Checking Air Pressure in Rear Dually's

[golden]

I've been having problems checking the air pressure of my two inside rear dually's for the past couple of years and then today I wasn't able to get any reading at all. I tried two different chucks so that shouldn't be the problem. When sitting on a flat surface they show no signs of being underinflated. To be "safe" I added the same amount of air in them that I did for the outside tires (5 psi) and they showed no difference after that as well. Short of either buying a tire monitoring system or taking it to a large tire specialist (these are 22.5" tires), is there any way of checking them out to get a reading? Both are on "fabric" extenders. I've never lost more than 5 psi per year on any of my tires and the four I could get to today all were within normal range.

[eieioh]

Well... Us old truckers used to carry a "bud bar", hammer or similiar item to "check" our tires. Just thump the tread. If the bar bounces smartly and the sound is not dull, they are inflated. Now, I still check each wheel with a guage before starting each day's trip, but for a quick check, I'll "thump 'em".

What I'm saying here is if you have a doubt the tires are inflated, this is a method to give you a guesstimate.

Hope it helps,

ed

[dajudge]

Do like I did, install a set of crossfires on each side. It serves two purposes, gives you the pressure at a glance and equalizes the pressure in both inside and outside tire.

[golden]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eieioh Well... Us old truckers used to carry a "bud bar", hammer or similiar item to "check" our tires. Just thump the tread. If the bar bounces smartly and the sound is not dull, they are inflated. Now, I still check each wheel with a guage before starting each day's trip, but for a quick check, I'll "thump 'em". What I'm saying here is if you have a doubt the tires are inflated, this is a method to give you a guesstimate. Hope it helps, ed

Actually I tried that but given the luck I've had trying to do the same thing with a watermelon, I don't have a lot of faith in that system! Besides, listening to a "thump" on the inside tire of the wheelwell isn't the same sound as the outside tire. I think.

[1ciderdog]

The inside dual on my 22.5's have a straight metal extension that extends just beyond one of the openings on the outer Alcoa rim. This is about 4 maybe 5 inches long. There is a rubber gromet on the outside dual that helps keep it in place. On mine this is easier to check than the outside dual because on the outside wheel the valve stem points toward the inside dual.

As for the thumper I think it takes a lot of practice to get the feel for the right sound and/or bounce. I have a tire pressure system and on a different motor home it alerted but when I thumped the tires I could not tell the difference and the low tire was about 20 pounds low.

[dieselclacker]

A few years ago, I installed metal extensions, not the woven kind, on the rear inside dual valve stems. They cost less than 20 bucks at places like Camping World, and have worked good for me. I believe they are around 4 inches in length, and it was necessary to pull the outside wheel in order to install them.

Dieselclacker

[Monacoach]

Keep in mind that a tire can lose half its pressure without any visual indication. When in the MH on route ( rest areas or fuel stops) I check the tires by pushing on them with my fist ( just to make sure they are not completely flat) if they don't move they are not flat. Definitely not a substitute for checking pressures and I do check them with a good guage before every trip. Golden are you actually having trouble reaching the valve with the chuck?

[offthewall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by golden I've been having problems checking the air pressure of my two inside rear dually's for the past couple of years and then today I wasn't able to get any reading at all. I tried two different chucks so that shouldn't be the problem. When sitting on a flat surface they show no signs of being underinflated. To be "safe" I added the same amount of air in them that I did for the outside tires (5 psi) and they showed no difference after that as well. Short of either buying a tire monitoring system or taking it to a large tire specialist (these are 22.5" tires), is there any way of checking them out to get a reading? Both are on "fabric" extenders. I've never lost more than 5 psi per year on any of my tires and the four I could get to today all were within normal range.

If you don't know exactly what pressures are in all your tires, you've got an unsafe condition. I suggest installing longer valve stems such as these;

http://www.borgtiresupply.com/index-dv.htm

[TrekPR]

Golden,

If you can't check the pressure how do you know you added the same amount of pressure to the inside? Sounds to me like you may have a couple of bad valves, you might want to have the tires broken down and the valves replaced. If the tires were balanced with a bag of something it may have clogged the valves.

[golden]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monacoach Keep in mind that a tire can lose half its pressure without any visual indication. When in the MH on route ( rest areas or fuel stops) I check the tires by pushing on them with my fist ( just to make sure they are not completely flat) if they don't move they are not flat. Definitely not a substitute for checking pressures and I do check them with a good guage before every trip. Golden are you actually having trouble reaching the valve with the chuck?

I'm not having any trouble reaching the valve with the chuck, it's just that the guage doesn't register anything. As for pressing down on them do see if they are deflated, I'm not sure I could do that with one that wasn't even on a rim, they are so big and sturdy. However, I do check them visually whenever I stop. I'm beginning to think it has something to do with the extension off the original valve itself. I have to physically hold the fabric extention tight in order to be able to try to get a reading, the same way you do it to push to put air in the tire. If the extention was metal or rigid I think the problem would go away. So I might have to take it in to have the outside rears removed and two metal extentions installed. Boy, will I get ripped off for that!

[bdaball]

I second the dually Valve stems. When you order them be sure to specify if you want screened valve stems or not if you are using a powdered balancing product. I doubt you will get ripped off with Borg Tire. I think you will find numerous satisfied customers on this site. Search "Dually Valve Stems" on this same site.
Dually Valve

[oemtech]

He will be out to Oemy's Shop for service tomorrow... So, I will check it out and test my Cyclops dual air gauge.

[Clay L]

You may have the "airless" extensions and they may not be properly adjusted. The airless ones have a stiff cable inside that pushes on the tire schrader valve when you push your chuck on the extension and opens it so the pressure can be read. If not adjusted properly the tire schrader valve won't be opened and you will get no reading.
This is supposed to be a better extension since there is no air in the extension to leak out.

On my last motor home I found out the hard way that adjusting them can be a problem. Mine were okay until they got hot while driving which caused the cable to extend and let air into the extensions. The extensions had small leaks and the air in the tires gradually leaked out as I was driving and that cost me two tires.

I have my current motor home driven for seven years with regular braided extensions with no problems but always felt nervous about them.
When I put new tires on a few months ago I ordered the DuallyValves from Borg Tire and had them installed at the same time.

It is much easier to check the air now (don't have to hold the extension while getting a reading) and the rubber grommet in the outside rim keeps the extension really solid so the PressurePro sensor is not bouncing around at all.

[jdsr]

I changed my short valve to long metal like some others have done. You have to remove the tire so I did mine when I replaced the tires. Works great.