Community Forums

wagonmaster2 · 04-05-2006, 04:24 PM

Has anyone installed the Pressure Pro (or Doran) sensors on the front wheels with Accuride wheels? The valve stem comes so close to the wheel there isn't enough room for the sensor. I can only find 1 1/4" chrome extenders and they don't seem to be long enough. 1 1/2 or 1 5/8" would be nice but can't find them. Any suggestions? The rear duals are no problem.
Wagonmaster2

wagonmaster2 · 04-05-2006, 04:24 PM

Has anyone installed the Pressure Pro (or Doran) sensors on the front wheels with Accuride wheels? The valve stem comes so close to the wheel there isn't enough room for the sensor. I can only find 1 1/4" chrome extenders and they don't seem to be long enough. 1 1/2 or 1 5/8" would be nice but can't find them. Any suggestions? The rear duals are no problem.
Wagonmaster2

cbeierl · 04-05-2006, 05:17 PM

I don't recall having any problems putting them on my front wheels. Perhaps the Vectra came with different valve stems than your Meridian.

John_Canfield · 04-06-2006, 04:45 AM

They work fine on my 22.5" Accuride wheels - no clearance problems whatsoever.

BigTrace · 04-06-2006, 01:35 PM

I know this doesn't sound too good, but I just installed 3 full systems of Doran Pressure Pro's (mine, my fathers and my buddies). 2 of our MH's are 2006 Horizon's. The wheels have all steel valve stems. No problem with those. My dad's Navion was a different story. All the wheels have rubber valve stems (and the inside dually's had PLASTIC, yes PLASTIC extenders!!)and it was a nightmare trying to make the sensors work correctly and get them tight enough. I've since told him to get his stems replaced with steel valve stems to the correct lengths. If I were you, That is exactly what I would do even if it coasts you a little more. You'll definitely not have any issues and you can get the stem that best works for your situation WITHOUT extenders.

wagonmaster2 · 04-06-2006, 06:43 PM

Thanks for all the replys. I went ahead and tried the 1 1/4" extenders to get out through the slot in the wheels and it just barely let the sensor screw on without touching the wheel. neither end of the extender had enough threads to use the locking nuts I ordered with the system. Can lock up the rears but not the front ones. I guess that means if someone wants them very bad they can only get two instead of all six. Pressure Pro said they had only heard of one instance in the last 3 years of any being taken off a coach by persons unknown, but with my luck I'll be the one for the next 3 years. Thanks again all.
Wagonmaster2

Cruzer · 04-07-2006, 08:50 AM

I tried the Doran system briefly on my Bus. The sensors did fit in the slots of the front Accuride rims but I had to slightly bend the valve stems (box end wrench works good) so that they were centered in the slots otherwise the sensors wouldn't fit.

wagonmaster2 · 04-08-2006, 05:04 PM

Thanks Cruzer - I thought seriously about trying to bend the valve stems just a little but never having done that didn't know whether it would kink and not allow air (real trouble then) or if it would start leaking at the wheel where it come is nutted down (even more trouble). May have to try your suggestion, I'm not crazy bout the sensors extended outside the wheel slot. Thanks again.
Wagonmaster2

Cruzer · 04-09-2006, 10:44 AM

I wouldn't want them sticking out either. If you slide a steel pipe over the valve stem you should be able to bend them without kinking them. It doesn't take that much of a bend to get the clearance you need so do a little and then check.

Gary RVRoamer · 04-10-2006, 05:39 AM

All my Pressure Pro sensors are on flexible extenders. My rear duals came from the factory (National RV) with extenders but I added the fronts myself. You can get good quality, braided stainless steel covered extenders at auto parts stores, e.g. NAPA or truck stops. Get the type that can be anchored securely at the outer end, so there is no risk of them flapping around. I made my own mounting brackets from a piece of aluminum bar, so I could have them just where I wanted them. Was pretty simple - just a couple bends and a couple holes drilled.

wagonmaster2 · 04-10-2006, 06:44 PM

Before I could even attack the front wheel clearances, I've got to figure out why the outside left rear dual valve stem is leaking air around the threads where the sensor is screwed on. It leaks about 1 # over the night. It has a U-shaped extender on the valve so I don't know which is at fault, the extender or the sensor. I screwed the sensor on finger tight like the instructions say and it does feel like it is as tight as it can be. Maybe that's not too bad odds, only one out of six leaking, but anytime I work with anything with air, water, or fuel its going to leak until several attempts to stop it, (nothing ever works right the first time).
And Cruzer, is there any danger causing the valve stem to leak at the nut when you bend the stem? I assume you need to go to the hardware store to get a small diameter pipe to fit over the stem to be bent. Appreciate all the hints and will get back to work on it when I get back from a short first of the season camping trip.
Wagonmaster2

CHIPPYSGT · 04-11-2006, 04:03 AM

Cruzer,

Why did you do away with the pressure pros on your rig?

Doug

Cruzer · 04-11-2006, 04:25 AM

I had too much inconsistency in their operation. There is a small rubber gasket inside the sender that has a slight nub to it. This gasket seals the air from leaking out and the small nub is "supposed" to depress the valve stem core in order to let air escape into the sender. This didn't happen all the time and I got random "no pressure" errors. You must take care not to overtighten the sensor or else the gasket compresses and the air can'
t get through the two pinholes that feed the sensor. This was especially noticeable on the inner duals because the valve stem extensions aren't all that precise. The extensions are "airless", in other words they have a pushrod inside that depresses the actual valve stem core on the rim. Unfortunately, the pushrod isn't always as long as the housing and the nub on the sensor isn't tall enough to allow any kind of serious travel. I also didn't care for the "stick-on" style of dash display with side entrance cable connections. So, I returned to Tire Sentry, which I had previously on my Suncruiser. The Tire Sentry uses smaller sensors that are easy to fit and don't have the small nub issues that the Pressure Pro sensors did. They also have a nice 2" diameter in-dash display with rear entry cable connections. The only disadvantage is that it displays and sounds a warning if you have a low tire rather than actually indicate the pressure. It'll show you which one is low but it won't tell you how much it is low so you don't know if you have a slow leak (that could maybe be driven a few more miles) or if it was catastrophic and you need to pull over immediately.

Anyway, I'm always looking for something better and this week I am installing the SmartTire system. It uses internal sensors that report tire temperature as well as pressure. They have a new 2" diameter in-dash display unit that shows everything you'd want to know about the RV or toad and everything is customizeable and programmable. One particular feature I like is that the pressures are temperature compensated so when the tire warms up and the pressure increases the alarm system will take that into consideration. Also, when the tires are cold and the pressures are down, it'll consider that before blasting away an alarm at you. I also have a second remote display/receiver in the Jeep so that I can monitor those tires will away from the RV. You can also interface this system with the TripTek or SilverLeaf engine/trip computer systems. All in all I think that tis is the best system available, but if I wanted something quick, simple, and inexpensive I'd go with the Tire Sentry. Either way, I'm a firm believer in having ANY kind of system.

Cruzer · 04-11-2006, 04:29 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">.....And Cruzer, is there any danger causing the valve stem to leak at the nut when you bend the stem? I assume you need to go to the hardware store to get a small diameter pipe to fit over the stem to be bent. Appreciate all the hints and will get back to work on it when I get back from a short first of the season camping trip.
Wagonmaster2 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The pipe is the safest way but I just used a box end wrench as a pry bar and very carefully applied pressure at the base of the stem. The valve stem is ell shaped and you are only bending the long part of the ell so the other part of the ell is still nice and square in the rim. I did check the nuts with a wrench though and found that one was a little loose.