Checking tire pressure

Peddler · 04-24-2011, 08:56 AM

OK- I brought the coach home yesterday and I have tons of questions but one stands out.
The PDI/walkthru guy did a great job but somethings are always going to be overlooked or maybe my brain was getting full. The coach had new tires put on in November and he said they checked the air pressure "this morning" and I was ready to hit the road.
Now I've been checking pressure, adjusting pressure, changing tires, etc for over sixty years and it just didn't dawn on me to ask how to check the pressure!
So -- this morning I go out and take a look at the wheels and "no tire stems" ok - so they are behind the pretty wheel covers. I come in, hit the board to see how to take the covers off.....oh!

Question - I have always read that it is a good idea to check pressure every time you hit the road and can't argue with the logic BUT do any of you actually get the tool out (wherever it is hiding) pull all four covers off, check the pressure, and then reinstall the covers EVERYDAY when traveling??

Clay L · 04-24-2011, 09:31 AM

A lot of folks use flexible extensions. The flexible ones have been known to leak and I prefer the rigid metal extended valve stems. The tires have to be dismounted to install them.
You can see them here Dually Valve

Wayne M · 04-24-2011, 09:59 AM

I'm fortunate in that my covers conform to the wheel pattern so I don't have to pull them off. I had some 90 degree, or more, put on the front, and the straight brass put on the back inside dauls. Brass bends and can conform to coming out the opening. Using the "truckers" tire pressure gauge, the stems are easy to get to.

I had the metal braided extension put on by a dealer and one leaked on me, eventually causing me to have a blow out because of riding on the tire flat. It was just from the storage unit to the stick house of about 12 miles, but it was enough. In my haste I did not check the tires before that move. I don't move the coach down the road without checking the air pressure. (TPMS would be nice - next thing to do.) I like the Dually Valve system posted above, and that will be something else to get eventually.

Do you have a picture of your wheel covers?

Good luck.

ichn2go · 04-24-2011, 10:15 AM

If the valve extensions are installed properly they will not give you any trouble..Be sure that the person installing them tightens them super tight. I have the braided extensions on the rear wheels and straigt ones on the front..No problems. On other coaches I did have problems due to them not being installed tight enough...Good Luck

Finhawk · 04-24-2011, 01:59 PM

If you purchase a good tire pressure monitering system, you'll have no problem and know what's there all the time. All you have to do is look at a display.
The older a person gets, the more it hurts to crawl around checking T/P. I know!!!!

UFO Pilot · 04-24-2011, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finhawk

If you purchase a good tire pressure monitering system, you'll have no problem and know what's there all the time. All you have to do is look at a display.
The older a person gets, the more it hurts to crawl around checking T/P. I know!!!!

Ditto.

Clay L · 04-24-2011, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finhawk

If you purchase a good tire pressure monitering system, you'll have no problem and know what's there all the time. All you have to do is look at a display.
The older a person gets, the more it hurts to crawl around checking T/P. I know!!!!

That's true but you still have to add air from time to time. The DuallyValve metal extensions make adding air really easy and also provide a stable stem to screw my PressurePro sensors onto.

bandirector · 04-24-2011, 03:24 PM

Full metal stems are very much worth having installed and will cut down on nuisance low tire pressure situations. I am seriously considering the monitoring system as they continue to come down in price. After having suffered a tire blowout (why is it always the inner dual) and not even knowing about it I'm becoming a believer in them.

Peddler · 04-24-2011, 04:46 PM

Thanks for the advise from all. I'm ordering a TPMS system and that will at least get rid of the need to daily remove the covers unless air needs to be added. The next question will be whether or not the TPMS sensors will fit under the covers. I'm going to wait until they come to find out. Too many other things to explore.

Thanks again

Wayne M · 04-24-2011, 09:39 PM

One afterthought. When I had the metal braided extensions professionally installed, it was not the stem that failed. It was where the braid connected to the 1 inch or so metal cap that the stem sits in. So if you have a slow leak, check all along the extension.

My coach has been in storage for 3 months. I took it out on runs twice in those 3 months. I had 110 pounds of pressure when I parked it and when I just drove it to the house this past week it still had 110 pounds of pressure in each tire. I don't move it until I have checked tire pressure. If your tires are not holding pressure you have a leak somewhere. The only exception is going from hot to cold, or cold to hot, weather.

Finhawk · 04-24-2011, 10:40 PM

Don't forget altitude Wayne.

DAN L · 04-25-2011, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peddler

Thanks for the advise from all. I'm ordering a TPMS system and that will at least get rid of the need to daily remove the covers unless air needs to be added. The next question will be whether or not the TPMS sensors will fit under the covers. I'm going to wait until they come to find out. Too many other things to explore.

Thanks again

over 2 years ago i ordered the tst truck tire pressure/temperature monitor system. when the sensors arrived they would not fit on my front wheels or my rear ob wheels.

i installed haltec hf-200 90 degree valve stem extensions to solve this problem. my rear ib wheels have braided extensions which work ok for me. i like the tst system.

when i get new tires soon, i will have 90 degree brass valve stems installed in the wheels.

HALTEC ONLINE

ichn2go · 04-25-2011, 05:14 AM

TPMS monitors will not fit on the front wheels with angled extensions. Luckily I had some straight ones on hand and they worked fine. I will be suprised if the monitors fit on your stems without extensions...Good luck and you will love the TMPS.

Peddler · 05-01-2011, 10:18 AM

UPDATE - If only I had read Wayne's post closer and gone back to look a little better, I could have saved myself alot of work. After I finally got the covers off, I located the valve stems for the inside duals and it turns out that the covers didn't have to be removed after all. (Sorry Winnebago about all the names I called you yesterday). I just needed a better flashlight. Short story TireTraker TPMS system went on easily (30 minutes) and the sensors do not interfere with the wheel covers.

Life is good!