Air & Tire Dilemma

[sailwing2003]

A quick Google search in your home town shows at least 9 tires stores. I find sometimes a stop by and ask the experts works and saves lots of time and wasted effort.

Your set up is not the first they will have seen, lots of dual wheel setups running around.

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by sailwing2003

A quick Google search in your home town shows at least 9 tires stores. I find sometimes a stop by and ask the experts works and saves lots of time and wasted effort. Your set up is not the first they will have seen, lots of dual wheel setups running around.

Thanks.

Yes, this has been suggested. Yesterday, I called a truck center that specializes in working on big trucks. They referred me to a tire place that also works with big trucks, and I am waiting to hear back from them in regard to some photos I sent of my wheels.

In fact I have spoken with a number of the local places and none so far have inspired my confidence.

I would not trust most of the tire shops in my town when it comes to RVs. Most of them rarely, if ever, see a vehicle with dual wheels. I cannot know this for certain but it is my expectation. Most deal in passenger cars. Some are on congested or side streets where an RV could not fit. Most do not have facilities large enough for an RV to enter and for them to work on it. You may have heard of Big O tires. It's a large tire store chain. There are several within reasonable distance, however after making some phone calls I learned that only one can accommodate RVs. When I actually went down there I found out they could not get an RV inside and would need to work on it in their lot. Their lot was unlevel and the tail end of my RV hung out over the sidewalk and partially blocked pedestrian traffic. I was there to have my tires inspected for sidewall cracking and their crew was so lazy I had to pressure them to get under the vehicle and look carefully. They should actually have removed the outer dual wheels but this was too much trouble for them. Another shop, a Firestone shop, also a big brand, didn't know what I was talking about when I asked about Firestone air springs. They told me Firestone didn't make such a thing. Of course you and I know better. Although this is a relatively densely populated area, it is quite urban and I don't think most tire dealers have much experience with or knowledge about motorhomes. I expect there is better RV knowledge in more suburban areas. Still, your suggestion to talk to tire dealers is a good one, but my conversations with local shops have done little more than convince me of their incompetence with RVs.

[Ray,IN]

I have 2 extended reach inflation chucks, both are straight-foot model. Both have a quick-change ends so they are quickly detachable and easy to store in the toolbox. NAPA has exactly what you seek. Nothing concerning my air compressor at home is permanently attached, everything is quick-change, even the moisture filter/trap.

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

I have 2 extended reach inflation chucks, both are straight-foot model. Both have a quick-change ends so they are quickly detachable and easy to store in the toolbox. NAPA has exactly what you seek. Nothing concerning my air compressor at home is permanently attached, everything is quick-change, even the moisture filter/trap.

NAPA has what I seek? I think maybe you misunderstood. I already have an air chuck with a quick connect fitting I can use with my compressor, but I don't wish to haul my compressor in my rig. Sure, I can take the air chuck with me in the rig but it's useless without an air supply I can hook it up to.

I think that today I figured out how I'm going to proceed. It was suggested in another post that I simply carry with me a tire valve extender and simply attach it when needed. The solution is so simple it never occurred to me. I wasn't sure it would be viable because I was uncertain if I could comfortably get my hand through the hand holes of my outer dual rear wheels in order to remove and attach and extender and TPMS sensors. Today I checked and I think I can.

So here is the solution. It assumes extenders are easily attached just by screwing them on and off by hand. I will have metal valve stems put into those wheels where I don't already have them including stems that bend maybe 150° on the outer duals so they point outward. I will place TPMS sensors on all valve stems. When air gets low in the inner duals I will reach through the hand holes of the outer wheels, remove the TPMS sensors and attach a valve extension which will come through the hand hole of the outer wheel, and I'll use that to add air and check to make sure the pressure is correct before I remove the extension and reattach the TPMS sensor. Yes there are a couple extra steps which will take a minute longer than if I wasn't attaching and detaching the extension, but this solution avoids introducing additional potential failure points that permanently installed valve extenders would create. It also eliminates the problem of finding super long valve stems for the inner duals and finding or fabricating supports for their free ends. It also avoids the pricey Dually Valve kit option and additional potential failure points and uncertainties they introduce. The only expense is for one valve extension, two if I have to buy by the pair. Easy peasy. No?

