Safely filling tires... 2018 Thor A.C.E. 30.3

[flbill]

So yesterday we were parked and my friends 5 year old grandson was standing at the door and he said "Hey Bill, what does this mean?" while he was pointing to a sticker with an x thru it by the door.

I took a look and had to answer "I don't know."

The sticker showed a person filing a tire with an x thru it and then a second pic with the person 12 feet away.

Some quick Googling and I learned the meaning - don't fill the tires like a normal car tire... do it remotely. Huh?

I check the tires before every drive. Sometimes I need to add a few pound (82 PSI) and sometimes drop a few. I never once stood 12' away. Tires are 19.5 inches.

Do I need to? And if so, how to accomplish that?
I use a pancake compressor, allow it to pressurize and then just put air in like I always did on every car.

B

[bobphoenix]

There is always a potential for tire bead separation when your PSIs are up past 32 psi... but even then, a bead can separate anytime...

When they change tires in a shop they use a guard around the tire in case the tire bead separates during the setting process... Wen I was much younger, I worked at a Sears tire center and there were no guards at that time...

My brother was filling a tire on his car, at a gas station and the bead separated, and to this day, he still has a hearing problem...

All that said, I have never seen a tire fill that allows you to stay 12 feet away from the tire being filled... I mean, even a bicycle pump with a valve stem clamp is only 24 inches...

To be safe, when I fill tires on my old motorhome (90 rear duels and 110 fronts), car and now, travel trailer... I always stand to the side and backhand the chuck... (Lessons learned from the experience of others...) But, twelve feet...?!?
I mean even the ugliest girl in high school got the benefit of a ten foot pole... (Sorry if that is offensive to anyone...) But, it is kinda funny...

[Mudfrog]

There are truck tires and split rim configurations that people need to be careful of but I've never heard of having to be that careful adding air to a standard tire and wheel assembly. Ours runs on 19.5s and like you, I monitor pressure and add air if needed. Guess I've been living dangerously all these many years.

[NorthernDriv]

It's a,"you have been warned, so you can't sue us" sticker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wkKb3D-HC0

[Argosy]

Split rims have been illegal so long any tire on one of those rims is going to be rotten.

There are tire fill adapters that have a clamp that will latch onto the valve stem. There are some that hook on to the valve stem by their weight against the threads.

When talking about the tire exploding I think of how much pressure most home compressors can make and think no way. Then I think of the cross section of a tire, and the cross section of the typical air hose and wonder how who ever came up with that believes the tire will go first.

[Alpine36]

I’m not sure about being 12’ away, but this style of inflator is OSHA approved and will keep you out of harms way in the event of a tire “zipper” rupture, typically caused by driving with very low tire pressure. I have one of these and it works well…
If you ever hear a tire making any unusual popping noises while inflating immediately get away.
https://www.amazon.com/Milton-518-Ch...41214085&psc=1

[Old-Biscuit]

Sticker means......."something happened"

Potential....of course
Probability..........LOW

[SJ-Chris]

My entire life, I've always felt a little nervous when filling air into car tires. But nothing bad had ever happened....until it did.


I was adding air into my rear inner dually on my 30' Class C RV about 3 years ago. Squatting down as you do. All of a sudden....BOOM. Sounded like a shotgun blast. Without knowing exactly why, my shoulder felt like someone punched it really hard. When I looked under my short sleeve shirt, I could see my shoulder was actually bleeding. Scared the crap out of me!


Since then, whenever I'm filling up tires I wear a pair of thick leather gloves (to protect my fingers) and a sturdy face shield just in case. I also wear a pair of ear muffs (the kind you wear at a gun range).



Safety first!
Chris

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by SJ-Chris

My entire life, I've always felt a little nervous when filling air into car tires. But nothing bad had ever happened....until it did.


I was adding air into my rear inner dually on my 30' Class C RV about 3 years ago. Squatting down as you do. All of a sudden....BOOM. Sounded like a shotgun blast. Without knowing exactly why, my shoulder felt like someone punched it really hard. When I looked under my short sleeve shirt, I could see my shoulder was actually bleeding. Scared the crap out of me!


Since then, whenever I'm filling up tires I wear a pair of thick leather gloves (to protect my fingers) and a sturdy face shield just in case. I also wear a pair of ear muffs (the kind you wear at a gun range).



Safety first!
Chris

What about heavy jacket to protect your shoulder/chest etc???

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by Argosy

Split rims have been illegal so long any tire on one of those rims is going to be rotten.

There are tire fill adapters that have a clamp that will latch onto the valve stem. There are some that hook on to the valve stem by their weight against the threads.

When talking about the tire exploding I think of how much pressure most home compressors can make and think no way. Then I think of the cross section of a tire, and the cross section of the typical air hose and wonder how who ever came up with that believes the tire will go first.

2 piece split rims are almost extinct but 3 peice are alive and well on some trucks and earth moving equipment.
Try prying a 6 ft tall wheel loader tire over a 1 peice rim.

[twinboat]

I limit my risk be not messing with my tire pressures. A few lbs up or down is not worth the effort.
Twice a year and if it needs it more then that, I fix the leak.

[shootist]

Originally Posted by NorthernDriv

It's a,"you have been warned, so you can't sue us" sticker.

Video is showing a split rim as far as I can tell. Kinda unlikely anyone will deal with those anymore.

[Tachdriver]

Originally Posted by SJ-Chris

My entire life, I've always felt a little nervous when filling air into car tires. But nothing bad had ever happened....until it did.


I was adding air into my rear inner dually on my 30' Class C RV about 3 years ago. Squatting down as you do. All of a sudden....BOOM. Sounded like a shotgun blast. Without knowing exactly why, my shoulder felt like someone punched it really hard. When I looked under my short sleeve shirt, I could see my shoulder was actually bleeding. Scared the crap out of me!


Since then, whenever I'm filling up tires I wear a pair of thick leather gloves (to protect my fingers) and a sturdy face shield just in case. I also wear a pair of ear muffs (the kind you wear at a gun range).



Safety first!
Chris

I guess we all neglect the fact that it can happen, until it happens to one of us personally....

[flbill]

Originally Posted by twinboat

I limit my risk be not messing with my tire pressures. A few lbs up or down is not worth the effort.
Twice a year and if it needs it more then that, I fix the leak.

We drive a lot (on a 5 month national park trip now) ranging from Florida to Colorado so I always check the pressure before hitting the road again. I have found that by having all the tires at 82 or so the ride and the control is much better.

We had what seemed to be a slow leak on an inner dual. A truck tire place took it off and could not locate it (they did not use a cage to refill) - which started my checking regularly. Oddly, that slow leak has not reocurred on this trip... but I still check.