Community Forums

Letsgoagain · 01-15-2008, 02:00 PM

Good evening,
Had a back tire go flat last month and found that the valve stem had a slow leak. From a similar occurence a fellow rv'r had posted on at another site it seems there is discussion on whether the tire sidewall itself was damaged from going flat. I hadn't considered that and now I'm somewhat worried my tire may be damaged.
I'd like to hear some of your opinion's on this eventhough I probably will take it back to the truck tire center and have it checked if for nothing else then peace of mind. I sure would kick myself if that tire let go at some point.
Letsgoagain

Letsgoagain · 01-15-2008, 02:00 PM

Good evening,
Had a back tire go flat last month and found that the valve stem had a slow leak. From a similar occurence a fellow rv'r had posted on at another site it seems there is discussion on whether the tire sidewall itself was damaged from going flat. I hadn't considered that and now I'm somewhat worried my tire may be damaged.
I'd like to hear some of your opinion's on this eventhough I probably will take it back to the truck tire center and have it checked if for nothing else then peace of mind. I sure would kick myself if that tire let go at some point.
Letsgoagain

Gordon · 01-15-2008, 03:46 PM

I know what you mean!

I've been worrying about it since we owned our 5th wheel. I had all 4 tires go flat on the trailer in one trip. Why? Because the manufacturer put rubber stems on a Load Range E tire!!!

I'm gonna be one of the guinea pigs and try this system:

Saf-Tte Wireless Tire Monitoring System

I had one tire on my trailer go flat just as we pulled into the RV park at Disney World. Took the tire off, got the valve replaced, (tire was dismounted to check) and all was good - except that they put a rubber stem on it again - and I didn't think about it.

Going home we were in the Sisqyew (spelling) mountains and stopped at a rest stop, and saw one other tire was low. Changed it, moved on. Found a tire store at the top of the mountain pass and had the tire dismounted and stem replaced. Ten miles up the road, the last tire let go. This time - a passing dually with goose neck honked and pointed. Changed the tire again, found a Les Schwab. The guy says! No wonder - you have rubber stems. They should be bolt on stems! I had to have one tire (the last one) replaced as it was delaminating - you could see it from the inside.

Never had another tire issue with the trailer again, but it got me thinking about it on a routine basis.

Robin_M · 01-15-2008, 04:13 PM

If it were a front tire, I'd swap it to the rear axle, and have a truck tire dealer take a look at it in the process. If he says it looks OK, I'd keep an eye on it and not worry too much about it.

Since it was a back tire, I don't see the issue. Unless both duels went flat, how could it have been damaged?

Letsgoagain · 01-15-2008, 04:33 PM

Thank you both for your replies. I think some kind of tire pressure warning system would be very helpful but it may have to wait as other things are more pressing right now.
Robin_M, I did think about the inside duel on that side supporting the weight but the tire that went flat was pretty compressed. Without thinking to much about it I aired the tire up that day and drove it to the truck tire center and then on the highway afterwards without any problems. The discussion on the other site was centered on the sidewall being distorted from going flat. I really don't know about that but probably to be safe I'll have it checked. I know a blown tire at the very least can do a lot of damage to the motorhome.
Letsgagain

ronboc · 01-16-2008, 01:25 PM

Tires sure do carry a lot of weight around here (pun intended). A new tire is definitely a bunch of $$$, but small price to pay for peace-of-mind in the long-run.

One of my front tires has some relatively-severe cupping from prior alignment issues, and although there's still plenty of tread all the way around, I'm actively researching a replacement just because I've experienced a blow-out on a steer-tire before and it wasn't no fun at all.

I also outfitted the coach and toad with Pressure-Pro sensors, again for that peace-of-mind... although it does drive me a bit more crazy when they all indicate LOW early on a cold morning. With our big coach-engines these days, I'd convinced I could drag flat toad tires right down to the frame-rails before I noticed any difference in pulling.

They won't indicate an impending blow-out (naturally) but sure do let me know when a tire is going soft.

Dutch Star Don · 01-16-2008, 06:31 PM

Letsgoagain....Did you find the tire flat in the morning from a leak, or were you driving it when it went flat.

If you KNOW that you didn't drive it flat I wouldn't worry about the tire. If you're not sure I would have it dismounted and inspected. A damaged tire will often have a spongy sidewall and will often show interior damage. A good tire store will be able to point out the indicators like an odd smell, a rubber dust or small beads inside the tire.

Gordon · 01-16-2008, 06:37 PM

Yeah. That's what my tire looked like from the inside. Lots of rubber dust.

Letsgoagain · 01-17-2008, 02:01 PM

Diplomat Don,
I found the tire flat one day. The motorhome hadn't been driven for several weeks and was sitting in the driveway. I knew it had a slow leak and hadn't checked it for probably a week or so because it wasn't leaking that bad.
After I found the leak had gotten worse (flat tire) I aired it up and drove it to the local truck tire center. They found that the air stem was leaking from the extension connection.
Your reply does make me feel some better about it but probably before I head out on a long trip I will have it checked.
I'm not sure about the rest of you but this is the one down side of a motorhome versus a fifth wheel that I have experienced.. In the past with the fifth wheel if I had a tire problem I would just jack it up take the tire off and run it to the local tire store.
Course I love all the other conveinence's that go with having the motorhome. Much easier for us.
Letsgoagain
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Diplomat Don:
Letsgoagain....Did you find the tire flat in the morning from a leak, or were you driving it when it went flat.

If you KNOW that you didn't drive it flat I wouldn't worry about the tire. If you're not sure I would have it dismounted and inspected. A damaged tire will often have a spongy sidewall and will often show interior damage. A good tire store will be able to point out the indicators like an odd smell, a rubber dust or small beads inside the tire. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dutch Star Don · 01-17-2008, 06:19 PM

Letsgoagain....I'm very picky and in your situation I wouldn't worry about any tire damage. It's when you drive on them that you break down the sidewall.

Letsgoagain · 01-18-2008, 01:42 PM

Diplomat Don,
Thanks again for your reply. I have read some of your other posts or replies and you seem very meticulous about things which I can appreciate.
Letsgoagain