[Dutch Star Don]

PhotoRuss......It seemed like you were looking for inexpensive solutions when you posted, but here is what I did and it may initially cost $50.00 - $100.00. I had the braided steel extensions on my 22.5 aluminum wheels for many years without issue, except they were a nuisance when I polished the wheels. When I replaced my rear tires, I just bought the longer steel stems (8") at the tire store. They charged me $11.00 each. The problem with the steel stems is that they're unsupported and just hanging out there. As mentioned, they make a rubber puck, in different shapes, that plug into one of the wheel holes and holds the stem in place. This solution will fix your problem without having to do anything when adding air.

I didn't like the look of the rubber pucks so I made my own supports for the valve stem. Here is a photo of the holder in place and a template that I used to make two thin aluminum holders. The holder slipped over two lug nuts between the inner and out wheel.

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

PhotoRuss......It seemed like you were looking for inexpensive solutions when you posted, but here is what I did and it may initially cost $50.00 - $100.00. I had the braided steel extensions on my 22.5 aluminum wheels for many years without issue, except they were a nuisance when I polished the wheels. When I replaced my rear tires, I just bought the longer steel stems (8") at the tire store. They charged me $11.00 each. The problem with the steel stems is that they're unsupported and just hanging out there. As mentioned, they make a rubber puck, in different shapes, that plug into one of the wheel holes and holds the stem in place. This solution will fix your problem without having to do anything when adding air. I didn't like the look of the rubber pucks so I made my own supports for the valve stem. Here is a photo of the holder in place and a template that I used to make two thin aluminum holders. The holder slipped over two lug nuts between the inner and out wheel.

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

PhotoRuss......It seemed like you were looking for inexpensive solutions when you posted, but here is what I did and it may initially cost $50.00 - $100.00. I had the braided steel extensions on my 22.5 aluminum wheels for many years without issue, except they were a nuisance when I polished the wheels. When I replaced my rear tires, I just bought the longer steel stems (8") at the tire store. They charged me $11.00 each. The problem with the steel stems is that they're unsupported and just hanging out there. As mentioned, they make a rubber puck, in different shapes, that plug into one of the wheel holes and holds the stem in place. This solution will fix your problem without having to do anything when adding air.

I didn't like the look of the rubber pucks so I made my own supports for the valve stem. Here is a photo of the holder in place and a template that I used to make two thin aluminum holders. The holder slipped over two lug nuts between the inner and out wheel.

Thank you for your ideas.

I wrote about puck-like valve stem supports that fit in hand holes earlier. There's nothing for my wheels I could find that didn't require modifying either the puck or bending the valve stem. I also have two different shaped hand holes and it's uncertain perhaps unlikely I can find pucks made to fit. I've looked. The only ones I found are from DuallyValve and required purchasing the DuallyValve kit. Even then, the pucks would need to be modified or the valve stem bent, plus, it's uncertain, perhaps unlikely, the pucks would fit both shapes of the hand holes I have. I think I wrote about this earlier.

I have not been able to find valve stems longer than 6 inches that will fit my wheels. I was informed today by a truck tire specialty shop that they could not find any either and that my wheels would have to be machined to accept a larger diameter stem. Much too much trouble and expense!

Although I've seen some metal valve stem supports made to snap into the hand holes they are made for valves that would come through the center of the hand holes which my valves would not. Long valve stems placed on my inner dual wheels would come through the outer dual hand holes much closer to the edge than the center, as I have already written. If I were to make my own supports for the free ends of the valve stems I would have to drill through the wheels in order to attach them. Did you see the photos I posted of my wheels? The lug nuts are several inches away from the hand holes and it would require some complex fabrication and bending to make supports, neither of which I am equipped to do.

I think both the best and most economical solution will be that which I've written about in my post immediately previous.

[Ray,IN]

Yes I was confused. I suspect very few gas stations today have an air compressor that will inflate to 80 psi, most will not reach 50 psi. Truck stops OTOH will have a compressor capable of inflating to whatever pressure your tires require; and truck stops normally have a quick-change chuck on the hose end. Thus my confusion.

