come with very good instructions,if I remember right Chuck also color coded them so there was no mistake on where they were to go.

If you have any Questions just call Chuck, he is quite a character and will give all the info needed. He also has lists of tire dealers in some areas that know how to install them right.
Oh if you talk to him tell him where you heard about it,he always gets a kick out hearing about "word of mouth" on The Net. He does almost no advertising.

On Edit One more thing they come with Thru the cap type caps so you don't have to remove them to check the air pressure.

[turbojimmy]

OFDPOS wrote:

IAMICHABOD wrote:
I have a set of the simulators by Pacific Dualies like the ones you describe from amazon I also got tired of the bang on hubcaps and went to the bolt on type. It was one of the first things I did when I bought mine.

They are nice and go well with my Tire Man Valve stems. Being stainless the care and up keep is a breeze. Plus they look great.

When I went to the tire shop to get the Tire Man valve stems put on they also installed the Simulators.

Thanks for the info, by chance do you recall which valve stems did you get ?
Straight out for inside dualies ? how about the outside dualy and then the fronts ? are your fronts the same as the outer rears ?

I have Pacific Dualies too. Interested in what stems/extensions you got.

[OFDPOS]

IAMICHABOD wrote:
I have a set of the simulators by Pacific Dualies like the ones you describe from amazon I also got tired of the bang on hubcaps and went to the bolt on type. It was one of the first things I did when I bought mine.

They are nice and go well with my Tire Man Valve stems. Being stainless the care and up keep is a breeze. Plus they look great.

When I went to the tire shop to get the Tire Man valve stems put on they also installed the Simulators.

Thanks for the info, by chance do you recall which valve stems did you get ?
Straight out for inside dualies ? how about the outside dualy and then the fronts ? are your fronts the same as the outer rears ?

[IAMICHABOD]

I have a set of the simulators by Pacific Dualies like the ones you describe from amazon I also got tired of the bang on hubcaps and went to the bolt on type. It was one of the first things I did when I bought mine.

They are nice and go well with my Tire Man Valve stems. Being stainless the care and up keep is a breeze. Plus they look great.

When I went to the tire shop to get the Tire Man valve stems put on they also installed the Simulators.

[Hank85713]

I had the longer steel stems installed when Discount put the new Michelins on. I used 4 inch extensions for the inside tire and a dab of medium strength lock tite to hold them in place. For the out side they put in some 45Deg ones and I added some 90 Deg extenders to get the tip pointing out. Again lock tite to secure. No issues. Also use the digital gauge like pictured above.

[CloudDriver]

I had the Tireman solid steel valve stems installed back in 2007. One of our best upgrades.

I never rotate the rear tires, but do rotate the front and spare tires so the spare gets some use. Also allows me to take a look at the front brake pads and suspension components.

[OFDPOS]

I was looking to get rid of the cheap pop on hub'cap wheel covers that through the years whoever handled them did so with a solid hammer 😞 ? And get some more SS wheel covers that fit better , I was thinking these to be precise :
http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Dualies-Stainless-Simulator-2001-2007/dp/B000CP2HOU/ref=au_as_r?ie=UTF8&Make=Chevrolet%7C47&Model=Express%203500%7C449&Year=2005%7C2005&n=15684181&newVehicle=1&s=automotive&vehicleId=4&vehicleType=automotive#customerReviews

I like the idea of how these are mounted to the rims..
And wanted to be able to have either the solid valve stems or the valve extenders so I can check with out having to pull off the covers like the ones I have on now.

I checked out TireMan and like the idea of the solid valve stems. I'll check with America's Tire today and if they can't or have this style ? I'll order up a set from the TireMan site..

As for rotating had a brain fart about the inner duallies cross rotate.
But as far as the fronts and outer rears yes those will definitely need to be rotated !

Thanks for the opinions and how about the above wheel liners ? Anybody have any experience with them ?

[map40]

I have had several motorhomes and now I have a rental fleet.
Here are your options:
1) Special valve stems (like the ones on your link): Best option for the user, simple and the safest method. To rotate tires just exchange them side by side, or simply don't rotate them. Some of my motorhomes have over 150K miles, so far rotation is more of a need on the front tires.
2) Extensions: I would suggest the all metal or braided kind. Non pressure should be better than pressurized. They have more risk than the stems, but the are pretty easy to use.
3) Truck gauge: Leave the original stems and use a trick style gauge. Easier and cheaper, but you pay for it every time you check the preassure. Also keep in mind that they are difficult to check AND to inflate.

I would go with number 1 or number 2. I would nevet go with number 3. You will not check them and the tires will blow out.

That said, you should have metal valve stems, not rubber!!!!

[pauldub]

I have steel valve stems and I use the airless or non-pressurized extenders for the inner duals. A dual foot gauge allows me to check the outer duals without the need for any extenders. I also use "inflate thru valve caps" on all wheels.

[klutchdust]

Quality steel valve stems and purchase an appropriate gauge, I have a digital one from Auto Zone which has a straight on approach .The same with your inflator. I can easily check the inside tires. Most air

gauges have an angled end which requires fumbling and fiddling. Don't be a fumbler or fiddler.




Not necessarily this brand but for illustration purposes.