steel valves

[nephi007]

Hello. So we purchased a new Shasta Oasis 25rs in January 2016. The tires are 205 75 14 load range c. Constancy tires. (no doubt made in China) We drove it to Seattle and back to Salt Lake City approximately 2000 miles. No other trips. Tires performed well (i.e. they didn't blow up). No overloading. I have choices. (1) Tires ain't broke yet so don't fix (replace) 'em. (2) buy a TPMS system. If I keep tires at a minimum should I replace rubber stems with steel stems and have tires balanced? We are planning a return and back trip again to Northwest in July. Your thoughts please.

[mike-s]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Steel valve stems not needed unless Tire PSI 100# PLUS

Rubber stems are only good to 65 PSI. Source. And, here is a link to a bulletin from the Rubber Manufacturer's Association, confirming that.

[Lynnmor]

MarkTwain wrote:


X11, I always replace all rubber valve stems with stainless steel every time I buy new tires. Stainless steel stems will also minimize air leakage with traveling or when in storage.

Do you have a good source for stainless steel valve stems?

[rbpru]

I this is fine advice but my D rated tire did not survive the unseen road hazard the put a baseball sized dent in my rim in down town Indy.

Road hazards fear no tire.

[Ron3rd]

I'm a believer in the TPMS systems and you will be too if you tow long enough. Yes, you can get a flat and you will not know it until it's done a lot of damage to your rig.

If you are planning on a TPMS system, steel valve stems are MANDATORY. Others may differ, and even one TPMS mfg told me rubber stems are fine (WRONG!). Do it right the first time and end the discussion.

[Lwiddis]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Steel valve stems not needed unless Tire PSI 100# PLUS

Balance trailer tires.....IF it goes round and round at speed YES!!!

Upgrade from 'C' to 'D' again YES-----next year

Just keep tire pressures maintained/checked prior to travel days in AM COLD
Stay under 'speed rating' of tires Most likely 65 mph)
Stay under 'load rating' of tires (stamped on sidewalls)

Agreed, Old Biscuit.

[nephi007]

Hey guys thanks for the input. All options offered are sensible. Replace tires, TPMS, keep tires for a bit longer, perform due diligence. Basically there are no guarantees that these (and any tire) won't blow given a perfect storm of factors. I have read here of tires blowing and the awful after effect on the underside of the trailer.I strongly believe that the tires I have need to be monitored closely so in addition to due diligence I will get a TPMS system and hope for the best.

[MarkTwain]

rockhillmanor wrote:

nephi007 wrote:
Hello. So we purchased a new Shasta Oasis 25rs in January 2016. The tires are 205 75 14 load range c. Constancy tires. (no doubt made in China) We drove it to Seattle and back to Salt Lake City approximately 2000 miles. No other trips. Tires performed well (i.e. they didn't blow up). No overloading. I have choices. (1) Tires ain't broke yet so don't fix (replace) 'em. (2) buy a TPMS system. If I keep tires at a minimum should I replace rubber stems with steel stems and have tires balanced? We are planning a return and back trip again to Northwest in July. Your thoughts please.

YUP X10!
First thing I did on the first RV I bought was to change out all rubber valve stems with stainless steel.

X11, I always replace all rubber valve stems with stainless steel every time I buy new tires. Stainless steel stems will also minimize air leakage with traveling or when in storage.

[time2roll]

I would just inspect closely for uneven wear etc. and just run them for 24 months.
Then just replace with a quality tire such as Maxxis or GY Endurance.

I am not really sold on the TPMS that attaches on top of the stem. For me it would be either OEM style internal TPMS stem or go without.

[garyemunson]

What needs to be kept in mind about TPMS units is that RVs of all types are generally driven long distances each day, unlike a car where you might just drive to work or the store. With the car, you pick up a nail and you come back out to find a flat tire. With an RV, the pressure might have been good when you checked it in the morning but you pick up a nail and you will drive far enough for it to leak down to the danger point where the tire will overheat and fail. TPMS is more important on RVs!

[Sandia_Man]

Metal valve stems are always a nice upgrade but they will not prevent catastrophic blowouts that many RVers experience. As stated above going up a load rating would give you lots of safety margin, ST tires perform better when filled to max or near max capacity. Overloading and improper inflation are death knells for an ST tire, exceeding stated mph for the tire can cause issues but most only do it sporadically anyway which downgrades the occurrence of such an event.

We had so called china bombs come stock on our rig and managed to get 3 seasons out of them, although they only showed minor wear we replaced them with Maxxis ST tires for peace of mind. Every 5th season we replace our ST tires regardless of wear or condition, we do travel by interstate mostly and don't want to have any issues. Our rig came with metal valve stems, in the past decade we have never had the misfortune of experiencing a blowout while underway.

[allen8106]

I would replace the tires AND buy a TPMS.

I never leave home without mine and it saved my rear this past March when a tire got a leak. I got the alarm, pulled over and had the tire changed before it could even go flat. Without it I would have never known and would have suffered considerable damage to the camper.

[krobbe]

If you purchase a TPMS, definitely replace the rubber valve stems with all metal. I just went thru this last summer. The weight of the TPMS caps will break the rubber valve stems right at their base. The metal(brass) stems with rubber base won't cut it either. They need to be the all-metal bolt in type like these at Amazon.com

[Old-Biscuit]

Steel valve stems not needed unless Tire PSI 100# PLUS

Balance trailer tires.....IF it goes round and round at speed YES!!!

Upgrade from 'C' to 'D' again YES-----next year

Just keep tire pressures maintained/checked prior to travel days in AM COLD
Stay under 'speed rating' of tires Most likely 65 mph)
Stay under 'load rating' of tires (stamped on sidewalls)

[rockhillmanor]

nephi007 wrote:
Hello. So we purchased a new Shasta Oasis 25rs in January 2016. The tires are 205 75 14 load range c. Constancy tires. (no doubt made in China) We drove it to Seattle and back to Salt Lake City approximately 2000 miles. No other trips. Tires performed well (i.e. they didn't blow up). No overloading. I have choices. (1) Tires ain't broke yet so don't fix (replace) 'em. (2) buy a TPMS system. If I keep tires at a minimum should I replace rubber stems with steel stems and have tires balanced? We are planning a return and back trip again to Northwest in July. Your thoughts please.

YUP X10!
First thing I did on the first RV I bought was to change out all rubber valve stems with stainless steel.