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Yes I was confused. I suspect very few gas stations today have an air compressor that will inflate to 80 psi, most will not reach 50 psi. Truck stops OTOH will have a compressor capable of inflating to whatever pressure your tires require; and truck stops normally have a quick-change chuck on the hose end. Thus my confusion.

That's good info to know about truck stops.Thanks. Having never been to one I was wondering how they are set up when it comes to air.

Even if a standard gas station had enough air pressure there would be no way to use it with the standard chucks they have.

[sailwing2003]

I can understand that you are searching on the net for a solution. There is no perfect solution, there is no free solution.

Here in Texas, on a daily basis I see dual wheel pickup trucks, rental trucks, delivery trucks like FedEx and UPS, city service trucks and hundreds of different types of dual wheel set ups.

You need to give up on maybe the local car tire shops without parking lot access, and single task solutions to cars. Find a true tire store that works on larger tires. Your set up can not be the only one of a kind in CA.

Here is a link to a company that does caps and extentions.
Veesun, Tire Valve Stem Caps Tire Chucks N2 Nitrogen

Here is a link to the Alcoa Catalog, with wheel hole inserts, stems, extensions and more than I knew exsisted. Look at pages, 9-12.
http://www.alcoa.com/alcoawheels/cat...ts_Catalog.pdf

Someone once put air into your tires, so I have to guess it can be done again. Sounds like to improve the system you have, and that is going to cost you money. As someone said already, "it is the price we pay". Another coach owner reminded my again the other day, "you don't have a budget, you have a motorhome!" I am in the middle of having a rear wheel seal replaced for the second time in 2 weeks, 700 miles from the first repair. Today is day 9 of that second repair. Expensive, yes, a hassle, yes, but worth doing for all the pleasure that we enjoy? Priceless.

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by sailwing2003

I can understand that you are searching on the net for a solution. There is no perfect solution, there is no free solution. Here in Texas, on a daily basis I see dual wheel pickup trucks, rental trucks, delivery trucks like FedEx and UPS, city service trucks and hundreds of different types of dual wheel set ups. You need to give up on maybe the local car tire shops without parking lot access, and single task solutions to cars. Find a true tire store that works on larger tires. Your set up can not be the only one of a kind in CA. Here is a link to a company that does caps and extentions. Veesun, Tire Valve Stem Caps Tire Chucks N2 Nitrogen Here is a link to the Alcoa Catalog, with wheel hole inserts, stems, extensions and more than I knew exsisted. Look at pages, 9-12. http://www.alcoa.com/alcoawheels/cat...ts_Catalog.pdf Someone once put air into your tires, so I have to guess it can be done again. Sounds like to improve the system you have, and that is going to cost you money. As someone said already, "it is the price we pay". Another coach owner reminded my again the other day, "you don't have a budget, you have a motorhome!" I am in the middle of having a rear wheel seal replaced for the second time in 2 weeks, 700 miles from the first repair. Today is day 9 of that second repair. Expensive, yes, a hassle, yes, but worth doing for all the pleasure that we enjoy? Priceless.

Thanks.

Your point that there are many other vehicles with dual wheels that seem to be able to get air to them is well taken. That said, fleet vehicles such as those you mention have service yards and mobile units to deal with things like that. Still, as you suggest, a solution exists for me, and as I have written more than once above it will be to use an extension at those times I need to fill and check pressure on the inner wheels. Inexpensive and easy enough.

I'll check out veesun.com, but I've already seen Alcoa and there's nothing there for me.

I agree that sometimes you just have to spend the money. IMHO there are many times, however, that doing some legwork results in more economical and/or better solutions. One example is this very situation. Rather than DuallyValves (which may not have worked for me anyway), fabricating valve stem supports, or other involved or costly solutions, it turns out a simple, inexpensive solution may work perfectly well enough.

[Old Radios]

I could see myself getting real tired of the searching and dealing with finding air with chucks that might or might not work or have enough pressure.



I don't worry about it anymore. On-board everything. for $180. 150 Lb. pressure/6 Gal. compressor is bolted down in the rear storage compartment and I have 50' of lightweight flexible hose with quick connects that will reach every tire. I had to try a couple of different chucks with built in gauges as the first one did not work so well in every valve. This one from NAPA does.

I also ditched the rear wheel covers. They don't do anything except get in the way.